Stanford Guest House

For this project I designed a guest house that would host visitors on campus, located at Frenchman’s Park. As an individual project, I planned, drafted, revised, and constructed all elements of the model.

Concept Diagram and Sketch Model

With the self-implied restrain of minimizing solid walls, I took the approach of utilizing vertical fins and lattices to define the bounds of the building while blending the inside-outside spaces.

Ideation and Sketches

  • Free hand sketching

  • Plan drawn to scale (1’ : 1/4”) using drafting board

  • Interior perspective

First Model Iteration

Using Adobe Illustrator I created multiple templates to laser cut birch plywood and acrylic sheets. I then constructed the model by hand, using exacto knives and sand paper to clean the edges and remove unnecessary burn marks.

Light Study via Heliodon

I used a heliodon to simulate the sun path for the winter solstice, equinox, and summer solstice at 37°N and 122°W (Stanford’s location), and make corresponding adjustments based on the results.

Modifications for Iteration 2:

M1: Frosted glass skylights over stairways and bathroom

  • Increase light deeper into the building

M2: Reduced fins on north face

  • Increase light

M3: Converted central atrium to an open courtyard

  • Square footage

M4: Removed through-level bookshelf

  • Did not match the language/style of the rest of building

M5: Removed handrail on stair guards

  • Keep consistency with outer fins

M6: Added glass surround walls on both floors

  • Thermal insulation for spaces other than bed and bath

Winter Solstice:

Equinox:

Summer Solstice:

9:00 am

9:00 am

9:00 am

12:00 pm

12:00 pm

12:00 pm

3:00 pm

3:00 pm

3:00 pm

Second Model Iteration

After making adjustments in Adobe Illustrator, I recut the materials and built a second iteration.

Final Drawings on Vellum

All structural drawings were done on a drafting board–site plan was freehanded–and are accurate to scale (1’ : 1/4”).

  • (TL) Plans for base level and first floor

  • (TR) Sections looking from the East face (above) and North face (below)

  • (BL) Axonometric/plan oblique

  • (BR) Site Plan, scaled at (5’ : 3/16”)

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