Ayusha Adhikari: Architecture Design II
Project 01: Urban House for a Painter
A single painter has purchased a historic house type in the heart of a traditional village. It is up to the architect to renovate said house to fit the style of the artist, yet keep the signature features of each house so that the house fits into the neighborhood established with the particular house type. The challenge at hand is to effectively renovate to please the artist and the society surrounding. |
EXISITING HOUSE: FLOUNDER HOUSE

Renovation exists in the future of the Flounder House. Originally built in the 1860s, many people could not afford to build full houses, so they opted for a "half-house" look. The people hoped that in the future, they would be able to afford to extend the house, hence the back wall being completely bare of windows and doors. Other key features include a single-sloped roof, exterior stairs, and four rectangular rooms, each getting smaller as one travels throughout the house.
PAINTING ANALYSIS
To begin the project, one must learn the style of their artist client. The piece in study is Juan Gris' painting Still Life With A Guitar, for it has an intriguing composition. The standout features of the painting, the colors, textures, shapes, and lines, have been analyzed. The only three colors that exist in the painting are white, tan, and black. The black provides a huge contrast compared to the other two lighter colors. The black demonstrates more curved edges than straight and Gris implements patterns and textures to create a mid-tone to balance the black and white. The rectangular shapes and edges of the painting trap more of the patterns than the center, for the center contains many lighter colors, which becomes the focal point. Lines segment the tan areas in the center and give the viewer a direction of flow for the eye to follow. To contrast the lines, Gris include curved shapes, which forms oddities to engage the eyes. All of these elements layered on top form the distinct style of Juan Gris, but it is the pure fragmentation of the guitar that occupy the eyes the most. To conclude the analysis, each distinct layer on its side formed into a section. The section helped form the painting into less of a painting and more into a building with potential.
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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
My first thoughts when designing this project was the single sloped roof. It is the most iconic part of the flounder house and it needs to be accentuated. One of my ideas consisted of changing the side on one of the roofs, but I opted to include extensions that sloped differently (as seen in the parti diagram), as Juan Gris' paintings contained sweeping diagonal lines. Another one of my ideas had a deck circumnavigating the house, as seen in the chipboard concept model. However, the model did not contain many Juan Gris vibes. The concept Lego model is the closest to what the final resembles as it mirrors the fragmentation that Gris renowned.
FINAL DRAWINGS AND MODEL
To emulate the artist's style that I sought out in the analysis, each extension will be built in a different material and the classic brick of the flounder house will stay the same to juxtapose the old and the new, and it also reflect the patches of different patterns within the painting. The harsh diagonals emulate the distinct lines of Gris' painting. The two side extensions both come together and form a double sloped roof with the larger single sloped roof still intact.