Architectural Design Portfolio
Brandon Chow
Project 2: Contextual Fit
In this project, we were tasked in creating and designing an addition to the Smith House according to the homeowners' current needs, while introducing new elements or systems.
The Smith House was built in 1965 by architect Richard Meier and with the new addition to the Smith House, it must respect the original architecture that Richard Meier has designed so we had to analyze the structure to apply new circulation systems and patterns within the new addition to the smith house.

Narrative and Idea

The Smith family just moved into their new house in Darien; Connecticut and they want to remodel the house to their tastes. The father and mother are astronomers and selenologists. In their free time they travel at night on their sailboat with their 2 kids to go stargazing. Their favorite part about going on the sailboat is that they can watch the stars and moon while they go night fishing. So, with remodeling, the Smith family wants to incorporate elements of their passionate careers to make their house feel like home. On the entry level in the living room, it would represent a star that would bring hope and new meanings to guide the family for any challenge they face as they travel throughout the ocean among the moon and the stars they encounter. So, what the parents requested is that there is an entrance to their new family room which would lead to their master bedroom with that would lead to a deck with a staircase to the second floor. So, when they are on the second deck they can head to their exercise room. Their kids wanted an exercise room so when they travel and go fishing again, they can catch bigger, and heavier fish. The Smith family have also requested on the third floor that they have an open roof plan which has an open moon roof so they would have a great view of the of stars and the moon. The parents also have requested in their master bedroom to include a master bathroom and a huge walk-in closet. The father also wants to have a kitchen that reminds them when they travel and go fishing together as a family.
Sorting Of Space
Public:
Living room
Kitchen
Private:
Bedrooms
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exercise Room
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Individual:
Bedrooms
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exercise Room
Group:
Living room
Kitchen
Quiet:
Bedrooms
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exercise Room
​
Loud:
Living room
Kitchen
Existing Floor Plans



Existing Building Systems & Patterns

Final Floor Plans

Lower-Level Floor Plan
Entry-Level Floor Plan

Upper-Level Floor Plan

Rooftop Floor Plan

New Floor Plan Analysis
Circulation

Structure

Indoor and Outdoor

Additive/ Subtractive

Hierarchy

Open and Closed

Preliminary Designs
These are my preliminary designs, I made 4 designs which were all created by mapping out the different masses and creating new circulation paths within the new design. After observing which circulation path flowed best with the original circulation and which one had the best and most potential, I decided to go with the .

Preliminary Design 1
Preliminary Design 2

Preliminary Design 3
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Preliminary Design 4

Conceptual Meta-Idea

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Existing Systems brought into the new addition:
Girders and Columns:
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Half Walls:

Railings:

Window and Door Framings:


Elevations

North Elevation
East Elevation


South Elevation

West Elevation
Sections



3-D Sections



Transformation Process

3D View

Renders





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