Sanctum House & Social
This is my Final Major Project, which was my final university project completed over six months.
I chose to write a brief centered around creating a small Co-Living community for people who have been formally diagnosed with the hidden disability, Dyspraxia, which is a condition that effects people's coordination and movement.
I created Sanctum House & Social which will provide a Sanctuary for people with Dyspraxia where they can come to, to escape the frustrations of everyday life. Sanctum House will be a residential co-living space for up to 6 people all of which would have Dyspraxia. Sanctum Social will be a communal space open to people that have Dyspraxia to access for support groups, exercise classes and socialising.
This concept image represents the feelings of frustration that people with dyspraxia would feel in their everyday life whilst trying to complete everyday tasks. The orange people within the crowd represent the people in society that have dyspraxia.
Contrasting to this the image also shows how ‘Sanctum House & Social’ provides a sanctuary from the outside world to people with dyspraxia. It provides them with a place they can live in or visit, to escape the frustrations of everyday life.
This is the main visual of Sanctum House which shows the free standing wooden structure which will be positioned in the centre of the building. This free standing structure will house the Individual Slumber Hubs which will be the residents own private rooms. There will also be a space called Peace Platform, which is shown in this visual, where residents can go to relax in a quiet environment that looks over the dining table and hanging art installation.
Below is a storyboard of visuals of the communal spaces within Sanctum House which correspond to the names on the legend above, the orange line demonstrates a typical journey between the spaces for residents.
Mix and Mingle is a socialising space where residents can play table football, watch TV and play video games. There are hanging boards made of cork which will help to separate the space from the other communal areas and will also absorb noise to help reduce the amount of noise carried to other areas of the building.
The kitchen is a space where residents can prepare food and sit at the bar area to snack and socialise. This is a minimalistic space to encourage residents to keep it clean and tidy.
The Dining Table is a communal eating space where residents can sit and eat meals whilst socialising with each other. The large dining table is positioned in the focal dome point of the building to highlight the importance of eating meals together. There is a hanging art installation over the central point of the dining table made out of broken crockery and glass to help 'Celebrate the Broken'.
Soft Sit Down is a relaxation space where residents can go to read books watch TV and unwind. The soft sit down area is separated from the other communal spaces with hanging material to help make the space feel cosier and to also help reduce the amount of noise within the space.
Peace Platform is a quiet space on the second floor where residents can escape to if they have had a particularly frustrating day. They will be able to do yoga and meditation whilst looking out over the other communal spaces through the large windows.
The Backyard is a private outdoor space for residents. There will be a covered outdoor eating space and a garden space with sun loungers, a grass area and a chilled seating area.
These are some initial concept models created to help work out the best sizes and positioning for the Individual Slumber Hubs which will make up the free standing internal structure. The orange lines demonstrate how the residents would be able to move around the structures within the space.
Above is detailing for Individual Slumber Hub 5. It demonstrates how the internal structure free standing structure will be made up of wooden blocks that will slide into each other.
Also shown on the plan of the individual slumber hub is the rotating window slats which will provide privacy for residents. They will also improve the acoustics with in the private rooms and mean that light can be blocked out of the rooms at anytime of the day. This means that residents can sleep whenever they desire, in order to help combat fatigue which is a symptom of dyspraxia.
Above is a visual of Sanctum Social, which is the space open to the wider dyspraxia community as well as residents of Sanctum House. In the foreground is an eating and socialising space designed to be like a Mediterranean courtyard. Behind is the exercise studio where there will be a range of classes such as yoga and martial arts especially designed for people who have dyspraxia. The large sliding glass doors allow for the classes to extend to the outdoor decking area when the weather permits. There is also a space where support groups and workshops can be held.
This is a materiality board which shows the key materials used within the scheme. All of these key materials are sustainable which was an important factor in the process of choosing suitable materials. The Brass detailing and Charred wood were chosen to help add a more exclusive and luxurious finish, to help create an exclusive experience for people who are sometimes excluded.
Above is a visual section which demonstrates the use of the materials in the context of the building. The free standing internal structure will be made out of Birch plywood, with the strip birch wood cladding being used on the exterior of the staircase balustrade. The Charred wood will be used for the fences in the external spaces to make a bold statement to people passing, whilst also making it easy to find for people with dyspraxia, who often struggle with navigating around new places.
This is detailing of the continuous staircase balustrade. There will be a sunken handrail embedded into the balustrade to help residents avoid catching pieces of clothing and bags on a standard handrail. There will also be LED lighting within the handrail to improve way finding around the continuous staircase and help to avoid trips and falls.