Suburban housing: living between walls

The site, located in Alexandria, Virginia, is three acres and bounded by a road to the north, existing single family homes to the east and west, and a wooded area to the south. The slope falls away from the road and there is a swale running down the center of the site. The site strategy has three elements. The first is a private drive running along the western site boundary which will allow access to all six dwellings. Large site walls, dividing the site for each dwelling, comprise the second element. The third element is building walls set perpendicular to the site walls which begin to establish each dwelling. Following the site strategy, the dwellings are composed of three basic areas. The public side includes a carport which is set close to the drive, and alongside of it the beginning of the major axis leading through each dwelling. The dwelling itself exists in the space created by the walls established upon the site. The living rooms are composed of indoor and outdoor space separated by large glass walls set into and between building walls. On the private side outside rooms are established, between and beyond the frames created by the building walls, which terrace down the slope. The materials, concrete masonry units and poured in place concrete are utilized as different building elements so the walls reveal their purpose through their form.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Department dc:contributor.department

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1996

Author dc:creator

• Robson, Michael Robert

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hunt, Gregory K.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.
• Small, Stephen W.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/53425

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/53425