THREE DWELLINGS - LILIAN LAM

three dwellingstree | chocolate | chimney

Yuen Sar Lilian Lam

Year 4

Bartlett Unit 22


Tree dwelling encourages people at Tonle Sap to gather and exchange not only food, but also the knowledge and techniques that they have. It is hoped that the dwelling can help villagers to improve

their lives. The construction method is simple - simply by cutting slots in columns and tying the beams together - platforms can be built by

local villagers according to their own needs. The size and potential of the dwelling is expandable.

Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Tonle Sap is one of the largest freshwater lake in south-east Asia. During dry season, the lake appears to be small as water flows from the lake to Mekong river. However during June to October, the water-flow direction changes and the lake expands from 2500sq km to 16000sq km.

0 100km

Residents there are the unprivileged ones, mostly Vietnamese who cannot get a Cambodian passport due to political reasons. They depend on rice farming, fishing and planting aquatic plants to maintain their lives. They live in floating villages in houses which elevate them upon water level.

Inspired by Sou Fujimoto’s platform house design, I compared it with a typical house built by the local villagers in Tonle Sap. The platform idea allow the tree dwelling to be partly flooded during rainy seasons, while the users can extend their terrains by adding more platforms upwards in the dwelling with simple

construction methods. During dry seasons, they can use the platforms below for trading their goods or as communal spaces.

all platforms in use during dry seasons some platforms being flooded in rainy seasons, simple construction methods allow users to expand their territories upwards

First testing model shows the idea of slotting different floor slabs in different directions. The columns and beams are held together with strings.

Second testing model with improved structure

The latest testing model works on the possibility of having slanted platforms to act as ramps for users to move their goods to another level. Or even storage spaces for food and goods by joining a few slanted platforms together. The joint between beams and columns are improved by cutting a slot in the columns to avoid sliding.

1:20 model

Different treatment for slots with platforms of various angles.

Series of images showing the mounting of wood platform. Users can easily modify the dwelling according to their needs by simple

construction techniques.


The chocolate dwelling is inspired by Theo Jansen’s walking creatures. This dwelling will be transformable and can be moved

around in the garden to create dialogues with different garden elements. By plugging in the dwelling into these elements, their utility

can be enhanced.

A garden is a space with natural or semi-natural elements for human recreation and enjoyment. People come to a garden read, do exercises, have meals, feed the birds, gather with friends, walk their dogs...

The idea of the chocolate dwelling is a transformable house to enhance the utility of different garden elements,e.g. benches, fences, trees, bushes, flowers.

St Andrews Garden, London

Inspired by Theo Jansen’s walking creatures, I tried to investigate in how to transform this mechanism into a dwelling that can be plugged

in to different garden elements.

Basic unit

Transformations into different types of seats or space for users to lean on

Latest model tries to deal with how it can be combined with existing garden elements, e.g. park benches, to enhance their utility.

1:20 model

hide and seek playhouse

sit + table + shelter

reading space + shelf

open seat

chatting + canopy for kids

canopy + table

Further development for Medellin pavilion design - integration of kinetic mechanism onto two sides of stairs

kinetic system as facade grows along the stairs, seats can be provided by simply pulling exploring possibilities of integrating fabric into the kinetic system


In Hong Kong, a new law has banned smokers from smoking indoors. During office hours, smokers can only sneak out to smoke in alleys around rubbish bins. There they will meet other strangers who also smoke. Unexpected and sudden gatherings start in the chimney dwelling, where smokers can smoke freely and the dwelling will send

away the exhaust gas smokers produce. Even without real flames, the dwelling functions like a fireplace, bringing people together.

The smoke that the smokers produce will stain the wood fins in the interior of the dwelling. The more they smoke, the darker and

dirtier the dwelling will appear to be, warning smokers the hazard of smoking.

Smokers smoking in between buildings gaps

The original idea is to design a dwelling by erecting wood fins to create a feeling of privacy for smokers. The slits will produce interesting light and shadow effects in the interior of the dwelling.

The dwelling will be inserted in alleys in between buildings gaps. These are spots where smokers will usually go to smoke during office hours. The dwelling in this form will help to remove the exhaust gas produced by smokers.

The wood strips slotting idea is further developed into repeating units which look like the letter X. These units can be slotted together and form a structural wall with curvature. By making a few variations to these repeating units, the light and shadows created in the interior of the dwelling can become more interesting. By using modules with longer legs (or deeper cuts, as shown on the photo on bottom left), while the modules are slotted

together, the gaps in between the X modules will allow more light to get in.

basic structure of the chimney dwelling facade system made up of small wooden modules

by using different modules along the facade, the slotting depth can be varied. as a result, the permeability of the facade will be increased or reduced, allowing different

play of light and shadows inside the dwelling

joint system allowing each module to be slidable and rotatable, making the facade system more flexible and changable

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THREE DWELLINGS - LILIAN LAM