Final Project: Weekend Lodging at KL Forest Eco Park
For our final project, we are required to execute 2 tasks:
1. Introduction to Site Analysis (Group Work)
We are required to conduct site analysis of the physical context both at a macro & micro level of the overall site.
- Site plan (Site section, Site Boundaries, North Point, Contours)
- Existing Structure (Significant Architectural Language/Feature, Adjacent building/structure building to remain/demolish)
- Landscape (Natural features, Soil Condition, Surface Drainage, Existing vegetation)
- Climatic Studies (Sun path, wind direction, rain)
- Circulation pattern (pedestrian, vehicular)
- Views and Vistas (Panoramic /spot in, out, approaching)
- Activities (category -dry/wet, zoning, noise)
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2. Weekend Lodging @ KL Forest Eco Park (Individual Work)
On our own, we are to design a Weekend Lodging at KL Forest Eco Park. Weekend Lodging denotes 'A place where one escapes for relaxation, recreation and vacation for a short period of time.’ This Weekend Lodging must function as habitable architectural spaces to enable the activity associated with living, dining, showering, cooking, storage and such within the built up space of maximum 150 meter square. The relationship between your design and the context is also important in making the Weekend Lodging unique to its landscape and activity.
This final project extends the understanding of design concept and process. It introduces the notion of architectural space making through the design of a user specific architectural scheme. This project explores the relationship between architectural tectonics, function and space in architecture.
The site I have chosen to place my lodging is the forest area in between the pavement boardwalk and the Penarahan trail. To access the lodging, one has to travel a curvy and winding road down until an existing gazebo. The lodging is placed near the gazebo to act as a checkpoint for users, therefore they would not get lost in the park.
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It's a perfect site to construct the lodging based on my concept:
1. To avoid the high level noise of the traffic, the location of the lodging is placed far away from the busy road.
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2. The site is surrounded by natural features such as tall trees and ground covers:
- To prioritize the privacy of the loding
- To act as a natural acoustic barrier (filtering and reducing the noise from the city)
- Provides adequate shading to the lodging
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3. Low density of human activities, so it wouldn't disrupt the users rest in the lodging.
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Ideation Sketches
High-Fidelity (HI-FI) lodging
Among all the intangible factors analyzed in the forest, what caught my attention the most, is the sound within. We talk about how the nature looks like, how amazing the natural environment capture our attention, but we rarely talk about how architecture sounds, aside from when a building or room is noisy. Nature’s sound is so incredible that it gave a sense of escaping from the urban landscape even though it is an urban park. To have an opportunity to construct a weekend lodging in an urban park, sound is definitely an issue that will affect users’ mentally.
This is a private lodging built for a family of four to five users, it’s for them to come visit the park once in a while, and to escape the busy life and enjoy a breezing weekend in nature. The design intention to solve that is to amplify the sound of nature into the spaces, where a space can echo to other spaces. Sound ventilation can be defined as bringing in the good quality of sound while reduce the bad ones. Therefore, the materials, openings, and sound source of nature must be identify and consider appropriately.
Sound may be invisible or only unconsciously perceived, but that doesn’t make it any less an architectural material than wood, glass, concrete, stone or light. Sound exists in architecture and architecture exists in sound. Therefore, interpreting sound as my design concept, how sound in this lodging, and in all the other spaces we design, make us feel.
Final Model (1:100)
Final Presentation Boards
