design commentary

i have already written about what i believe my character wants for his house;
many different view points,
moments of observations,
views towards the sky, and,
a large range of view angles.

a heart to the house,
that is a hallway,
that is always used to move around the house,
and this is the empty unit that is reflected to the world out side,
and the rooms wrapped around it.

also the desire for a humble house,
that is small but not cramped,
with only the necessaries.


the house is only to be used by my character, oskars,
so it needed to be personal to his needs.

i believe i achieved this;


each of the four house share the same ideas;

i used triangular forms, throughout the floor and roof planes.
the points of these triangular forms where squared off for better views.
the nature of these forms is to have transition of the width of spaces,
this emphasises view points, and helps the direction of view.

the triangular forms are rotated around a central axis with each floor plan,
to give maximum views.

and the empty space, unit 7, is situated where these forms interlock.
this space is needed to be used a lot, as it is a hallway one needs to walk through to move from rooms.
the tower in each house is projected directly up from the empty unit,
i have kept the towers appearance minimal to keep with the humble feel of the house.

the rooms are all wrapped, or situated, around the centre of the house.

for the windows in each house, i used vertical strips of different sizes.
and at the 'tip' of the triangular forms the windows appear more like portals.

i have also kept nessesary units together with their related units; with separate kitchen, bathroom and sleeping areas. and the area of windows vary between these rooms with the different needs of privacy.

card model 2

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card model 1

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digital model 2

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digital model 1

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a humble house

the brief

i've been think a lot of what oskars would want for his residence,
and this is the result:

it is important to him to have what he needs.
not only in the general; kitchen, bathroom and sleeping sense;
but in the fact that it is just him and the house needs to be just for him.

he wants a small house, not cramped, but he feels no need to have an excess of space.
and this is why i've been designing in a schematic way and working out the relationship between rooms and knowing where units are. instead of just working with forms and then fitting the units as an afterthought.

oskars primarily is interested in the experience of occupying the house, and less in the appearance of it. although this is still an important factor.

more specifically; he wants many different points of view around the house. and for these to be restricted to only 4 different views that generally comes with a rectangular house.

he would also like for there to be views of the sky.

the tower should be positioned in a central location of the house, preferably in a hallway. so he is only reflected when he is using the hallway. but this area, which is the empty unit, can be a highly used area. and will be considered as the heart of the house.

all rooms should be wrapped around this empty unit. furthermore creating a heart to the house, and so the only way people can view oskars in this place is from the reflection of the tower, instead of through windows.

he would also like the house to be made with heavy, solid materials. to give a secure and grounded sensations as that is what he would like to feel in his house.

the first sketchup attempt

a story about desires

Immersed in papers and the bitterness of winter, Oskars sat at his aging timber desk.

He was trying to apply himself to the task of writing notes from an interview that afternoon. It was more of a character assessment than anything, of a shop owner who was in the process of an insurance claim from theft. Oskars was asked for assistance from the police department to verify if the claims were legitimate. This is the consequence of being in between investigations; and it’s hard not to find it an insult to his intelligence.

Oskars became a private detective to try to avoid working with trivial domestic problems. He desires something with substance; an investigation that is challenging and complex. Something that stimulates his mind, not tires it.

It is not always like this, there is something about mid winter that numbs the city of Riga. And it is this stillness of the city that depresses Oskars.

He takes a moment rest, and sits back in his chair to drink his strong black tea. On the wall there are neat lines of postcards, sent from his daughter Misala from her travels around the world. His daze turns to them. He already knows that there are exactly 33 postcards on his wall; 4 orderly rows with 8 cards in each; and 1 lonesome one starting a fresh row.

The somewhat presence of his daughter instantly fills him with warmth and smiles to himself. He knows she sends them to him not along as a reminder of her thinking of him, but as it was his dream once to travel the world. And it was his dream that in turn inspired her passion. Somehow it never happened for him, and he has found himself at the age of 53 trapped in the same city he was born in. Although he moved around in his 20’s throughout Lithuania, Poland and Estonia, and a selection of western Russia it seemed fitting to settle down in the city he knew as home. Oskars enjoys the comfort of familiarity.

Even though wanting to live in a familiar city, this still doesn’t stop him from still desiring to travel. And right now, sitting in his study with frozen toes and an uninspired mind, it is hard not to wish he was somewhere else. He always has wanted to see the tropics; he would travel through South East Asia and then down all the way to Indonesia. That has always been his ambition. And right now the idea of warmth was so tempting. He looks up to the wall and finds a postcard midway in the second row of a picturesque rainforest in Burma. It looks amazing, so foreign and unlike anywhere he has been. Misala has always ended her postcards with ‘wish you were here’. Partially as a reference to the Pink Floyd song, and partially as he knows she truly wishes it for him. And right now he wishes, to, that he could be there.

He sighs, and decides he is too weary and preoccupied to continue writing, and heads off to bed. Oskars settles in for the night with a hot water bottle and a detective John Rebus novel. As it is the closest thing, for now, he has to experiencing the thrill of an investigation.

searching

detective images

oskars

also i have decided that a name for my character would make things simpler:

so i have deiced to name my character 'oskars aleksandrs bars'
which is the name of a 19th centuray latvian architect.
basically, i liked the name.

the town detective

the role of a detective is quite obvious,
and i feel that its safe to say that my character is a solver of mysteries.

i have been watching a lot of the agatha christie's poirot series,
of the fictional belguim detective who works in london.
to get some inspiration.

the city

what do know of my character.
other than that of they are the town detective,
of riga.

riga is the capital of latvia.
the city is over 800 years old,
and it is seeped in history and culture.

interestingly;
riga is famous for having extensive art nouveau architecture.










but i believe in preserving, not copying, the past.
so i am going to aim for a more modern approach,
to my characters house.

postcard of old time riga

welcome

hello i am rhea;

this blog experience is a new experience.
but hopefully it is one that that is a good experience.
although the fun is always taken out when one is required to do something.
it should not be too bad.

i am here for design studio;
and by the end i will have a house for the detective,
of the town riga.

for now my mind is empty of ideas;
as the project has only started.
but as i progress and become involved in this project,
i will post everyting on here.
how exciting.