By zoning spaces such as the bedrooms and servants’ quarters on alternative levels, i.e. 2nd storey and basement levels, the ground plane was freed from walls that would have been required if public and private programmes were interlaced on the same plane. The see-through volumes allow a continuous, uninterrupted 40-metres view, from the entrance foyer and pool, through the formal living area to the internal garden courtyard and formal dining area in the second volume. All these spaces are perceived to be within the built enclosure of the house.
As long as there are temperature differences between courtyards, the living, dining, and pool house become conduits for breezes that move in between the courtyards, very much like how land and sea breezes are generated. At the second storey, solid hardwood louvers that can be adjusted by hand allow the desired amount of breeze and sunlight to filter through.
Environmentally, the contiguous and interconnected space encourage the slightest breezes, whether they are prevailing and therefore air-movement is horizontal, or convectionally circulated, which the courtyards help generate. For the owner, it is the experiential serenity that unencumbered space, a gentle breeze, dappled sunlight and the hush of water rippling on a pond that is priceless in our dense and busy urbanscape.
The large open planning of the main living room form the central core of the building; the space was divided into areas with clear functions. The volume of this space was divided by a large fire place and level changes. This achieved a connection with others in the space but enabled the different activities to seem slightly separate which has proved very beneficial when the house is at capacity.
The north facing terrace with its built in “fire box” is the focus of all outside entertaining. The open “fire box” provides a fantastic place to sit and star gaze in the evening.
The planning divides the building into three wings. Children’s bedrooms, guest room, bathroom and games/tv room to the western side. The master bedroom and study to the eastern side and the main living volume & court yard central to these wings.
Cantilevers and exposed structural elements feature and further add to the strong lines of the building. Upper levels provide shelter for lower levels.The entry is screened with high stone walls and a planted court yard; this rustic relaxed threshold must be crossed prior to entering the sharper aesthetic of the building. Stone work is featured in other areas and on the main terrace. The owners shipped a set of old Indian temple doors to the project which were integrated into the stone walls of the entry court, this rustic touch ties in with the coarseness of the stone.
The combination of timber and stone is used to soften and relax the harder geometry of the building. The 4.5m high glazed walls of the main living room open the space to valley views. Sun penetration and heat loss is controlled via electronic window blinds and low emission glass.
The home engages a range low energy use systems and passive solar design principles. It is equipped with a home automation system, collects all potable water, re-uses grey water, utilises low energy & low water use fittings.
This single family residence, The Seigle House designed by Lohan Anderson in the Lincoln Park community, north of downtown Chicago, United States. The house design displays elegant modernism with contextual harmony, occupies two typical city lots and was designed for a couple with grown children who regularly visit and stay with their parents. Both in massing and exterior colours, the house consciously relates to the predominant neighborhood context of brick and stone residences. Its exterior façade is made of limestone on the ground floor and an innovative terra-cotta cladding on the upper floors. The familiar colours and textures of these materials harmoniously complement the residential character of the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Dogan Media Center Tabanlioglu
On Ankara-Eskişehir road, Doğan Medya Center is a distinctive media figure in the Capital city, housing Ankara studios of Dogan Media Group and its newspapers’ regional editorial offices, creating the basis of interaction between the brands of the group and providing a common source. Conceptually, the Doğan Media Centre is a simple glazed cube in response to an orthogonal site.
Configured within a basic planning module of a 4m x 4m x 4m cube and a structural module of 8m x 8m x 8m, the purist form has subsequently been remodeled, with the extrusion and attachment of smaller cubes, and simultaneously eroded by the subtraction of other cubic volumes. The building is consequently perceived as a sculptural grouping of related boxes of the same genus but with a variety of sizes, starting on the surface. The concrete structure reaches up to 7 stories by feasible use of galleries so that extra operative space created by mezzanines, whereas the standard is 4-4 ½ floors. The story height is 4 meters, every two floors a cube is formed; the modular structure provides a flexible basis for planning. Intermediate floors are supported on secondary steel columns and beams.
The building is perceived from afar and in diverse prospects at various angles, due to perforated shield resembling Braille alphabet at range of sizes, symbolizing “communications for all”. The metal panels filter the sunlight entering the building into shifting patterns of dappled shade. The panels’ perforations are echoed in the suspended ceilings, where circular cut outs house connections for camera equipment and lighting.
The emblematic use of façade creates a visually legible dynamic ambiance with reference to today’s fast moving and assertive image of the media. In accordance with topographic directions, the modules on the entrance elevation are slightly angled to enhance the dynamic appearance. The finishes in the interior draw on the same muted palette of calming colours that is applied to the exterior: dark grey, black and shades of brown.
The projecting boxes are each dedicated to a specific TV channel or newspaper so that the various units within the Doğan conglomerate can be readily identified from afar. Intermediate floors are supported on secondary steel columns and beams. There is a layering of views through the building, both horizontally, across the open-plan offices and out into the city, and vertically, in the way the different levels open onto the internal atrium. The floors are framed by parapet walls topped with glazing. Here, the transparency is complete. The parapets consist of frameless glass supported by a stainless steel handrail; above the rail, there is only air.
Separate sections like studios and offices of press people preserve their exclusivity and each segment is accentuated in the integral form of the re-assembled blocks of cube. The assemblage of smaller cubes within the structure of the large box can be read as a metaphor for the diversity of the company’s operations and a high degree of transparency serve to reinforce the separate brand images.
The top of the building contains a VIP lounge and terrace with teak decking. The floors below are segregated according to their specialty – newspaper or TV – but everyone comes together in the canteen in the ground-floor atrium. There is an open car park in a L-form parallel to the building besides two underground levels reserved for parking. The first basement is saved for technical facilities and storage requirements are solved in basement floors. The first basement level contains large studios as well as support facilities such as a hairdresser and make-up rooms. The two floors below contain M & E equipment and parking, along with cisterns that allow the landscaped gardens to be irrigated with greywater. Technological facilities and healthy infrastructure makes the building user-friendly and provides easy maintenance.
DMC Ankara is a genuine building in terms of transparency; strong in-out correlation enables a well-defined description before getting in the building; and on the other hand, transparency provides the panoramic views of the city for all offices. Composed harmoniously with the environment; it is open to the cityscape. There is a strong relationship between the interior of the building and the public realm.
