Villa Mairea Material Model Project Two

This material model was probably my most successful aspect of the project as it enables a greater understanding of the materials and why they are utilised in specific places as well as also showing many other aspects such as program. 

Turf roofed timber sauna and low stone wall recalls medieval churchyards. 

The Varied materials from the red tiles to the white beech to the natural stone show the journey between the natural to the civilised dwelling. 

White plastered surfaces show an allusion to modernity. These surfaces are actually lime-washed brickwork.

The juxtaposition of the seemingly random patch of blue- glazed tiles forms the backdrop to the rough stone staircase. This is a calculated allusion to Finish Vernacular tradition.

Collage techniques such as the forms and images express the polarities such as vernacular and modern, free form and geometric, romantic and traditional.

Material Cubes

These material cubes were the next step in exploring the materials within the Villa Mairea. They are used to explore the sense of touch within the building. 

Shadow Box

I chose to look closely at the relationship to the outside within the Villa Mairea. There are many relationships such as in the living room where one experience neither the containment of traditional interiors nor the 'flowing space' of modern architecture, it's like wandering through a forest where spaces form and reform around you. Also the timber cladding is an evocation of the texture of bark as well as the continuous pine-strip suspended ceiling that's pierced with 520 000 holes to admit air conditioning to achieve the atmosphere within the forest. The specific point I chose to look at however if the relationship between light inside and outside. I built a cubed model which shows the shadows created within the natural and the man made environment. Alvar Aalto was using the concept of light within the forest within the building itself. The forest is drawn into the building through the full height glazing which is represented at the top of the cube. 

The shadows shown within the model of the natural environment are of the leaves and the trees. 

The library shows a horizontal slice of the forest where shafts of light suggest the familiar broken sunlight of the forest edge. This is the same as when late afternoon sun slants through the main staircase which contains the vertical wooden columns. 

This was probably my least successful model in terms of beauty, however, it still contained a theory which I feel helped with understanding theVilla Mairea in more depth and it also contains an idea which I believe I can take into project three.

Furniture Renderings

The way I chose to explore the configuration of furniture was through rendered drawings. I chose a specific spot within an arrangement of furniture to show where an individual might be seat and then I projected their view that they would be able to see through the use of colour on a black and white plan. The drawing on the top left shows the view from one head of the dining table. From this seat it is possible to view along the axis to the entrance of the house and outside clerestory windows above the vestibule to see the pine forest beyond. At the opposite end of the table, the drawing in the top right, the seat is close to the servery and the kitchen and has a view to the sauna, pool, garden and the pine forest. The differing view from each of the table highlights the juxtaposition about the natural and the traditional environment. The drawing in the second row on the left shows the fireplace which only using a small amount of colour reveals that it is an intimate space with a closed outlook. The courtyard and the living room shows a profuse horizontal expanse that accommodates much activity in accordance to the configuration of furniture. Even though the furniture looks to make a closed space, there is still ample access as the space allows for activities to extend to the terrace and music room. The drawing on the bottom right shows all the furniture in colour. 

PROJECT TWO - CAD Drawings

Project Two - I began with my first aim of reworking my autoCAD drawings for the Villa Mairea. I thought this was a necessary step in improving the overall quality of my work. I also played around with the configuration of furniture, materials and the relationship to the outside within these drawings as these were three aspects of the building I was going to further investigate.