- THE WOODEN HORSE (final) -

Front

Courtyard

1st floor bedroom

1st floor living room

Kitchen through to living

View from rooftop garden

Courtyard

- THE WOODEN HORSE -

Progress . . .

SITE

EAST

WEST

SOUTH

NORTH

iLIKE

(www.archdaily.com)

House II in Aroeira / ARX

Sereno House / Jaime Rendon Arquitectos

Nazca Restaurant / Giancarlo Mazzanti

La Reserva House / Sebastian Irarrazaval

Joanopolis House / UNA Arquitetos

House in Zapallar / Pilar Garcia, Carolina Portugueis, Martin Labbe

Osler House / Marcio Kogan

Nazca Restaurant / Giancarlo Mazzanti

Chad Oppenheim

Barreiro College of Technology / ARX

- MYSTERY PLAY -

The horse trainer, a powerful, ambitious, focussed man dedicated to winning and being the best while at work, yet a soft dependant man, constantly pining for his wife’s attention while at home

My original ideas in the first assignment revolved around a hierarchy of the 12 different units. Ordered from the ones which he found most important, and where he spent most of his time - the bedroom, living area and kitchen, to the units he saw as almost redundant, these were the ones in which he spent time alone, such as the tower, his study and the bathroom.

As my character moved through each separate area of the house from the front door to the back it was like a journey of evolution from his cold hard work self to his softer caring, home self.

 In the first assignment I also worked with the idea of his urge to care for his wife by placing the units he most associated with her, such as the bedroom, in structurally strong surroundings with minimal fenestration and maximum protection from the outside world.

For this second assignment, each of my four houses have been similarly designed, yet structurally organised each in a different configuration.  They are all connected to one another and arranged in a single line formation that bends back upon itself in all directions.  The reason I decided to assemble my houses in a such a way is because it represents the daily routine my character participates in of transforming from one personality then back to the other.  The last two houses in the formation circle back upon each other showing that it is a lifelong continuous cycle.

The walls towards the front of each house are heavily fenestrated, and like assignment one these contain the rooms in which my character spends time alone, rooms he sees as being less important and therefore less enclosed and protected.  I designed the windows as strips continuing up the walls and at some points right across the roof, they are set back into the concrete and make the walls apper to be fingers wrapped around a single glass panel, again working with the idea of protection of his wife.

At the highest and most extreme points of each house is located the bedroom, for my character this is the room he sees as most important, it is where he spends most of the time with his wife and for all four houses this is on the third level.

The actual site itself is left open to the public, a public park, it is mostly covered in grass with some vegetation covering the windows of the more private areas (bathrooms) that are situated on the ground level.  The reason for making it a public space was because I imagined it to be in the centre of a heavily populated town and because so much of the structure is off of the ground and there is so much vacant ground space I figured it was a bit greedy to enclose this prime spec of ‘nature’.

- E Q U U S -

There were three main ideas that I worked with when designing a house for my client 'The Horse Trainer', these were wrapping, verticality and form. All ideas were spawn from the notion that his work life and home life produced two completely different personalities or 'characters'.  One an ambitious, focused, confident, champion, dedicated solely to training and especially winning.  The other a carefree, humble, romantic, very much in love with his wife, his entire world.  These two personalities speak out through the designs of each of the four houses creating a structural extension of himself rather than just a space for living.

HOUSE ONE // The Creeping Vine

Box like structures, organizing each of the 12 units in order of importance to the my client.  At the heart of the house is the bedroom, almost completely enclosed and with the most protection out of any of the rooms. My client views this room as the most important as it is where he spends the most time with his wife.  All units are encased within a 'creeping vine' structure which represents my clients yearning to protect his wife, his precious jewel.  The open areas of the house as well as the rooftops are areas in which he spends alone [bathroom, study and tower] he views these units as less important than the ones in which he spends in company, therefore they are open, more dangerous and less protected.

HOUSE TWO // Rapunzel's Castle

A single path that winds through a series of [again] box like structures which begin to twist and warp as the path unfolds.  At the front of the house the path as well as the rooms are all very square, right angled, clean and precise, this represents my clients working personality, his public self, straight forward, focused and strong.  Rooms located in the front of the house are the study, tower, and bathroom and this is the area at which he first advances upon when coming home from work and the last area he moves through when leaving for work.  As the path progresses the house begins to move up off of the ground and areas can only be reached by proceeding up staircases, as the house comes to an end the final space, highest above the ground, is the bedroom.  The warping of the box like structures represents his home personality, his private self, carefree yet filled with passion for his wife.

HOUSE THREE // Superman's Ice Cave

Similar to 'Rapunzel's Castle' this house is organized in a very straight forward manner towards the front and gets a little crazy towards the back.  The idea for this structure was again protection of his wife as represented by the sharp blades surrounding the the heart and soul of the house, the bedroom, living space and kitchen.  This area contains minimal fenestration and can only be reached by passing through the rest of the house [study & bathroom] there is no back entrance, similar in many way to a fortress.  Located to the right of the entrance is my client's 'tower unit' it is separated from the rest of the house and compared to all the other rooms has no protection whatsoever.  His wife does not use this room, therefore it is of no importance.

HOUSE FOUR // The Conch

The most simple of all of the houses, The Conch gets its name from the conch shell, a object with a hard outer layer that is compartmentalized from large to small and wraps over itself protecting the inside.  The outer walls, roof and passageway on the right represent my clients protection of his wife and the rooms are organized in order of importance [rooms in which he shares with his wife large and protected at the back, to rooms in which he spends time alone open to the outside and at the front].

THE HORSE TRAINER

The crack of dawn, his alarm chimes, frost sparkling on the front lawn.

As the cold pricks his skin the heat radiating from his wife’s body, kept secure under the bed covers, leaves him feeling frustrated and longing for just a few more hours of rest.

A shower and a hot coffee do nothing to take the edge off.

No time to complain though, nobody awake to complain to anyway.

His aim, his stables down the road, his location, three steps from his front door.

Hesitating whilst reaching for his car keys, in this moment his feet feel like the perfect transportation. 

As his shoes pick up speed on the hard bitumen, the icy air is stabbing at his lungs.

Discomfort, and then, blood starts pumping, temperature increasing, muscles unstiffening, mood uplifting.

Stop!

He has arrived, closing his eyes and leaning to catch his breath, the aroma of hay, grass, wood, leather and animal fill his nostrils.

He didn’t just leave home, he has arrived.

Memories of his first visit to the track with his father when he was a young boy come flooding into his mind.

Paper covered concrete, evidence of many loses, bookies busily, stressfully, commanding their totes, punters rushing for last minute odds, desolation and triumph, the gamble, the rush.

A weekly ritual, a great lesson, the first step in something that would later become a lifestyle.

The gambling world is filled with stories of devastation, of broken homes and of punters gambling much more than just their money.

Fortunately his is not one of these.

It is through the misery of others he learnt that when it comes to chance there is no guarantee.

Work hard, give it your best, and when you’ve done that, don’t stop, prepare for the hurdles of tomorrow.

That is how you guarantee the win.

His horses, he loves like they were his children, and when you have so much passion for the game, you could hardly call how he spends his day work.

He is the trainer, the hero, the champion.

He is dedicated, focused and disciplined.

His horses are winners, he goes home each night full of pride.

If only he was a morning person...