S02E03 - Design Development

This week I spent my time, doing my module floor plan and site layout for the Tiny homes competition. The Brief required 10-12 modules along with a permanent communal space.

Module

The housing module needed to be under 350 square feet (32m2)

- Bathroom: shower, toilet and sink

- Kitchen: refrigerator, microwave and sink (full size appliances are not required)

- Twin bed

- Storage space

- Secure door and window(s) 

Module Floor Plan

Communal Space

The permanent communal space needed to be 1200 square feet (100m2) and include provisions for meetings, social gathering, laundry facility, one office space for staff & Storage.

Parking

The Site needed to accommodate parking for 3 cars off the alley as well and secured bike storage.

Refuse

I will need to finalise the Bin store area within the site.

Site Perspective

Site Plan

I hope you Enjoy.

The Architect of Tomorrow.

S02E02 - The Concept

From the earliest times human beings have built shelters of many different kinds, depending on climate, available materials, the need to protect ourselves from the weather and the environment, houses offer shelter and protection from the elements.

A house comes to represent a home, a place of security that takes us into an enclosed space, and into which we can safely retreat from the external world, a place we can make our own.

At a symbolic level, buildings are a projection of the human psyche into the outer environment. A house is a place of safety and security which can be associated to a single universal symbol, a symbol which is recognised throughout the world.

The aim of the competition is to create homes that are not only low cost solution for the unsheltered homeless but also to provide for young adults living without stable housing. The competition is aimed to provide safe environment and a safe place to store their valuable items while providing privacy within a shared community.

My concept will be to design secure and safe spaces using the familiar house symbol which reinforces the notion of security and protection and amplifies the concept of stability for all the residents of the planned development.

I hope you Enjoy.
The Architect of Tomorrow.

S02E01 - Tiny Homes Competition

Welcome back

Firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of posts, I have been extremely with Uni and at Focus Architecture. The good news is that I am only one subject away from completing my Bachelor of Environmental Design. 

I'm back now and will be posting on a weekly basis and keeping a reflective log of my final subject as part of my final assessment. This will give me the opportunity to and upload my thoughts and design process for the Tiny Homes Competition.

According to the 2015 Chicago Homeless Count and Survey conducted by the City of Chicago,  31% of the unsheltered homeless population and 19% of those that are sheltered are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. Though these numbers are startling, many of the city’s homeless young adults are actively working to improve their quality of life—working toward their GEDs, holding jobs or taking courses in college.​

Yet, even when sheltered, these young people are burdened by impermanence: many are forced out of shelters during the day with no place to store their belongings during work or interviews; they have no privacy for studying, let alone space for self-care. Transience means they often lack stable communities for support. Tiny houses can provide solutions for these young individuals seeking stability, support, safety and community. 

This competition invites teams from across the country to submit their ideas for a small community of tiny homes in Chicago. Though speculative, the partners involved in launching this competition believe that good design can contribute to innovative solutions, and by engaging the design community in this competition, we are taking steps toward turning these solutions into reality.

For more Information Please Visit - http://www.tinyhomeschicago.org/

I hope you Enjoy.

The Architect of Tomorrow..

S01E20* - Overview

This is a Summary of the Blog so far, great to see a lot of views and interest. Please feel free to comment or send any suggestions on future Blog topics. 

I hope you Enjoy.
The Architect of Tomorrow..

S01E19* - Private Certifiers

Another really busy week at work for me this week, through the chaos I went along to a great information session with Building Approvals and Advice who are the Certifiers we use on a regular basis.

This information session was a great chance to get out of the office and meet the team that help prepare our documentation to ensure our applications are approved.

Q. 

What is a Private Certifier?

A. 

A building certifier checks the building plans provided against all relevant legislation and when the proposed work complies, approves and issues the plans for the proposed building work. This replaces the councils involvement.

The role of any certifier is to help overcome any compliance issues to ensures the best result for our clients. The Roles and responsibilities of a certifier is


- Assess and approve plans relating to new or altered buildings
- Inspect construction work at mandatory stages
- Provide certificates of inspection to the builder following inspections
- Issue enforcement notices on building work when necessary
- Give final certification for a building to be occupied.

however certifiers are not responsible for jobsite supervision, quality control or to ensure a builder complies with their contract.

It is important for certifiers to continue professional development to keep up to date with the latest building practices and legislation this allows them to answer any code and legislation enquiries related to a variety of different projects and applications from

- Shed/Carport

- Deck

- House Extension

- New Home

- Relaxation

- Build Over Sewer

- Raising/Build in

For certifiers to lodge applications they will require Architectural Plans containing sufficient information to assess compliance with the relevant codes and standards, Soil tests, Engineering plans, QBSA Insurance and QLeave information. All this information is required before any documents can be submitted to Council


Architectural Plans
Site plan (Complete site plan showing)

- All boundary measurements marked to wall and eaves The length of each boundary
- Ground levels
- North point
- The Proposed extension clearly marked
Floor plan
- Existing floor plan and proposed floor plan fully dimensioned
- bracing & timber sizes.(if not part of Engineers documents
Elevation
- The elevations must show height above ground and all materials
Section
- Floor levels and ceiling heights
- Build to boundary

Soil Test 
- A soil test is required for the engineer to be able to design the footings to the Australian Standard.

Engineering Plan
- Slab, footings and steel beam details bracing
- Form 15 for all related work

QBSA Insurance (if value of work is over $3300)- A copy of the Confirmation of QBSA insurance is required before the building work can be approved.

QLeave (if value of work is over $80,000)
- The original certifiers copy of the QLeave document is required before the plans can be approved.

Energy report will be required for habitable rooms
- Form 15 - Energy from Designer