house of women

In this second design of the house for my character, while the approach to the design was completely different I tried to take some of the valuable aspects of my previous design and use them towards this one. For instance the last house was moving towards a more enclosed appearence from the outside and open to the inside so as to restrict the views for the young girls.

In this house I tried to push this idea even further and tried to come up with ways of letting in natural light to the spaces in a more innovative way so as to keep the views limited. I did this by adding an atrium which serves as a tower to allow light into the core of the house and by various means of skylights and indirect sunlight via the large fenestrations.

Here are some differences from the original SketchUp idea to the final model design.

Initially the SketchUp model only had one level however this was not enough space for all the characters so in the card model I elevated some areas to create a second level.

Design Concepts

The House of Women is the title of my second attempt at designing a home for my character Madam Ingres and her family of adopted children.

My approach to this design was very different to my last in that I researched my character more and tried to make sense of Hejduk's description of Ingres. After a bit of investigating I discovered a portrait done by a French painter named Ingres and realised that Hejduk was refering to my character in relation to the woman in the painting called Madame D'Haussonville.

As I studied the painting I decided that I could use it as the basis for my next design by incorporating some of the proportions of the image. To do this I simply drew a series of lines over the painting and then translated them into the plan of my house.

This is an altered version of the painting using Photoshop.

House of Shadows

It's the warmest embrace that suffocates the heart. - Irina Petkov

The house of shadows obtained its form from the gentle embracing hand of Madam Ingres. I attempted to portray a design of feminine appearance and feel without literally using direct imagery. Instead I explored the properties of curves and their effect on walls and spaces. As curves are commonly associated with organic and natural elements like the female body, I realised that their use in my design added a softer feel to the rooms of the house. The SketchUp design and card model are entwined in that the model was a gradual improvemet of the initial sketch ideas.

The initial design in SketchUp showed how curves allowed a more gentle and warm light to penetrate the building, however I felt that there was too much glazing and open views to the surrounds of the house and decided to alter this in the card model. Originally the house was meant to be designed as a comfortable safe place for Madam Ingres and her new family, yet having lost a child once she has become very attached to her younger ones and couldn't bear to lose another. Thus the house became limited in views to the outside world and opened up to the centre of the secret courtyard.

The SketchUp model had no tower in it's design, yet while making the card model it began to take shape on its own. The exact appearance is not entirely resolved but I'm happy with the principles behind its existence, location and purpose.
It is located on the Ground Level as a meeting point of all the rooms and corridors and is the height of all three levels. It has the largest windows facing the external surroundings of the house. Upon entering the space beneath the tower, all attention is drawn upwards due to the scale of the windows. Finally, to the ceiling is attached a mirror which is intended to surprise and distract the person from the tempting views outside...

























I'm not quite sure if I'm allowed to make a few additions to my card and SketchUp photos or not using Photoshop but I thought it could add a bit more atmosphere and help get my idea accross.

The Client:

Madam Ingres was an only child.
From an early age she understood the significance of possessions. She owned the kind of toys children could only dream of, from porcelain dolls to train sets and magical books with golden letters on the cover. She was the envy of every student in her class.
But she was not greedy nor did she flaunt her parent’s wealth, her only flaw was to have never experienced loss, until the death of her only child Eva.

She was never quite the same since the tragic incident, yet her modest soul did not shy away from others as most often people do when in grief. Instead her sorrow led her to help those more helpless than herself and to guide them through the toughest times.
Which is why she became Madam of a girl’s orphanage.
Ever so often a feeble baby girl found herself at the doorstep of the dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere and was gently taken inside to her new home. Sadly for most girls there never came a time when the occasional passers by would be interested in adopting a child, and so the girls of the orphanage and the doting Madam Ingres came to form their own family. Slowly the eldest became graceful young ladies and began to look after the others in the same way they had been taught, with love and understanding. No two girls that came through the creaky pine door were ever the same. Each had her own beauty and unique personality. Not that every day in the orphanage was a joyous experience with so many people with their own needs and wants, looking after the household and animals on the farm was a tough daily ritual yet the girls still learned to be understanding in times of strife.

However it has been fifteen years since the very first baby was taken in by Madam Ingres. Now the young women who help her look after the little ones are finding the house too small for their ever growing family. The need for a larger home for all the children is necessary. And while the day will come when the women seek to discover more of the world outside the orphanage, they will need to be properly trained and brought up into this world where they can take their knowledge and use it to help others. Sadly Madam Ingres may no be stable for much longer and the new residence should forever incorporate her welcoming and warm intentions for years to come. Her caring soul will live on through the house and embrace the children inside who feel her loss in their hearts. And so she hopes the women of the orphanage will continue to give to other children the love and happiness they deserve that she could not give to her own.