Status: design

Building area

ground floor - 1,800 sf

second floor - 590 sf

 “We should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together in a higher unity” - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

HOUSE IN GATINEAU

the bunkie & incremental building

In Gatineau park, north of Ottawa, there are builders who make bunkies for the local cottagers. Bunkies are shop built, 10’x12’, uninsulated, wood frame and clad sheds. Local cottage owners buy them when their family grows and they need an extra bedroom, or an office or studio in which to work outside of the city. These little sheds are pre built, brought in on trucks, and set on masonry blocks within walking distance to the main cottage. They are nice places when you want to get away from all the noise and activity and decompress.

There is an idea in architecture of incremental construction. It can be necessary if the client needs to raise more money over time. Or it can be used when you want to build your own house and take your time while doing it. It is a means of building used around the world in places without mortgages and building loans. We find that the means by which a site and building has been built has a profound effect on the final form of the construction. Often a structure built incrementally feels less “platonic” and ordered, and looks more “additive” and deconstructed.

design response: the space in between

This house is based on the bunkie and incremental construction. We have designed three bunkies each comprising a bedroom, closet, and ensuite bathroom which we have placed strategically on the site. The space between the bunkies is covered with a large overhanging roof, and enclosed with angled storefront window assemblies. This in between space is designated for public use: living, dining and kitchen. Triangle porches sit just outside the large windows and under the grand roof overhangs. A large skylight is set over the entire assemblage to light the in between core.

The private spaces form an opaque outer wall and the public zones are the left over space in between the outer, opaque volumes. The house is inward looking with the exception of the gaps between the bedroom volumes and the imposing roof light hovering above.

This house is conceived of as a conventional four bedroom home. However, because we have used the more unconventional design strategy - incremental construction - it can also be very successfully applied to less conventional uses. For example, each bedroom unit could be used by a couple or single person as a suite. And the inner living spaces could be shared by the community at large.

We believe that the single family house has for decades not met many of the needs of the population, and that the Gatineau house manifests ideas that could be adopted to help to close the gap between what the people want and what the market delivers.