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Courtesy of Epiphyte Lab, 2009

 

The M-House was designed by Epiphyte Lab, led by my studio professor, Dana Cupkova. The project considers a traditional building type called a Butler building, where the roof is pitched to a single spine concave to the interior of the building. The practice expanded on this by first conceiving a structural transformation to allow the structure to collect snow, providing greater thermal insulation during the winter.

Then it gets interesting.

A number of computations derived from algorithms that reposition the specific sectional guide points of the structure allow the structure to reposition itself along specific site lines. It then undergoes another transformation to accommodate programmatic requirements relating to any specific needs for interior space, outdoor spaces, larger rooms, etc.

Finally, the structure undergoes computations developed through climate data. This helps determine the number of ribs and panels, the conditions of the site, and other environmental parameters that can help the housing style adapt to the needs of specific requirements of a site.

I appreciate this project a lot because it provides an adaptable solution to a common problem in the northern United States and Canada and poses the possibility of replication anywhere beyond its intended site in Buffalo, New York.