Squared Up

The brief of the competition was what if - all we had a single shape to design our

buildings on? What if this shape’s positives and negatives were balanced out to make

things work spatially and architecturally?

The challenge here would be constructing every element of a house to just one shape,

a Square.

The site for this project is located in the Encino precinct of Los Angeles, CA. The site is

located amidst several other villas and recreational properties. 

The resulted form acts like a chess board, which states the design in 2 spaces i.e open and enclosed just like on a chess board i.e black and white. This form resulted in making alternate courtyards with the building which resulted in  open area around the 4 sides of the square.

The building is placed in the north-south orientation, which helps in better sunlight through out the year. This also helps in thermal heat gain and loss of the building. In the summers the south sun being on the top will be cut where as in winters due to open courtyards around the building , the sunlight will reach the house keeping it warm in the winters.

Having green spaces around the building block, helps to create shade and shadow and also makes the hot wind cold by reduces moisture in the air. This helps in lesser operational energy of the building hence making it sustainable for the future.

Courtyard planning promotes stack ventilation, in which the cool air , being heavier stays low and hot air being lighter rises up and hence decreases the operational energy of the building. 

Being open from 4 sides creates an indoor-outdoor relationship and a person can connect to nature from the all sides. This creates a great visual impact om the user cause every side of the building shares a common courtyard/green space.