The Marika-Alderton House is hugely reliant on cultural aspects of the indigenous community in Yirrkala, Northern Territory. The house must feel open and feel as if it is part of the land. Previous homes made by the government for the communities to live in were often burned, trashed or abandoned. This is why Glenn Murcutt (Architect of: Marika-Alderton House) was chosen to help design a cheap pre fabricated house that responded to the:
- Climatic Conditions
- As a culturally acceptable place to live by the indigenous
- Simple, Cheap, Easy to Make and Assemble.
The house Glenn created a house that ‘...opens, closes and breathes like a plant’, which was ideal for the cultural people of the Yirrkala region. As described by Marika (resident of Marika-Alderton House) “It’ll probably feel more at home having to be exposed to that (Murcutt - Yes) environmental, um (Murcutt - Connection) connection” [quote taken from BHP Steel Film created about the home]. This shows how important it is for the house to act as an Environmental Filter for the family. Marika says “I mean this is just a house for one family, one need and I’m sure that everyone’s different and there has to be some cases where there’s more than one family”. This is why it was essential for the house to be diverse and applicable to many different families. In one house 2 - 3 families can live, where another 1 family. This is why it was crucial for the house to be culturally aesthetically pleasing. The house made from 6 prefabricated lightweight steel frames, broad plywood coverings and long tallow wood slats. These simple raw materials allow the house to immediately blend in with the rusty soil environment of the Northern Territory.
The house works in one with the environment and uses naturally cooling methods to keep the heat from the house. Shutters, which form the walls of the house, lift up on pivots at the top and hang as awnings out into the natural environment. These shutters allow the house to transform and form an enclosed, yet ventilated space, into essentially, a covered breezeway. The lining in the exterior walls are large protruding fins. These fins, oriented towards the ocean, slow down, capture and redirect the cooling and fragrant ocean breezes into the interior spaces of the house, creating an enhanced and more comfortable environment. The vertical wall surfaces on the interior of the house do not go all the way up. These walls stop short of the ceiling, allowing for the heat in the enclosed rooms to rise above the individual rooms. The air then spreads out over the ceiling of the house and exhausts out through the roof more quickly. By designing in conjunction with the rise and fall of the sun Glenn Murcutt has successfully cheaply, naturally and efficiently cooled this house. The house acts as an environmental filter.
Visual Representation.
The house as a container for human activities.
The Marika Alderton house is utilized by the indigenous community for many different reasons. The house contains many activities such as cooking, playing, sleeping and other normal activities. But the difference between this house and a normal suburban Brisbane home is that it connects the human activities with the environment. By being so open plan it allows the natural elements to intertwine with human activities throughout the house. In the open plan area of the house kids run around and play, jumping in and out through the large windows which allow air flow. Culturally pleasing, the house allows for activities that require large amounts of room in the eastern wing of the home. The large open area can cater for a copious amounts of people and allows for external use.
The house is more an undercover shelter than a home when the all the large windows are wide open. This makes it perfect for when it is much too hot to do any activities outside, but allows plenty of room to do them in shade.
The home is divided into two separate areas. An area for living, playing and being social and a private sector where the sleeping arrangements and toilet area is. By having two obvious parts to the home no one really goes to the private sectors except to retreat by themselves or to sleep. This is why the home is culturally acceptable in Yirrkala as most families are open to one another are always together. This open plan area is where the family mainly spends their time.
Visual Representation:
The House as a delightful experience.
The Marika Alderton house doesn't have a shock and awe point like many of the exemplar houses do. The shock and awe is how well designed this cabin is for the very mainly limitations and constraints Glenn Murcutt had. It is delightful to the indigenous community of Yirrkala as previous housing provided by the government were hotboxes where the temperature rose too high and was almost cooler outside rather than inside. In comparison to the homes they are used to, this is a hugely delightful experience for the people. The breeze ways and the airflow minimizing heat is just the experience the people are after in their hot climate.
The delightful experiences come from the amazing ventilation that Glenn Murcutt brings to the home. The activities that are completed within the house can be done with joy now that the environement is cooler. Beforehand, they were used to constant heat and no where to hide from it. Now with these cheap low maintenance, pre-fabricated homes it allows for delightful experiences for the Yirrkala community.
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