Before I even started my B-Tech year I did an entrance exam for it. It was a 3-day exam where in the first day we drew hand sketches of a house that used traditional materials and traditional connections methods, Ihink the house was House Mooikloof by Ora Joubert (amazing house!). The remaining two days we were tasked with designing an outdoor 'STOP'. A sanctuary, a place of rest or whatever you want to call it. The site given to us was the Van Staadens near Crossways. We could choose from one of three sites but for me that made no difference and that will become apparent soon.
The brief challenged us to come up with a problem we would like to tackle, after choosing an outdoor activity provided by the locals, and design around it. I chose mountain bike trailing. The problem I identified is that there is limited accommodation in the vicinity and that may hinder a fully fledged and immerseful mountain biking experience. I thought solving the problem of accommodation would greatly open up this activity's participation. Firstly because the user would no longer be limited by accommodation nor the setting of the sun (which would obviously mean home time and a long drive home - crossways is on the outskirts of town). The last deterrent from an unperturbed experience is the cost of providing said accommodation and I proposed funding events and other subsidiary means to finance the maintenance of the places of rest so that it becomes free for the user to access.
The Van Staadens community would make a profit from visitors filtering in to use their facilities and help the area's economy grow, BUT overcoming these first 3 challenges is the first phase of the project. After the ball is rolling and people are visiting the place more freely and frequently, then the 2nd phase can be initiated where people then start to pay.
Now back to why the site I chose is inconsequential... my vision was for multiple sites to have these contraptions scattered all over Van Staadens to help cope with the volume of people mountain biking and to make them easily accessible regardless of where one is in the Van Staadens. Let us see what I have been rambling about.
The primary aim was to make the design look as far removed from looking like a house as possible. The container-like modules can be slid in and out, transported, and interchanged whereas the exo-skeletal structure is a permanent fixture.
Maintenance is a big part of a project of this nature and magnitude so sustainability is an issue that I paid attention to. For lighting the energy is sourced by photo-voltaic panels on the 'roof' and water can be collected from the big gutter for drinking, quick food prepping and flushing. For a concept actualized, in under a day and a quarter, the idea is a strong one. Again, given more time it would've been great to produce renders and present the sketches better.
This is another project I was avid about. It took designing in a vacuum out of the picture and gave it purpose and context. I hope you've been able to enjoy the experience with me.
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