Housing Case Study

First year studio - Professor: Firat Erdim

The final project of first year studio was a residential case study. As part of the project, students needed to study their chosen project and create an extensive set of hand-drafted drawings as well as a component basswood model of the building at 1/8"=1' scale. The home I studied is the Georgian Bay Retreat, located in Ontario, Canada and designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. I chose the home because I was drawn to its simplistic modern design and its elegant use of natural, locally-sourced materials. Perhaps the most impressive feature of the home is its 23 exposed glue laminated trusses that span the entire length of the main level of the building.

Completed Composition

Required drawings for the case study included floor plans, elevations, sections, a perspective, and exploded axonometric drawings of the building, as well as the design for a hypothetical companion building, shown here at the top right. This completed composition spans across (6) 24x36 sized Arches sheets of paper.

The Georgian Bay Retreat

Image courtesy of bcj.com

Perspective drawing

Exploded axonometric drawing

Main level plan and elevations

Accessory building

The project involved a design component, where students were instructed to design a small accessory building to go along with the case study project. I created a small guest cottage.

Basswood model

Overhead view with roof taken off, showing off the home’s 23 exposed glulam trusses.