So im designing a house inspired in two houses of architect Alberto Campo Baeza (Guerrero House and Gaspar House). Something interesting about this houses is that bedrooms don´t have any windows, they only have sunlight coming from doors made of glass.
I created the topic to hear, what you guys think about this solution ? are windows really needed in a bedroom ?.
Thanks!.
arch76
Jun 3, 19 9:30 pm
so, if you want some cross ventilation, you open the door and....?
Non Sequitur
Jun 3, 19 10:22 pm
Call me old-fashion but I like to be able to see outside, preferably through a nicely positioned window. Besides that, I find the minimalist in your example houses boring and more suitable for a washroom than living or sleeping spaces.
arch76
Jun 4, 19 12:03 am
to be fair, it does have a fall hazard, on the left, within the overall enclosure...thats exciting
oldwhitehouse
Jun 4, 19 12:16 am
Was that drawn on a CAD system? Or an etch-a-sketch?
midlander
Jun 4, 19 1:15 am
you know, it's a student work. if you're aware of the possible concerns but you feel it's important for expressing something architectural, attack the problem, make a point in your presentation of why the design needs this and how it still works.
having the skill to do this well is more important than second guessing what a client you don't have would or wouldn't want.
part of this may be a reaction to my past experience working on residential projects in china, where bedrooms are required to receive 1-2 hours of direct sunlight on the winter solstice. why you need such a sunny room for sleeping i have no idea.
when i look at student portfolios, i'm more impressed by the ones that take a not-obvious position and defend it thoughtfully. a lot of pretty diagrams are wasted demonstrating something no one disagrees with.
archanonymous
Jun 4, 19 8:54 am
In the Alberto Campo Baeza examples the approach works because of the blistering hot climate, the need for shade and thermal insulation, and the doors on each side (or large voids in the walls) that allow cross ventilation.
In design, as in life, you can do anything you want, but it wont always make sense in isolation. The approach becomes cohesive when seen in the context of the other moves.
JLC-1
Jun 4, 19 4:16 pm
exactly.
Sitting Duck
Jun 4, 19 10:52 pm
Really? With those ~18'0" ish walls all the way around the perimeter you figure there will be enough cross ventilation? I'm not being sarcastic but genuinely asking.
On the fence
Jun 4, 19 9:48 am
Nothing wrong with using all glass door on the exterior. Bedrooms need light, views and ventilation. These will meet all of that. Emergency escape and rescue openings are also met by the use of the exterior glass doors.
won and done williams
Jun 4, 19 9:54 am
Your section isn't cut through the bedrooms. I can't tell what's going on in the plan. Therefore, impossible to say from the drawings you posted.
tduds
Jun 4, 19 11:49 am
I can't speak to other countries but I"m pretty sure code doesn't allow a "bedroom" with no windows.
Not to say there aren't creative ways around this, or real estate agents who ignore the premise entirely & upcharge you the option of a "Den" with a bed in it.
Everyday Architect
Jun 4, 19 1:30 pm
I once looked at a studio apt to rent with no windows. It did have a skylight which gave some natural light. I ended up getting a job at the firm that designed the apartment and I asked about the code compliance. Apparently it wasn't easy and they would have liked to put a window in the studio, there was an easy place to put it, but the building was a historical renovation and they couldn't cut a new window in the existing envelope. After some careful code gymnastics it was allowable because they were able to count the skylight as a means of egress by adding a ladder. There was a lot of other stuff that went into it, and I got the impression it left a bad taste with the PM who was telling me about it. In the end, while it was code compliant, it wasn't a very good design and as a space for living in it would have been terrible had I decided to rent it. I ended up paying less for a larger, newer unit a few blocks away with lots of windows (corner unit) and a balcony overlooking a wonderful plaza and greenway.
poop876
Jun 4, 19 4:18 pm
or maybe it was as simple as it had fire suppression...
JLC-1
Jun 4, 19 4:24 pm
it does, if it has a door directly to the outside. you may have to do the calcs for lighting and ventilation, but a door is better than a window for emergency egress.
Everyday Architect
Jun 4, 19 4:33 pm
It's never that simple when the developer is trying to maximize their profits.
poop876
Jun 4, 19 4:44 pm
to an inch! So true though.
JLC-1
Jun 4, 19 4:45 pm
I know, more than I like to know
tduds
Jun 4, 19 6:04 pm
How many inches of profit is ideal?
Everyday Architect
Jun 4, 19 6:08 pm
how many inches do you have?
JLC-1
Jun 4, 19 4:19 pm
be careful, doing what campo baeza does is way harder than what gehry does.
"The house is the construction of a luminous shadow."
Sitting Duck
Jun 4, 19 10:30 pm
For a vacation / novelty house sure...but for 365 days? No. I would say you "need" one for humanitarian reasons.
I once rented a bedroom in Singapore for a few months with no window and I lost all concept of time in that room. I will never design that experience for anyone. I doubt those glass doors would improve THAT much.
This project seems your only option is to live according to the architect's doctrine / no reprieve from looking out beyond the architecture. It's isolated from the horizon...for godliness I suppose.
some of these comments make me think no one even bothered to google this. i'm a big fan of Campo Baeza's work and buying a house like this is on my to-do list just after winning the lottery, so i'm biased.
it's a beautiful house and like most art-architecture, a special place for a special situation. note that the drawings are the published drawings of the house, not the OP's own work. Since this sounds very much like a student project there is no point speculating on what the owner likes or how it will be used.
the worst part of school were always the critics who looked at every project through the lens of common and ordinary - it gave them leeway to criticize anything extraordinary for being abnormal, and anything ordinary for being unimaginative.
