Posts Tagged ‘drawing’

kinetics, texture and geometry

March 28th, 2011 | Richard Almond

environmental, technical & material considerations

February 15th, 2011 | Richard Almond

Starting to think now about how this thing will actually float. Feeling rather inspired at the moment by MOS Architect’s Floating House which utilises a series of cylindrical drums for buoyancy. Floating concrete or polyethylene pads are other options but I feel somehow the drums lend themselves well to the slightly makeshift and metalic character of Reykjavik.

Further inspiration from Floating House is the way in which the facade mediates between internal and external environments. The definitions of ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ are seemingly eroded, the transition is somewhat fluid. A perforated skin allows a breeze and a few specks of rain to trickle into semi-outdoor spaces, making inhabitants aware of the elements that surround them.

This ‘semi-outdoor’ space is loosely veiled by a permeable skin, not thermally insulated but provided with enough enclosure to make such activities as dry sailing tuition comfortable upon an undulating platform. Corrugated metal cladding closes its perforations as it wraps entirely internal spaces, its shallow pitched roof deflecting winds to keep the pontoon steady. The skin is cropped around the foot of the buildings, a ribbon of glass allowing low winter sunlight to reflect off the water’s surface and penetrate deep into the plan. Summer sun is collected via rooflights and bounced down into internal spaces.