The Mirrorcube, Treehotel, Sweden

An excellent example of a structure blending into its natural surroundings. The mirrored panels break up the shape of the building,  blending in seamlessly into the forest. The stilts resemble the trunks of the tress which further emphasise this.

Stilt house examples

A few examples of stilt houses that attempt to blend into their natural surroundings. This is achieved be either using rustic wooden beams or using a more sculptural, organic shape for the stilts.
As I am trying to assimilate my house into it's natural surroundings the shape and structure of the stilts could assist in this.

Another note to make is the bottom right image, the elevated house has created a space underneath that now acts as a sheltered storage area. This could be taken into consideration with my design.

Choosing to design a stilt house

Advantages of a stilt house

1) Increased ventilation. Cool air protects the main structure from termites and other pests. This

increases the sustainability of the design. 

2) Dry space underneath house in rainy seasons. People can use this space for storage.

3) Protection from animals and privacy from other people.

4) Maximises views.

5) Can be built on hilly/non-flat terrain.

6) Flood protection. 

As this house has an environmentally concious focus the small foot print of a stilt house is more

beneficial for the environment and lessons it's impact on the area. 

Also as the stilts rise and fall at different levels its blends with the natural mountainous surroundings

better than a traditional house. This will be taking into consideration when designing the stilt

structure. 

In conclusion choosing to design a stilt house has many benefits, both environmental and aesthetic.

My house design will try to benefit as much as possible from the surrounding environment and using

stilts is one way it will do this.

Article on the advantages of a stilt house

A symbiotic relationship between the surrounding environment and the house

Initially I wanted to place my house designs into a snowy backdrop. This was mainly for aesthetic reasons and to demonstrate the robust nature of the houses design. 

But some of the technology (namely the rain water collection tech) I wanted to integrate into the house would be unsuitable for this environment. If this was to be a viable design I needed the house and the environment to work together. 

With that in mind I needed to choose an environment that allowed for all the eco tech I wanted to use. This environment also had to be naturally beautifully and isolated. Isolated because as this a self sustaining house and I want to illustrate that this house can exist without modern conveniences. To demonstrate 'off grid' living.

This led me to chose the Scottish highlands (or any similar environment around the world) Solar panels, wind turbines and rain water collection would all be viable in this environment.

Change of focus- Eco Tech

Initially this project was to be a contemporary housing development that would then be marketed in a property brochure. Although this is still the case I thought the project was missing an underlying theme and purpose to tie the project together.
I've decided to design and model a self sustaining, eco friendly home. The final property brochure will still contain CGI's of a contemporary home (both interior and exterior shots) but now this home will have eco tech integrated into the design.

Composition concepts

These were made using multiple photos in Photoshop. This was simply a quick exercise for me to visualise the composition of my final exterior shots, and how much of the frame the building will take up. These are likely the environment photos I will be using to surround my own building designs (they are also public domain free to use images). These buildings do not represent my designs, they are simply place holders.
These concepts will also indicate what time of day and what the weather will be like in the final visualisation.
I wanted to included in my brochure a wide range of environments for the customer to chose from.These locations are impractical in reality but this is conceptual architecture so these locations are meant to trigger an emotional response from the viewer.