studio 2

OK. I’ve modelled most of the site context (I’ll be needing it for the Resource Planning Consultant I plan to procure).

Monocoque plywood base modules (2 shown here) 2.6m deep x 4m wide x 4.7m high, designed to be lifted in by chopper, and with a bit of luck I’ll be able to cram most of the services in as well, 650kg weight-limit-permitting. The shell would be externally treated to H3.2 CCA (Copper Chrome Arsenate), with the interior getting the basic LOSP (clear) nada treatment. I’m looking for solid panel U-values of 0.4 or so: thin ply inner wall | 100mm insulation | thin ply | vapour barrier | 20mm drained & ventilated cavity | thin ply outer wall. And something else clipped on parts of the outside – more about that lower down. Roof is rubber membrane, water pissing off to the north (you’ll notice I’m doing something over each expansion joint).

Starting from the bottom of the slope, we can combine basic modules together, climbing up the slope, as far as budget and regulations permit. Each element can then be fitted out with the appropriate stuff, as shown in the sketch above. Note: the plan above is not a plan of the building: its a plan of a collection of bits (I still have to work out the ordering).

The angling of the module support blades gives us alot of readily controllable northern sunlight, and provides useful triangular service zones on either side of the main space: bench/window seats / work-counters / storage cupboards / shower and bath recesses etc. The main floor panels could be removable, allowing us to configure parts of the layout (within reason: requires more detailing and conceptual work). The available vertical height available in each module is around 4.5m, which gives us a fair amount of flexibility in how we group our base clip-in floor components: we can combine up to three components-worth of floor plates at the same level, allowing a maximum room-length of just over 7.5m— should be enough! We can use the sub-floor space as storage.

An obvious issue arises: any heat is going to just rise to the top of the building— I’m keen on integrating a large air-handling duct to the northern side; if the temperature at the top is higher than that at the bottom, a pump will shunt the warm air down to the bottom / where-ever. We can use the green-house/bathroom module as breaks within the system. Fresh air is introduced through standard windows and/or controlled vent intake.

I started playing with a wintergarden/conservatory-cum-bathroom module to see how things might work… The wintergarden balcony bit would need some kind of clip-on window/screen opening.

I’m happy to leave the northern blade walls as the green ply CCA finish – they face directly into the slope and can go all mossy. For the other (public) side, I feel the urge to clad the blade walls in some or other fashion. Earlier sketches indicated slats of plywood which were intended as UV-protection / shading to a transparent polycarbonate skin, but now that the ply shell is providing the weather-proofing, ply slats feel a little trite to my take on things.

What to do? I’ve dithered through a few options:

• paint the fuckers, doing away with the drained cavity = cheapest solution – and live with the maintenance… ouch.
• clad ‘em in something like metal or cellulose board or some other foreign material— yuk. Where is the holism? I also want to keep the number of trades down for economy purposes.
• leave ‘em as CCA ply – not a bad solution, but a bit mean and cheap.

Bling. How about keep with the plywood theme, but be less precious about our screens, and eventually give them back to nature? I envisage screens made of 100×6mm untreated ply slats, each stiffened along one edge via their support, and left to warp and split and go all lichen-beard and mossy on us. The air in Wellington is very clean: lichens grow all over the place, and my not-straight slightly-wobbly plywood fins (gills? spiracles? exhausts?) would make an ideal home for all things natural.

Ghaa.