Breathing House
The Microhome Competition 2020Design Team | Eujean Cheong
+ Honorable Mention Award
Despite the dramatic progress to date, air pollution and air hygiene continues to threaten our health and welfare. As the production and maintenance of buildings contribute to a large portion of carbon emissions, designing a microhome is an environmentally conscious solution which can help reduce the carbon footprint. Breathing House is a proposal that reimagines the modern home by optimizing the communal program and conceptualizing an innovative facade. The canonical “glass-box” villa displayed modernist ideals of transparency, minimalism, and functionalism. However many of these homes contain contradictions and limitations when it comes to privacy and serviceability.
The kitchen and bathroom, commonly found in the center of the villa, have been repositioned out to the facade which opens up the center living space while providing privacy on two sides. Rather than retrofitting drapery, the Breathing House integrates shaders within the facade. The double skin glass tube system with filtration fins helps control glare and bring diffused daylight into the living space. These fins are perforated and rotatable, purifying external air before bringing in clean air.
Containing three layers of filters (Pre-Filter, Activated Carbon filter, and HEPA filter), the fin captures a diversity of foreign particles such as dust, pollen, carbon emissions, Volatile Organic Compounds, odor, bacteria, mold and viruses from entering indoors. Contrary to an absolute hermetic building, Breathing House creates a semi-permeable membrane that is able to bring in and exhaust out air when needed. The fluted facade and soft corners gently reflects and refracts the context while maximizing view. The Breathing House is a prototype that can be deployed in both the rural and urban setting in hopes to bring a more breathable environment inside and out.
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