Site planning updates: Option-A: Access/Water/Buildings/Landscape

House H massing model 1:300 scale

Building massing models of both orthogonal and rotated options for main house. the models will help us get a feel for the internal courtyard spaces, building volumes, and help us determine how best to enclose and connect the aforementioned spaces/volumes.

Catch up post #7: Sectional study model

Interior Test Sketch 2

Interior Test Sketch

Visualizing how the small interior courtyard (at left) leading down to the guest suite, might work.

Study sections

Previous version diagram

Modified plan configuration, cont...

This variation rotates the bedroom suite bar towards the best views of the course and also rotates the family living area for the same purpose. Breaking the orthogonal grid might provide the potential for a number of interesting entry sequences and surprising framed views. It remains to be seen whether something of the purity of the previous schemes is sacrificed. We are currently building a few study models that should give us some more insights.

Modified plan configuration

I think the basic topology for House H is starting to shape up nicely. This modified configuration slides the east and west volumes closer to each other creating a smaller central courtyard. This central courtyard is more appropriately scaled in the relation to the rest of the house. Shaded by wide canopy trees, the central courtyard becomes a natural extension of the family living space, very much an outdoor room that can be used almost year round. The new configuration also provides unobstructed views of the golf course to the bedroom suite as well as the formal dining area, which can also open up onto the Cairo cityscape to the east. Both the family living and the formal entertaining zones have direct access to the pool area. Pubilc, semi public, and private zones are also more clearly defined.

Next step exploring the landscape moves to the east of the "formal zone"...

I have a few more variations and diagrams related to this new configuration that I will be posting shortly. Also I hope to continue uploading some of our previous studies throughout the week.

Catch up post #6: A Collection Of Early Sketches...

Catch up post #5: Program Groupings cont.

We began to reconfigure the program blocks to gain a sense of the programatic/spatial relationships.

Catch up post #4: Program Groupings

Using the Main house as a prototype we began identifying the basic program groupings.

Catch up post #3: Test render_01

Early on we created this test render as a reference to help us discuss certain issues such as B=borrowed scenery, movabale walls, double height spaces and embedded volumes.

Catch up post #2: Abstracts

Goals

Jamie and I had a long discussion yesterday in which we tried to distill what we felt we needed to achieve with our design into a few basic tenets. In no particular order:

First Post

Welcome to the Heikal Residence Blog. The aim is to create both an incremental record of the design process and provide a forum for the interaction of clients designers, and consultants. We think that this will be an exceptional project, well worth documenting.