SIU PRIVATE RESIDENCE | PARADISE VALLEY, AZ
The objective of the Siu Residence was to design the most appropriate architecture for a second story addition on an existing single story custom home. Primary considerations occured at a variety of geographic scales and included climate, surrounding natural and architectural landscapes, geographical orientation, views, and ease of construction. Construction was planned to be primarily executed by Mr. Siu himself.
NICK KUNZ | N CREATIVE STUDIOS [2011]
Ground The section of the existing architecture that conjoins with the proposed design was chosen considering the ease of construction. The span where the incision to the existing architecture must be made is largely composed of windows. The windows can be removed with less human effort than the deconstruction of an exterior wall. This allows for a less invasive procedure than might have been previously required. In addition, its central location relative to the other wings of the existing architecture and access from the driveway were important considerations when determining the point of conjuction.
The proposed design's glazing on the east and west facing exterior walls is consciously minimal in order to minimize undesired heat transfer, while still allowing natural lighting and ventalation to enter the space. The width of the windows were determined by the width of the existing architure’s architectural columns. The space between those windows were determined by the width of the existing architecture’s windows. This allows for a greater cohesion between the existing architecture and the proposed design.
Tension membranes span the entire length of the roof and over on to the patio. This further retards heat transfer generated by overhead sun exposure. The membranes are designed so that they can be attached to the structural beams of the proposed design. Four membranes were chosen to cover the roof and patio, as opoosed to a single large membrain due to the possibility of membrane damage. If a particular section of a membrain is damaged, the entire membrane roof needs not replacement, only the particular membrane that is damaged, leaving the remainder of the membrane roof intact.
Second
The proposed design would allow for a structurally independent architecture. Not only would it be free from the constraints of the existing structure, but it would not require a major roof trust alteration that might have been previously required. In addition, one might observe the angled wall on the ground floor exhibited by this drawing. The angled wall was determined to be the most appropriate design, so that the spectacular mountain views on the ground floor of the existing existing architecture were not obstructed by the proposed design.
MUMMY MOUNTAIN
PHOENIX MOUNTAINS SITE
CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN
Phoenix Mtns
Mummy Mtn
49.5’
N E
W
37’
S
Camelback Mtn
25’ The existing architecture is characterized by three primary wings. The architectural wings point in the general directions of east, west, and south. When examining the site at the city scale, the east and west wings point toward the surrounding mountain ranges, with the south wing being anomalous in this regard. The proposed design completes the common characteristics that the east and west wings share.
PR O P O S ED EX I S T I NG
The site is of particular importance because it terminates the neighborhood street. An architecture is needed that is ambitious enough to address both the conclusion to the street and the introduction to the site. In the same breath, an architecture is needed that is modest enough to appropriately align with the existing architecture. The proposed design is unthreatening to the surrounding architectural landscape. When examining the surrounding sites, one might observe that a similar architectural introduction has already been applied to several other sites within the neighborhood.
The proposed design's rectilinear footprint is orientated on the site so that it is in concordance with the existing architectural wings. More importantly, it is designed so that the shortest span of exterior walls are exposed to the south, which is the most susceptible to heat transfer, and to the north, where the proposed design conjoins with the existing architecture.
The objective of the proposed design's orientation on the site is to first, retard heat transfer. The south facing exterior wall is the shortest in length relative to the east and west facing exterior walls. This is to reduce the amount of exposure to direct sunlight. Because much of the south facing exterior wall needs to be glazed to appropriately address the spectacular mountain views, it is necessary to expose as little of it as possible. Secondly, the proposed design is orientated on the site so that it may minimize obstruction to the existing architecture. Because the north wall of the proposed design will be conjoining with the existing architecture, it is logical to make their length the shortest possible.