2B-2009-MOSMAN: Mosman 5: Domus

Few fundamental principles in our design:

1)Coherence with the landscape and surroundings+culture
2)Transportability and ease of erection
3)Environmentally friendly and sustainable
4)Australian architecture based
5)Private and communal

It all started off with this picture:

The rocky outcrops at the northeast became the main source of inspiration for the plan layout. And taken from minima was the small sized space for a person to live in. Pods were chosen as they can easily be pre-fabricated and transported to the site. And so the domus was divided into private and communal spaces with private spaces revolving around the communal spaces. To blend in with the landscape, the long form was used, low and horizontal expand the vast flat landscape. The soft wave on the roof was to refer to the sand. Each pods seperated with each other opening up the communal space letting good ventilation and embrace the semi nomadic architecture of the aboriginals. Above the pods are exterior sleeping spaces. 'Touch the Earth Lightly', and so we had almost every component lifted up above the ground with little damage or modifications to the ground, part of aboriginal's belief that the ground is sacred. The lifting also gave the domus a light impression. Height difference between the communal space made the effect of height visually more effective and to seperate between function of spaces. Material wise, timber as lightweight material is chosen along with the australian vernacular, corrugated sheet. Transition of the texture and colours of the corrugated sheet refers to the ever changing vast landscape in the desert. Lightweight material gives off heat quickly and is more suitable for the weather though initially we thought of heavy thermal mass but that could cause overheating during the warm and cool night. Movable mosquito screen is added to resist fly and mosquitoes. The roof is the main component of the domus. Initially, it was designed as one big piece and attempted to accomodate and hide the solar panel by manipulating the roof. However, we were later told it was hard to erect and the form was not realistic and not honest and so we decided to have the solar panels located to the side of the domus and had the roof divided into 4 parts to ease erection. The form of the roof was tested and adjusted to be able to use along with gutters at the side to collect rainwater. Coated fabric was proposed as the roof material due to the soft and light character of it. As a tensile structure, it'll be supported with poles and strings on the sides to for tension and strength. Initially we looked on to Frei Otto's work, however we soon found out that his work revolved too much on the inside structures which support the roof and involved too much calculation and so we decided to look into the nomadic roofs and tent which are simple but have there own character. Rammed earth benches were added at few spots on the ground that surrounds the communal spaces. The ground served as a link between the communal spaces and the pods. The long sides were to face the northeast where the rocky outcrops are located. The area between the solar panels and the domus can serve as an outdoor activity area