Analysis of precedent (25th sep- 16th oct)

This project was the 4th project we were given. It consisted of studying a given building over the following 3 weeks. Working in groups of 3 various models, drawings and sketches were gathered for our final review. We were assigned Maison Lapatie by Vassal and Lacaton. The building is suituated in the inner suburbs of Bordeaux and is in a run down area without many aesthetically pleasing features. It was a low budget project built in 1993 and was one of their first projects. The building itself isn’t very pleasing to the eye in my opinion but after studying it in greater detail I can understand to reasoning behind their concept and also the clients specifications.

Lacaton and Vassal worked for sometime in Africa which is where they developed their techniques and philosophies of building structures that were: durable; easily replaceable; replicable; cost efficient and functional. These ideas were brought forward to Lapatie as it can be easily seen by the materials chosen.

The house is built out of a steel structure with opaque fibre-cement sheeting on the street side facade and transparent PVC is used for the greenhouse in the back garden. The use of PVC to create greenhouses can be seen in other bigger projects such as the day care centre in Begles the year later. It is almost recognised as their trademark. Their usage of eternit fibre cement sheeting had very strong agruments to support it: 30 year guarentee; doesn't rust; very good insulation; durable; easy to replace; light which means a lowering in transport costs and a lowering in the overall budget.

As mentioned earlier the project was low budget, only costing 55 000 euros, and the clients wanted something different but affordable. They wanted something open plan with lots of natural light as there is a lack of partition walls and an abundance of windows. The conservatory with high ceilings must have been a big factor because it can be used as extra living space during the summer furthermore the conservatory could have been restriceted to one storey. Lots of windows and hatches are situated on both sides of the house which can be opened to give lots of ventilation. The garden must have been the biggest factor in this project because with the floorspace of the building it could have easily been stretched out as a one storey bungalow. They obiously want to keep the garden and the also had a small patch of grass put into the conservatory.

For this project we had to draw all the elevations, plans and sections. We also made a 1:100 representative model and a 1:100 site plane. Two 1:50 colour coded volumetric models and a 1:50 acetate circulation model.