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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Williams Studio : By GH3 Architects

Lakefield, Ontario, Canada
GH3 Architects
Post By:Kitticoon Poopong
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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A photographer’s studio over a boathouse on Stony Lake is a re-imagination of the archetypal glass house in a landscape in the Canadian Shield.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow

Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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A continuation of thinking about this architectural ambition, the central concept of the house is reconceived through a contemporary lens of sustainability, program, site and amenity. The compelling qualities of simple, open spaces; interior and exterior unity and material clarity are transformed to enhance the environmental and programmatic performance of the building, creating architecture of both iconic resonance and innovative context–driven design.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow


The program envisions a building as north–facing window: a photographer’s live/work studio and film location that is continuously bathed in diffuse and undiminished natural light. The transparent facade—a curtain wall glazed in low-iron glass—becomes the essential element in a photographic apparatus to produce images unobtainable in a conventional studio.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow

Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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The availability and fidelity of north–facing light in the double-height space provide the photographer with unparalleled natural illumination, while the clarity of the glazing transforms the site and surrounding vistas into a sublime, ever–changing backdrop.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow

Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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The compact glass form sits at the water’s edge on a granite plinth whose matte black facade dematerializes to suspend the building, lantern-like, on the site. The granite’s thermal mass exploits the abundant solar input, eliminating the need for active systems on winter days, while the lakefront site allows the use of a deep-water exchange to heat and cool the building year–round through radiant slabs and recessed perimeter louvers at the floor and ceiling.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow

Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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Sliding panes in the glass skin—three metres wide at the ground floor, and one and a half metres wide on the mezzanine floor—allow the facade to become completely porous for natural ventilation, while an individually automated blind system, white roof, and deciduous hedgerow guard against excessive solar gain.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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The continuous blind system additionally serves as a second aesthetic skin, transforming the interior into an enclosed, intimate space, and the exterior into a gently reflective mirror of the surroundings.
Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
Click above image to view slideshow

Photo © Courtesy of Larry Williams
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Entry into the site is facilitated through a minimalist landscape that deploys endogenous materials while leaving the greatest portion of the site in its evocative, glacier-scoured state. A simple granite plinth serves as threshold for the south-facing entrance, where solid program functions and vertical circulation are arranged in a narrow, efficient volume.
boathouse floor plan--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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site & ground floor plan--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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mezzanne & reflected celing floor plan--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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From the outset, the goal was to accommodate the client’s needs within a small footprint. Domestic functions are integrated into a furniture-like mezzanine assembly suspended above the main space, where bedroom, bathroom and closet are coextensive, and sliding fritted glass allows the whole to be concealed from the rest of the space.
east elevation--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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north elevation--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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south elevation--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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west elevation--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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Throughout the upper and lower levels, interior partitions are clad with seamless white lacquered panels whose reflective qualities diffuse light into every part of the interior and create complex layered views through the space.
north - south section--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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Set to be built in the spring of 2010, a lightweight aluminium curvilinear structure guarded by low-iron glass will be constructed at level with the house. This freestanding structure will serve as an outdoor living platform.
detail section--drawing © Courtesy of GH3 Architects
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The people
Architects: GH3 Architects
Location: Lakefield, Ontario, Canada
Principal in Charge: Pat Hanson
Project Team: Deni Papetti, Walter Bettio, Diana Gerrard, Raymond Chow
Structural: Blackwell Bowick
Mechanical: Patrick Lam
Construction manager: Jim Thompson
Project Area: 167 sqm
Construction Year: 2007
Photographs: Larry Williams


Note>>Location in this map, It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
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