Assignment 3: Programme: A Stage for Spatial, Functional, and Conceptual Relationships

Architectural Program Narrative

EVDA 580: Studio I – Design Thinking

Name: Sumer Matharu

Student ID: 10047835

Date: 28 October 2015

Architectural Program Narrative

Background

The program is for a single family dwelling project located on the Shaganappi trail site that offers beautiful panoramic views of the Calgary cityscape north of the Bow River. The home is being built for Connor Reece and his girlfriend Ciara Blake who moved to Calgary from Halifax. The home will be equipped to accommodate flora which a dominant force on site, and a coyote family at a distance, and provide them with a habitable space to co-exist with the human residents of the home.

Site

The site is located at the intersection of Crowchild Trail SW and Bow Trail SW. It is flanked by the Bow River in the north, Shaganappi Golf course in the east, Crowchild trail in the west and Bow Trail in the south. The overall site has a gradient of 10.7%. There is plenty of sunlight with no obstructions. Flora is one of the dominant forces on site with rough fescue grass making up most of the landmass. Among the trees, balsam poplar is abundant and there are some pine trees in the residences at the perimeter of the site. There is an existing pedestrian and bike pathway cutting through the site. There is plenty of fauna as well on site like racoons, deer faun, coyotes, magpies, bees, etc.

The existing roadway ending at the site boundary will be continued and developed over the dirt path to create a private entrance and roadway to the house. Currently, there are no changes planned for the existing pedestrian path.

Requirements

The different modes of transport used by Connor and Ciara are on foot, bicycles and a hatchback car. Bicycles are preferred although during off season they like to use their car.

The main requirements by the clients are a master bedroom with ensuite, single car garage for car and bike storage and which also doubles as a workshop, kitchen & dining area, living area which doubles as a yoga studio, workspace studio, garden/yard, wheelchair access throughout the house, and a guest bedroom for Reece’s mother who is on a wheelchair. The guest bedroom will also need an ensuite with wheelchair access.

Routine

The routine study is provided in the presentation board. Three (3) scenarios were considered: school season, summer season, and mother visiting during summer season. Under each of these scenarios both a weekday and a weekend was studied. During winter holidays, Reece and Ciara visit their hometown of Halifax. During the summer season, they visit home for a month. It was observed that the maximum circulation and activity happened between the kitchen & dining area, living area, and outdoor access (foyer).

Program decision

Based on the routine and circulation study that was done, and as per the requirements by the clients, the following floor areas were decided:

• Master bedroom 500 sq. ft. (46.45 m2)

• Guest bedroom 358 sq. ft. (33.26 m2)

• Kitchen & Dining 500 sq. ft. (46.45 m2)

• Living area / yoga studio 650 sq. ft. (60.39 m2)

• Studio 250 sq. ft. (23.23 m2)

• Garage 250 sq. ft. (23.23 m2)

• Foyer 120 sq. ft. (11.15 m2)

• Rooftop garden entire roof space

The building will have 3 floors with the top floor being the rooftop garden and viewing area for coyote activity. The vehicles and bicycles will drive at access level into the garage which opens up to the foyer and the studio. The foyer also opens up to the pathway with a separate front door. Both bedrooms will be located on this 2nd floor with connectivity to the ground floor where the kitchen & dining area, living room area and the powder room is located.

The entire pathway and area surrounding the home will incorporate the flora on site. This will also act as a natural barrier between the inhabitants of the house and the coyote family on site. Caves with 1 to 2 ft. wide openings will be provided on the site in the wooded area east of the house. It is expected that the coyote family, once they move in, will keep other coyote’s away.

Materials and Construction

The exterior walls will be cast-in-place concrete walls with wood accents. Some of the wall features will include board formed concrete. There will be plenty of large windows. All doors will be wooden.

The building will be designed to be energy efficient and will utilize as much reclaimed material as possible without hindering construction timeline and cost. The interiors will be a reflection of the walls from outside. The ceilings will be exposed for openness. There will be just the right amount of furniture in the house with plenty of floor pillows and lots of storage space. The preferred materials for furniture will be warm woods such as maple and walnut. Most of the fabrics used inside the building will be natural such as hemp, linens and wool. There will be paintings of the Nova Scotia landscape and East Coast Ocean views to remind Connor and Ciara of home.

An ideal Thursday

Ciara wakes up at 7:00 am and immediately jumps into the bathroom, brushes her teeth, showers, and wakes up Connor by 7:20 am. Following this, she puts on her yoga gear and goes into the kitchen to start preparing a healthy breakfast. Connor first jumps into the shower, and then takes their pet dog out for a quick walk, returns and finishes up with Ciara in the kitchen after which they both sit down to eat. They both get done with eating, talking, and listening to the morning news by 8:30 am after which Connor leaves for University to attend his classes. He gets to the University by 8:50 am give or take a few minutes just in time for his class.

Right after Connor leaves, Ciara starts preparing for her first yoga class of the day in the main living area. This living area has mostly floor pillows which Ciara can move away and be ready for her students. After 2 classes, she goes back to the kitchen to prepare lunch for herself. She then takes the dog out for a walk, does some gardening, and then starts preparing for dinner.

Reece usually returns around 6:30pm – 7:00pm after which they both sit down together for dinner. Then they move into the living room to unwind and relax which could include just talking, watching a movie or a tv show on Netflix, or even a small nap. Once they are done they like to go watch the local coyotes on site, walk their dog around the same time. When they return Reece gets back to his homework while Ciara does some light reading. They usually go to bed around 11:30pm – 12:00am.