Studio Exercise Week 2

Partner: Jeremy 

1. Identify how the understanding of “home” has changed over time in relation to the two prescribed texts

Our understanding of the concept of home have been impacted as times has changed.
In a primitive sense, a house is very different to a home. A house may provide a place of dwelling, eating, sleeping and reproduction. A home on the other hand maybe an area or an idea that an individual feels connection too. Jeremy and I discussed issues of family, individuality and community as being part of this notion of a home. Initially a "home" was thought to be majority confined by a physical space in which ones property or direct family share with the individual. However, as modern  ideals have changed, these paradigms are becoming more and more abstract. Ones sense of 'home' can now be described in other ways such as a collection of people groups or shared beliefs, hobbies, friends, interest etc and isn't necessarily based or linked to a 'place'.

Hollander’s Home
“all depends…”

2. Description of the concept of home

As the notion of home is an interchangeable abstract, I sort to define the meaning of home based upon the context in question. Defining ones sense of home may differ between cultures and should be defined in direct relation to my own research. My chosen disaster being the Earthquake in Christ church New Zealand, I found that "a home isn't necessarily a place but a sense of belonging". These ideals of "belonging" to a home are built around concepts of family and community rather then singularity or individuality. Art, dance, language and other forms of creativity are what defines much of the populations sense of belonging and identity and should be made room for. Therefore, I have based my definition of home to centre around these notions. "A home has a number of abstract levels. They are contained within an individuals space, a family space, a community space and a wider community space". In this way I will reveal these different levels of

3. Conduct research on your clients 

Who: Having been colonised by Europe in 1642, the majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent (69 percent identify as "New Zealand European"), with the indigenous Māori being the largest minority (14.6 percent), The last 16.1 percent are made up of a combination of pacific islanders and oriental migrants. Although some people groups still linger in the traditional Maoi tribe way of life, most of Christchurch's inhabitants live by a modern routine. 

Most Statistics that appear in this blog post are taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_Zealand

Needs: Christ church is typically a modernised city and reflects different influences of 'New colonial England' especially in the style of architecture. Most of the population are already adapted to traditional European conventions and ways of life. Typically, most of the amenities such as a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom as a self contained unit within a house or apartment that a free standing or (in an apartments situation) are low in number to limit claustrophobia. However in the case of the disaster, practically, amenities that are shared are more suitable for reasons of comfort and requirements of space.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_Central_City

Vulnerabilities: The different vulnerabilities include physical and psychological. Physically, many structures are no longer structurally sound are dangerous to move or live within. This poses a physical need for shelter and accommodation for the effected people groups. Psychologically, after the earthquake 185 people died leaving many with broken homes and lost loved ones, many of which will be incapacitated or even depressed.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_Central_City

Urban/Rural: The area effected by the disaster was in Christchurch the second most populated urban area in New Zealand.

Houses like before disaster: Usually single storey or small complexes of apartments with 4-5 different units. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_Central_City

Climate conditions: Conditions of Christchurch are considered to be a oceanic/temperate climate, effected by ground frost and snowfall. Most houses are built to withstand these sort of temperature and climate conditions. Tremors and small earthquakes are not unheard of and most of the houses are built with some degree of thought towards these factors (unfortunately not enough in the CBD).



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_Central_City

Cultural or religious traditions: Christchurch is known for its culture of the arts. These range between dance, song, art, language and other forms of creativity especially reflecting the the traditional Maoi way of life. Many community halls and performance areas are dedicated to different forms of these activities and are very much integral to the makeup of the city.



http://www.coutausse.com/#/feature-stories/new-zealand-haka-2000/newzealand-24

4. Discuss how your current design proposal addresses your clients

My current design proposal will act as a framework to cater and fulfil the needs and desires for a wide range of different people and their situations. Instead of designing for one particular situation such as a small family or single person, my design proposal will be able to 'change' depending on the clients particular need. I will use different designs and Cut-outs of the shipping containers which will interlock to suit the particular needs of each person.

5.Working individually, select 1 of the 7 principles of universal design presented in the lecture and use it to develop your design proposal further. 

How does your design Proposal consider security?

Security is an important and integral part of my design proposal. I plan to raise my design above the ground (see last post 'Tree house' and sketch drawings for detail) so that it is unable to be physically reached without entering through a locked gate. This space will be shared by a mean range of 15-20 people which will have some affiliation with one another rather then paring complete strangers. This provides physical security and a circle of trust which is important in times of disaster.