era | the Fifth Element
Do you ever think about the characteristics of the place you live in and how they affect you?
How do the elements in the world affect your every day moments?
What are the elements?
E A R T H | W A T E R | A I R | F I R E
Perhaps you dig through the soil to plant a tree in the perfect place for it to grow.
Perhaps you feel the rain tap on your palm and watch it run through your fingers.
Perhaps you stand in the breeze to cool your body.
Perhaps you lay in the sun to warm your skin.
There is a lot of information in the world about how to harness the elements when you design and build so that they work for the building and for you. It is one of those crazy topics that you could chat through for days or break down to its simplest parts.
At the end of the day, there is nothing complex about including the elements in your architecture.
But there is one thing that is needed.
And at this moment you may like to thank or blame Frozen Two for the following insight ;)
If you haven't seen it, go on - get in there and put your Disney hat on :D
There is a fifth element that can tie all four elements together.
What is the fifth element?
T h a t i s y o u .
Whether you are choosing a standard design off the plan or having a designer prepare something specific for you, it is you who can choose to take advantage of the elements in the place you are in.
Why you?
Because the elements can be applied to any place and any circumstance.
You can make the choice for your architecture.
‘This all will make sense when I get older - because when you're older absolutely everything makes sense!' OLAF | Snow Man
a little way to help you find your architecture
It can be simple.
Don't over think it.
These little elements can make a big impact in your architecture.
O N E | EARTH
Sit your architecture on or in the earth in a location to take advantage of the elements.
Think about where the best place will be that will take advantage of your place.
T W O | WATER
Form your architecture to shed water and find ways to catch it.
Pitch the roof and overhang it from the walls to let the rain and ground surface water fall away from the building and be taken somewhere useful.
T H R E E | AIR
Control the movement of air with walls and openings.
Put the back of your architecture to cold wind in winter, but open up to cool breezes in summer.
Seal all the little gaps and place openings on both sides of spaces to suck the air through.
F O U R | FIRE
Orient your architecture to face the sun.
Shade spaces from the higher sun in summer and let the lower sun angle into spaces in winter.
The last is the simplest and most effective of all.
‘Don't you know there's a part of me that wants to go into the unknown?’ ELSA | Magical Queen
These smudgy, sketchy drawings show one of the most comfortable pieces of architecture I have been in - a shack on the beach.
The shack was located on a remote beach on the mid cost of Western Australia.
The conditions outside were incredibly hot from being on the edge of a desert and strong winds blowing in from the Indian ocean.
The architecture was nestled in near the base of a cliff. Walking inside for the first time was a memorable experience, because the air was so cool and still compared with outside.
The concrete slabs on the floor were cool underfoot and the stone wall on one side radiated that coolth as well. The structure was timber, with timber sub-frame wrapped in shade cloth, then palm leaves and a massive combination of tarps over the lot.
It sat in a spot to take advantage of the elements
It shed rainwater with a simple waterproof skin
It controlled the flow of air with walls and openings
It faced north and protected its inside from hot summer sun
It was simple.
So give it a try!
Channel your inner Elsa and become the Fifth Element.
‘Are you alright, Olaf?’ .. 'Yah. We call this making the best out of what we can control.'
KRISTOFF + OLAF | Ice Guy + Snow Man
Til next time!