JLC-1 is right though, this kind of subtlety depends on a very thoroughly thought through analysis of the site and the client's lifestyle which is hard to pull off and easy to turn out miserably bleak. Since OP sounds like a student he ought to give it a try.
Hello everyone:
So im designing a house inspired in two houses of architect Alberto Campo Baeza (Guerrero House and Gaspar House). Something interesting about this houses is that bedrooms don´t have any windows, they only have sunlight coming from doors made of glass.
I created the topic to hear, what you guys think about this solution ? are windows really needed in a bedroom ?.
Thanks!.
so, if you want some cross ventilation, you open the door and....?
Call me old-fashion but I like to be able to see outside, preferably through a nicely positioned window. Besides that, I find the minimalist in your example houses boring and more suitable for a washroom than living or sleeping spaces.
to be fair, it does have a fall hazard, on the left, within the overall enclosure...thats exciting
Was that drawn on a CAD system? Or an etch-a-sketch?
you know, it's a student work. if you're aware of the possible concerns but you feel it's important for expressing something architectural, attack the problem, make a point in your presentation of why the design needs this and how it still works.
having the skill to do this well is more important than second guessing what a client you don't have would or wouldn't want.
part of this may be a reaction to my past experience working on residential projects in china, where bedrooms are required to receive 1-2 hours of direct sunlight on the winter solstice. why you need such a sunny room for sleeping i have no idea.
when i look at student portfolios, i'm more impressed by the ones that take a not-obvious position and defend it thoughtfully. a lot of pretty diagrams are wasted demonstrating something no one disagrees with.
In the Alberto Campo Baeza examples the approach works because of the blistering hot climate, the need for shade and thermal insulation, and the doors on each side (or large voids in the walls) that allow cross ventilation.
In design, as in life, you can do anything you want, but it wont always make sense in isolation. The approach becomes cohesive when seen in the context of the other moves.
exactly.
Really? With those ~18'0" ish walls all the way around the perimeter you figure there will be enough cross ventilation? I'm not being sarcastic but genuinely asking.
Nothing wrong with using all glass door on the exterior. Bedrooms need light, views and ventilation. These will meet all of that. Emergency escape and rescue openings are also met by the use of the exterior glass doors.
Your section isn't cut through the bedrooms. I can't tell what's going on in the plan. Therefore, impossible to say from the drawings you posted.
I can't speak to other countries but I"m pretty sure code doesn't allow a "bedroom" with no windows.
Not to say there aren't creative ways around this, or real estate agents who ignore the premise entirely & upcharge you the option of a "Den" with a bed in it.
I once looked at a studio apt to rent with no windows. It did have a skylight which gave some natural light. I ended up getting a job at the firm that designed the apartment and I asked about the code compliance. Apparently it wasn't easy and they would have liked to put a window in the studio, there was an easy place to put it, but the building was a historical renovation and they couldn't cut a new window in the existing envelope. After some careful code gymnastics it was allowable because they were able to count the skylight as a means of egress by adding a ladder. There was a lot of other stuff that went into it, and I got the impression it left a bad taste with the PM who was telling me about it. In the end, while it was code compliant, it wasn't a very good design and as a space for living in it would have been terrible had I decided to rent it. I ended up paying less for a larger, newer unit a few blocks away with lots of windows (corner unit) and a balcony overlooking a wonderful plaza and greenway.
or maybe it was as simple as it had fire suppression...
it does, if it has a door directly to the outside. you may have to do the calcs for lighting and ventilation, but a door is better than a window for emergency egress.
It's never that simple when the developer is trying to maximize their profits.
to an inch! So true though.
I know, more than I like to know
How many inches of profit is ideal?
how many inches do you have?
be careful, doing what campo baeza does is way harder than what gehry does.
"The house is the construction of a luminous shadow."
For a vacation / novelty house sure...but for 365 days? No. I would say you "need" one for humanitarian reasons.
I once rented a bedroom in Singapore for a few months with no window and I lost all concept of time in that room. I will never design that experience for anyone. I doubt those glass doors would improve THAT much.
This project seems your only option is to live according to the architect's doctrine / no reprieve from looking out beyond the architecture. It's isolated from the horizon...for godliness I suppose.
https://www.archdaily.com/167127/guerrero-house-alberto-campo-baeza
some of these comments make me think no one even bothered to google this. i'm a big fan of Campo Baeza's work and buying a house like this is on my to-do list just after winning the lottery, so i'm biased.
it's a beautiful house and like most art-architecture, a special place for a special situation. note that the drawings are the published drawings of the house, not the OP's own work. Since this sounds very much like a student project there is no point speculating on what the owner likes or how it will be used.
the worst part of school were always the critics who looked at every project through the lens of common and ordinary - it gave them leeway to criticize anything extraordinary for being abnormal, and anything ordinary for being unimaginative.
JLC-1 is right though, this kind of subtlety depends on a very thoroughly thought through analysis of the site and the client's lifestyle which is hard to pull off and easy to turn out miserably bleak. Since OP sounds like a student he ought to give it a try.