Living Box – Prefabricated Living Unit

Edilportale.com S.p.A

Competition - 30 November 2005

Living Box – Prefabricated Living Unit

Group: “Four Seasons”

Members:

MSc Dip Arch Grzegorz Malek,

MSc Dip Arch Marcin Dworczak,

MSc Dip Arch Monika Doszla,

MSc Dip Arch Deborah Mitei,

Project description

2005 / Man / People

Year 2005. Architecture. Alienation of man from the environment. Closing him up in buildings insensitive to external changes. He lives in a routine of home, transport, workplace, shopping areas or some pastime cut out from the outside world and the influence on man.

Man cannot differentiate the time of day, seasons, years go by…

Man is not at one with nature’s rhythm. Man and his momentum, stress and sicknesses of civilisation.

“Four Seasons” proposal

- The house:

Forces man to live in accordance with nature’s rhythm

  • Changes with the different times of the day / year
  • Has different zones to suit the intensity of their use
  • Use of rooms change according to different times of the year
  • With the gradation of temperature in rooms
  • With the change in the sun’s intensity

- House of “Four Seasons”:

  • Spring – Garden. Plants with changing cover according to the time of the year. Situated from the west
  • Summer – Living room. Open space, a lot of light intensity from the south, activity space with basketball hoops. Instead of holidays by the seaside, a summer showers. Sliding roof opening the internal patio. Large glazings allow accumulating heat during the day, which is then given off at night to the other zones.
  • Autumn – Kitchen, dinning, hall, WC. Storing and consumption. The table as a place of common meetings during the long autumn and winter nights. The main material used is wood. Situated from the east.
  • Winter – Bedroom and bathroom. Situated to the north, this is the part with the best thermal insulation. The Soft Materials on the wall give a feeling of warmth and cosiness. During summer there is a possibility to move the function of the bedroom to the living room or garden. Minimal accesses to light. Situated from the north.

Localisation

  • The roof of an existing block of flats. An attempt to regenerate blocks, to show another way/style of living. Humanisation change in a unified block.
  • Other localisation is possible

Construction

  • Structural frame

-Steel frame 6x3x3

  • Walls

-Panels with different finishes

-Breathing membrane

-Wooden / Multi-layer panels – “sandwich”

-Glazing / Laminated PVC

-Alloy windows frames

-Steel

-Wooden partition walls / PVC

  • Roof

-PVC

-Glass / glazing

-Steel frame

-In fill - Multi-layer panels – “sandwich”

  • Floor

-OSB “sandwich”

-Platform Lattice

-Difference in finishing of the upper areas

  • Windows

-U value depends on room

-Number of glazing layers depends of zones

Mobility

  • Change of form, change of external outfit / landscaping

Transport

  • Module 6x3x3
  • Frame
  • Mounted panels
  • Traditional transport