10. lab / prototype

infrastructure

2020
m. arch. y1 s1

student house as a lab / prototype. innovative outputs from the lab return to the building & shape it such that it becomes a prototype. redefining innovation.
in collaboration with alessia deguara & gabrielle farrugia

from boundary to interface

flexibility, change & growth: planes which can be moved / rotated but also detached & replaced with materials or products created by university students in the labs & workshop spaces. thus the student house becomes a living testing ground & a showcase for innovation.

in transforming the boundary into an interface, we chose to retain the columns & beams, the main entrance as it acts as a landmark, the ditch wall around the perimeter which is a distinctive feature of the building, as well existing slabs & walls where needed.

the central courtyard was re-instated (after its enclosure in the last few decades).

these elements were our focus in order to ensure legibility of the building while meeting the needs of functionality & privacy for the proposed programme.

thus the proposed building emerged as a hybrid of new & old. an additional slab was inserted at a new in-between level while still respecting the existing structural order & solid-void rhythm on the facade.

new materials were used to demarcate proposed additons, namely steel beams to support the new slab & steel columns to extend the building structure vertically.