Red Bluff Residence
Posted on August 7th, 2009 by agustina.
As we mentioned in the previous post, Red Bluff borrows from the oldest housing typology in the Western Hemisphere, the Pit House. One of Red Bluff’s most dramatic architectural moves involves a 7 foot deep excavation which nestles the residence notably in the landscape, making it a modern version of this timeless dwelling. Like the Pit House, Red Bluff will benefit from using the earth’s mass to maintain thermal comfort throughout the year. The following sections illustrate the similarities between the Pit House and Red Bluff as they sit in the ground.
Pit House Section
Red Bluff Section
While the essence of Red Bluff is conversant with the Pit House, the process of refining the roof form has largely been influenced by a craft as time honored as this primitive dwelling; the art of origami. One of the foremost authorities on the practice and theory of origami is American Physicist, Dr.Robert J. Lang. According to him, “there’s a very simple problem that origami solves: whenever you have a big flat shape that has to get small.” From the early design sketches, you can see Red Bluff’s roof form develop from an elongated, flat, rectangular shape into a couple of triangles that fold up from the landscape with grounded edges which act as the “creases”.
Refined Roof Angles
With this subtle folding of the landscape, an idea that combines origami with earth work, the possibility of a roof garden is born. The following renderings show how the roof garden might look with various native flowers diagrammed by season.
Category: Projects | Tags: austin, austin land art, austin modern architecture, austin modernist, cutting edge architecture, east austin, experimental architecture, lake austin, land art, modern austin, modern austin architect, modernist, native american house, Pit House, warehouse district 8 comments »
August 27th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Hi guys,
Really great work! I like the concept of the house. How the involvment with the landscape plays an important deal, and mixed with origami creates a tectonic concept.
I reacentlly was invited by a profesor at the university to by part of the jury for a class project he is giving. A student presented a type of origami folded structure that could unfold and created emergency shelters. It looked really interesting. That came to mind with this red bluff proyect.
Any way, really liked the project.
I’m regular visitor to the blog, just hadn’t posted anything.
Hi to everyone.
Talk soon.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Glad you’ve taken the time to comment – it’s great to know this stuff isn’t just vanishing into the ether…
Origami is such a fascinating source, there’s something fascinating about the complexity of essentially transforming 2D structures into 3D ones. I’ve been thinking about posting about someone named Robert Lang who’s developed a mathematical model for these types of transformations. His origami is astounding, and he usually posts images showing where all the folds were placed. Amazing stuff. http://www.langorigami.com/
The sunken architecture thing is interesting too. There’s been so much discussion about planted buildings lately, it’s interesting to realize that this type of building is ancient. We’re fortunate to have Calvin’s enormous architectural library to consult.
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