Casa Ocho Quebradas

by Elemental - Alejandro Aravena

An Analytical Study

The first real architectural assignment given to me was to analyze a structure by a famous architect. Casa Ocho stood out to me because of its monolithic nature, so I chose it over the likes of Falling Water, the Bavinger house, and the Chapel in the Woods. After Analyzing the building in plan, elevation, and section, I began a study of light. I was fascinated by the idea of moonlight spilling down the large void in the leaning chimney. At the same time, the front windows on the bottom level perked my interest. Since the location is on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, an image of an intense mix of pinks, reds, and oranges at sunset flooded my imagination. The study of moonlight was dawn at a 75-degree tilt to better show the internal dimensions of the chimney. The sunset portion was drawn at 45-degrees, which is the angle the house sits at to north. To combine the two drawings into a whole, I lifted the top floor off and projected the light down to the base. Inspired by the thin lines making up the structure of the light study, brass was chosen to model the structure, with 1 1/4” plexiglass as the topo. I believe this helped to illustrate the precarious nature of the building; balancing as if placed on a cliff by a giant.

Prairie Mountain by Phillip Schmidt

A Renegade Classroom

How can a space feel safe, secure, and open at the same time? Who am I designing this space for? I decided I wanted a space to be used by children for art, of any kind. Music, drama, ballet, paint! A wide-open space which still offers protection from the elements. Where inside can become outside in an instant. How could this be accomplished? I began to treat the various rooms as beads on a string. I ordered them in a manner that would place the classroom in a central position and as I drew, modified the shapes of the proverbial beads based on the position of the string. Once the shape was formed, I turned my attention to light. My first impulse was to cover the frame of the structure with something reminiscent of the Prairie House, leaving gaps through which interesting patterns could shine. However, I decided a more regular façade would provide a playful contrast with the irregularity of the Prairie House. This is how I came up with the idea to make the entire facade a series of louvers. This enables the inside to become the outside at the flip of a switch, providing shelter from the elements or a cascade of sunlight in an instant. Finally, I used lines drawn directly from the Prairie House as a guide to spot the location for the classroom. The line chosen was done so because it positions the line of sight to the Renegade Classroom slightly obstructed by the Prairie House as one enters the property from the main road. The Prairie House will appear center vision, with the peaks of the classroom structure looming behind to the right rising from the land like a mountain on a prairie.