Drawings of Bordeaux House for Project 1

Ground Floor

The plan cuts through earth, glass, concrete, and steel. A glass threshold separates the courtyard from the working interiors of this lowest floor; a space characterized by a wall geometry that synthesizes rectilinear with curvilinear elements. On this floor the vertical circulatory system terminates; the staircase to the rear of the elevator; the elevator; the staircase to the middle floor; and the circular staircase. It is the architectural interface through which the building's occupants begin their interaction with the building.



Middle Floor

The middle floor is the most peculiar of them all. Its walls are not really walls, but panes of glass; This plane is intersected by two key structural elements; the cross beam to the rear of the elevator, and the spiral staircase. There is a transient quality to this floor that reinforces circulation to the levels above and beyond.



Top Floor

The top floor is interesting because from the exterior it reads as a singular mass, with an apparently singular volume within. But the plan reveals a dichotomy between singularity and pluralism; the top floor is actually a dual set of interior spaces; one, accessible by the elevator, for the mother and father; the other, accessible by the spiral staircase, for the children of the family. Porthole-like windows slicing through the external facade create exciting and peculiar opportunities for viewing out, as well as allowing light to enter the internal spaces at strange and conspicious angles.




Axonometric

The axonometric clearly conveys the playful, delightful, and charismatic form of the building. A diverse set of building elements and geometries produce a wonderful architectural display.



Cross Section

The cross section allows the structural elements to be read clearly in elevation, highlighted here in a bold red that is sympathetic to their real-world importance to the design.



Longitudinal Section

The relationship between the major parts of the house here are clearly articulated; solid-void, materiality, circulation, mass, are the key relationships that can be read. The building's distinct relationship with the natural landscape is also explicitly conveyed.