Climatic Conscience for Dwelling Design

<p>In New Zealand, our residential architecture is built off the pragmatic approach of the instinctive farmer, and the desire to dissolve the boundary between architecture and landscape. In the search to create the dream home, many have packed up their beach houses to setup camp in the alpine environment surrounding Queenstown, causing the population and construction demand in the area to rise rapidly. As a result the building’s thermal envelope is put under pressure to perform both pragmatically and poetically as it faces one of New Zealand’s most extreme environments to live in. However, when put into action a pragmatic approach, to create a warm, dry and healthy home, often confronts conflict with a poetic approach that priorities the building’s relationship with the landscape through high amounts of glazing to dissolve the boundary. In response, ‘Climate Conscience for Dwelling Design’ focused on the potential to exceed the minimum thermal envelope requirements, whilst actively engaging with the relationship between architecture and its environment. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to explore the dialectic between pragmatic and poetic approaches to design. The theoretical framework, background research and a systematic investigation into design precedents aided in sculpting a series of strategies and criteria that were refined throughout the design process. A series of cabins simulated and tested the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and early design investigations to streamline the overall design investigation. The developed design proposal builds off the aesthetic of an external structure to integrate the building with in its landscape, whilst removing the load-bearing requirements from the building’s thermal envelope. As a result the predicted amount of heating energy was reduced. The process of resolving the design continued to constructively build off both poetic and pragmatic approaches to develop critical building elements to the appearance, experience and performance. As a speculative and simulated design, it hopes to become an example of how much potential there is for designers and architects to push boundaries with aesthetic and performance-based design decisions.</p>