This week entailed me creating my final model prototype. Having refined my ideas and learnt from what I already have found out I came up with a solution which ticks the boxes I wanted to complete. The model I have designed hopefully should be extremely efficient at transferring light. Moreover it could work in reality. By creating this prototype I have been able to experiment with it and fill in any missing gaps which I have not covered. For example I realised that the part of the building below ground would be slightly wider than that above ground. This is because part of the space above ground would be occupied by where the light tubes would go. As far as efficiency goes this is the part of my design which fails. This is because there is a loss of space due to the tubes existing there. However I could have eradicated this by simply not having the tunnels raise so far above ground and simply sit at ground level. However I believe this could compromise the efficiency of light transfer. This may be due to the tunnels becoming covered over or blocked by the natural landscape. Also by being higher up they have the advantage of escaping any shadows which may block them on the ground. Obviously this could still be a problem but having them raised would still be beneficial I believe.
(Harr. 2013, http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/)
The image above shows how light tunnels could sit at ground level. However I do not believe any real effort to disguise these tubes has gone on here. In fact I also think they make the area look quite ugly. My way of solving this would be by not having any light tunnels exposed simply by keeping them passed down and around the edges of the building. This way they could either be made a sculpture of as they would all line up. Or they could simply be disguised by fencing.
(Products insider. 2012, http://productsinsider.com/)
If I where to pass tubes like this directly into rooms with my building I would not have them be as obvious as this. Personally I find that these tubes look ugly and would be much nicer visually if either they where disguised or simply sat at ceiling level. If they looked as though they where just round circles of light in the ceiling this could look extremely modern. This is something I could consider if I do decide to pass light directly into a room.
Final model prototype (authors own, 2014)
As shown above this floor would be the lowest floor of the building. It would therefore be two stories underground. The reason why there are light tubes only going to half of the space is because the floor that would be above would sit on top of the other half of the box. I have done this deliberately realising that no or little natural light will get here. I would not intend to therefore flood this space with artificial lighting but however use this space for something where not vast amount of light is needed. For example if this was going to be a house the back room could be used as a cinema or swimming pool.
Final model prototype (authors own, 2014)
These two floors make up all space habitable below ground. The light tunnels should provide plenty of light to both spaces. However on the floor which is only just below ground it would only be lit via the two outside walls, whereas the lowest floor would be lit by the two outside walls as well as the back wall. However I do not think this would be a problem so long as this part of the building is open planned or the interior space designed accordingly.
Final model prototype (authors own, 2014)
The top floor and cardboard splaying the distance of the model demonstrates ground level and the floor above. The view here therefore is side on with the top building block being the front of the building and the lowest one being the back of the garden area. The slight overlapping areas between floors where no light tubes pass down would be the area I would use to put the staircase in. This would mean that no essential lighting was lost in that space.
Final model prototype (authors own, 2014)
As can be seen in this image there would still be enough space for a garden. Moreover the actual loss would not have to be that great in reality and could be much less than I have demonstrated here. Proportionally the light tubes could be much thinner and there could be many more of them. This would mean an even smaller loss of space, and therefore greater efficiency. Also having this would not detract from the efficiency of the ability of the light tunnels to work as it would simply mean there would be more of them just in a more concentrated space, rather than being spread over a larger area.
Final model prototype (authors own, 2014)
In my final model I would like to try and utilise the space I have created as well as possible. Having each room designed so that it captures the natural light best is a key feature of getting across the point I am trying to convey of energy efficiency.
This week the group crit raised some interesting factors about the use of the space I have created. I had intended to make this a house which may be liveable in for a family. However it has been brought to my attention that this does not convey the real reasoning behind why I am doing this. Therefore I now need to try and think of what I could use this space for to show that I want waste to be kept to a minimum. Moreover I am now going to return to my original research so that I can try and come up with a space which also utilises the benefits of having natural light over artificial light. This may lead to me drastically changing what I had planned for the interior. For example it could become a place for people with vitamin E deficiencies to come as natural light replenishes this. Although I am changing the design a lot more than I expected to at this stage of the project, I do not think it will have a negative impact upon what work I have already done. Hopefully it will help to convey my projects aims in a better way, and give the building a better purpose.
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