Smith Residence Remodel

Here is a typical classic three floors hip roofing seafront vocational condo with 15 units in two types (A/B) and ground gardens/ balconies upstairs. The twelve type-A units are grouped into two sections; six apartment units face to the east with the astonishing view of the sea and the rest of the units face to the west. Type B units are in the central part of the building with north and south views. Each of the units has one or two refreshing balconies or terraces, and some of them are very cozy by nicely air ventilation and well orientated. The surrounding neighborhood is generally quiet, clean, and lively. The property site is just about 150 meters only to the beach, and it is very close to dining and restaurants. The client wants to replace the hip roof with four separately private large terraces/solar rooms/penthouses. What’s more, the existing building envelopes will be improved by the modern architectural structure elements and shading devices. The process will not only improve the atheistic of the apartment facades but also will largely enhance the natural environmental control performance of the building complex.

The existing apartment building brings us a very normal old school style with those elements: generic doors and windows with blinds, the solid railings on each floor and stairs, and the white walls cover the entire building, a typical hip roof with four chimneys. The proposed design should be a dynamic attractive destination, restyling of the facades of the new complex with some necessary enhancement on the walls, doors, windows, railings, and so on. The new design provides four access stairs directly from the four units on the 2nd floor private terrace of and only the part above each unit is exclusively occupied by the private terrace. Regarding the lift for the apartment, it involves two design scenarios: with two lifts sit on the east and west side of the building or no lift for the building. The drawings and renderings attached focus on the first scenario, and it is easy to imagine the design proposal without the two lifts based on the drawings/renderings. As the ornamental structures, the two lifts obviously can enhance the property both aesthetically and functionally with the elegant metal structures and vertical spaces attached to the building. Each lift services the six units and the center three units will not use the lift for accessing the terrace.

On the ground floor, the surrounding large private garden area with porches is well organized by new modern fences, modern partition walls, and stone steps. On the terrace floor, the four private terrace spaces are perfectly mirrored, subsequently adaptable according to the precise needs of the tenants’ daily entertainment and function. In the current situation, the center part of the terrace level is a large space, but it could very easily transfer to any useful lively space in the future. The entire terrace spaces are covered by glazing hip roof structures with automotive solar shading systems. (if the solid roof for the terrace is not permitted by the local code, the solid glazing roof structures might be exchanged for the removable fabric shading devices).

The new features for the apartment building envelope in the exclusive location (reference from the professional third party environmental controlling consulting system):
1, well-insulated glazing and envelope, bring the outside in by using large glazing ratios and shading as necessary, creating natural ventilation
2, large occupation ratio of the shading device (Brise Soleil) on south/west/east elevations
3, using operable shading to extend the use of natural light when it starts to get back

The architecture envelope system is widely enhanced by the shading louver facilities (translucent operable sliding louver system and vertical wooden louver system are applied on the large proportion on the building envelope. The terrace ceiling is decorated with ply wooden panels, as well as some vertical partition walls. The entire existing white walls could be repainted with light gray stucco materials. The additional wooden window boxes with operable sliding blinds allow the customers to fully enjoy the view of the garden/seafront without much sunshine in the warm and hot weather.