Tutors: Shan Yu.
Ruin House is a residential art studio designed for the sculptor Henry Moore within the Circus Whenua plot over an existing heritage building.
The design explores repurposing this plot with the new function of a sculptor’s art studio while still conserving and referencing the heritage that already exists, thinking about the cyclic idea of ruins, making and unmaking of buildings over time.
The theory around the design process was a cycle of simplification, deconstruction and reassembly, drawing from the idea of air as a constant exchange between the interior and exterior, using incisions to open up the deer antler, dictating the flow of ventilation and natural light that is now in conversation.
This process manifested through a series of steps. Firstly, a doll house is broken down into its minimal forms with just its key symbolic design features, letting it sink and cast into a block of plaster and allowing the interior to become imprinted with traces of the heritage building. Secondly, it was to make both controlled and uncontrolled breaks to the artifact, splitting apart the mass. The final step was to reassemble the fragments into poetic occupiable spaces.
Elevations
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Long Section
Cross Section
Interior 1
Interior 2
Interior 3
Theory Model – Deer / Air
