Standing Architecture» Sustainable Work, Daylight

Sky Shadows

Alastair — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:31:43 +0000

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This Loft is a site specific live/work interior in SoHo for a sculptor who works in driftwood. This archetypical “rear window” site condition takes advantage of its local context by mapping it onto the interior elements via permanent shadows. These are overcast sky shadows and not dependent on the sun’s location. Their geometry is established by the configuration of the buildings to the west of the loft: a four-story building is sandwiched between an eleven and a six-story building. It is this slot that focuses the sky vault light through the window openings and causes the shadows to fan out in the loft. Opaque and translucent materials are used to map this phenomenon in the form of tables and wall surfaces so as not to introduce new shadows into the space.

Acid etched glass and three different types of naturally dried wood from diseased Long Island trees are used for the tables. The joints trace transitions from light to dark. Brushed stainless steel frames lock the glass into position. The eleven story building forms the vertical north face of the shadows while the top of the six story building causes the south face to triangulate. This geometry is evident in the tables where the material joints of higher tables are further to the south (see floor plan). On wall surfaces, inclined color changes in the cabinets of the storage/kitchen wall occur that increase to form triangular openings to the bathroom and the sliding screen that masks the sleeping alcove.

The bathroom has a glass ceiling that continues the theme of maximization of natural light in a space deprived of it. The wall tile traces the shadows using white and grey and the same idea is continued in the terrazzo floor. The shower head pierces the glass ceiling which fogs over during a shower increasing a sense of privacy.

The six large windows have frosted Plexiglas louvers in stainless steel frames which are operable. The angle of the louvers corresponds to the direction of the light from the sky for each window. This obscures direct view of the neighbors without reducing the light level and focuses attention on the sky from within the space. The Plexiglas is held in tension to the frame by springs.

The space is artificially lit with flood lighting concealed in the window reveal and focused to emulate the daylight shadows. Task lighting is focused onto the table surfaces from spots on the ceiling.

Light in Dark Places

Alastair — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:30:13 +0000

The design for this two floor apartment combination lies at the coincidence of two events. Light and shadow. Light, as in getting it into the middle of a normally dark building type, the brownstone. Shadow as a way of tracing the movement of occupants as they block this light and their silhouetted shadows are traced onto room dividing screens. Following an analysis of the existing light distribution pattern of the top two floors, light transmitting glass elements were placed in the existing structure (walls, floor and roof) to “fill in” dark areas in the space. They were in the form of skylights, floor openings, additional windows and a stair. The light from the entire sky vault is considered except when it is mediated by neighboring buildings within the city.

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Light from windows is seen on the floor and passes through wall openings (a plan idea) and light from skylights is seen on the walls and passes through floor openings (a sectional idea). So the same idea is used to unify the space of one room to another and one floor to another while maintaining privacy. Giving an occupant the sense of being in a single space while functioning as a series of discrete rooms.When people move around within this new “filled in” light pattern, they create shadows or silhouettes. Whether they are crossing a room or walking up the stair their movement will be traced against a translucent surface. For the stair it will be an etched glass work surface near the kitchen or one of the full height sliding, translucent partitions that divide the space into rooms. These screens and the glass floor openings are always placed perpendicular to the direction of the light.All the functional aspects associated with an apartment, the kitchen appliances, laundry, bathroom fixtures, storage units and bookshelves are placed in the space according to the new light distribution profile. They are placed in the remaining darker areas on both floors, which are all adjacent to light areas. Providing light for the user and a silhouetted tracing of that user for other occupants of the apartment.

The glass stair at the center of the space was placed according to the light distribution pattern (and a verity of structural considerations). Its primary purpose beyond movement is to diffract light from the skylight above into the lower floor of the apartment. To promote this idea the stair structure is minimized, by hanging it from the floor opening.