Exercise 01 - Introduction

Exercise 01 explored the architectural ranges of order, arrangement, space and sequence. Groups were assigned case studies on particular architects and structures around the world that represented key design features.  Our group studied works by the Dutch architectural firm, UN Studio.

Completed in 1988, the Mobius House is located in the upscale Dutch neighborhood of Het Gooi.  It is perched on the edge of a hillside and surrounded by woodlands.  The Mobius House redefines living space through its unique looping structure.  Designed for two individuals to live in the structure, the design combines the ideas of circulation, program, and structure through its unique paths and representation of a Mobius strip.  This structure of movement is transposed in its construction through its organization of concrete and glass elements.

Similarly, the Villa NM, located in upstate New York, explores the same unique features of space and movement.  It is the design made for a single family house accross a sloping site.  The landscape is used in a unique fashion to achieve traits of programmatic and volumetric organization in the structure.  The Villa NM is a box-like volume that splits into two seperate volumes; one that seamlessly follows the northern slope and one that is lifted above a hill to create a parking garage underneath.  Similar to the Mobius House, the Villa NM uses large standing windows that range horizontally from floor to ceiling.