The site

The site for the sanctuary will be by a riverbank in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Kuala Selangor is a small and quiet town at the river mouth of the Selangor river and is famous for the fireflies sanctuary and cheap seafood. The local climate is equatorial and the average daily temperatures are at around 27°C throughout the year. Extensive cloud cover and heavy rainfall prevent temperatures from rising much over 33°C. 


I chose this site as it is far away from the city. The stillness and remoteness of this town will be suitable for the young woman to give her utmost attention to the letter and contemplate. The river and the fireflies will be her distraction after reading the letter. 

Girl reading a Letter at an Open Window by Johannes Vermeer

The young woman stands in the centre of the painting, facing an open window. She is very engrossed in the letter and is using the window as a source of light. It is assumed that she is reading a love letter and her expression hints that the content of the letter is not very good news. In the foreground is a table covered with Oriental rug and a Delft plate with fruit on top of it.

The stillness and the remoteness from the outside world stand out in this painting. She is holding the letter firmly, reading the letter with utmost attention.

Spatial narrative: A sanctuary for a lonely young woman who loves reading letter by the window.

villa muller model

The section cut that we chose shows the circulation around the villa. Image 2,3,6,7,9 and 12 illustrate how the stairs connect the spaces.Each room flowed into another yet each were self-contained.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

  Image 6

Image 7

Image 8

Image 9

Image 10

Image 11

 

Image 12

Image 13

poche

This plan was chosen as the poche because it illustrates how the dining room is linked with the main hall. It also illustrates that the central stairs are used to connect the living level and the bedrooms. The spatial inter penetration brings discrete spaces into visual contact. The dining room, the mistress's room and the library are oriented towards the main hall without any interruption. 

This section gave me an idea about the ambience of each room as it has the most windows. The windows illuminate the rooms and the lighting that was generated is used to render the form and spaces.

parti

Villa Muller's circulation is rather restricted and compact. The unshaded spaces are the circulation area.
The spaces in the house can be divided into six squares and the whole house is based on the ratio of 2:3.
The square is the most dominant configuration of the exterior of the building.

The villa is supported by 4 columns and the elevator is one of the columns.

This villa also has an explicit relationship with the city. The roof garden and the dining room frames the Prague Castle and St. Vitus' Cathedral.