
Studio Design - Pattern Language: #105 South Facing Outdoors, #106 Positive Outdoor Space
Apr 14, 2015
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In an earlier post, I explained how I have used
design method for the studio and the Back Yard Project. The first pattern I used was
#104 Site Repair.Next I used
#105 South Facing Outdoors. The back of the house faces south/south-east. I needed to place the studio so it too faced south.
The book describes the problem as:
It goes on to say
p. 514.
The above image, looking south, shows the first layout of the building as guided by pattern
# 104 Site Repair. The area in shade fits with the need for a place inside the building to store textiles and threads away from any sunlight. The rest of the building needs to reach out into the sunny area.
The sunny area looking to the shady north.
This pattern's solution is:
The front of the building needs to face where the lawn is sunny to satisfy pattern #105 South Facing Outdoors.
The next pattern I worked with was
#106 Positive Outdoor Space.The problem is stated as:
It explains, "There are two fundamentally different kinds of outdoor space: negative space and positive space. Outdoor space is negative when it is shapeless, the residue left behind when buildings - which are generally viewed as positive - are placed on the land. An outdoor space is positive when it has a distinct and definite shape, as definite as the shape of a room, and when its shape is as important as the shape of the buildings which surround it," p.518.
The image above shows the view from the SE corner of the house looking out towards the proposed studio site. We need to make sure the studio building relates to the house and forms a distinctively shaped positive space between the two buildings. I used this pattern when incorporating that space in the Back Yard Project.
This is the view looking south from the house. It is a vast shapeless lawn confined by the forest edge. There is no comforting defined shape to the back yard. There are no other buildings, but it is still felt as a negative space without a function. The property has no other outside buildings which is one of the reasons for the BackYard Project.
The solution to this problem is:
The architect used a computer model of the building to move it around in the area we had chosen, tweaking it to satisfy the selected patterns. He finally found the right location. It is roughly perpendicular to the house making a courtyard between it and the house which feels like a positive space. It faces a sunny outdoor space and it fits in between the trees. I wanted a place in amongst the trees, but I also want the sun. They sound like contradictory requirements, but with the Pattern Language guidance, Jonathan's knowledge and and his computer modeling he found the perfect location for the building.