Design: Architecture

I have been fascinated by the number three for years. Triangles and the various permutations there-of have been a constant source of distractionf or me and I've never really been able to figure out why.

Additionally, I've been trying to design a small tower-retreat; someplace that could be built out in the woods like a cabin - a place to get away and think.

I've looked and sketched up a few hundred designs, but this idea combines the two fascinations; triangles and the tower.

One of the problems I've had with designing the tower is that a tower has limited space for the functional aspects of life. If your tower is 20x20 feet, the most you can throw on it would be three floors; usually two. That's only three rooms for a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc. So I knew that I would have to incorporate several areas into the structure of the tower to make it a livable space.

With this design, I still have the central tower structure as well as a perimeter wall to keep out whatever needs kept out. The wall also allows me to have a garden or patio space that is outside but not open to the public. By extending buildings from the central tower in three directions (yeah, I had to work the triangle in there somewhere), I was able to create additional areas for the structure.

If each of the extensions are one story and the central tower is two, that allows me to have each one serve a seperate purpose.

1. Kitchen / Dining / Pantry
2. Bed, Bath
3. Living / Guest

The ground floor of the tower would be open to provide access between the other three buildings. The second floor of the tower would be the study / office area. With it being higher than the other structures, it would provide a view around the complex. Additionally, a deck could be built around the second floor so that you could step out on it or even the roof of the other three structures to create a second set of outdoor patios.

Though this design shows a triangular central tower, logic would suggest that it would have to be hexagonal as a triangle doesn't afford much usable space in this design.

A 'circular' stair (or a pair) that extends from the ground floor up to the 2nd floor area would tie the two floors together fairly well and I would work in a sun well to draw in light through the central tower into the heart of the structure at ground level.

Can you tell that I had considered architecture as a field at one time?

I'd love to find some cheap, 3-d modeling program so I could build just the basic shapes of something like this. My sketching abilities aren't the best but I'm still working on them. It's taken me years just to make objects even partially resemble what they should.

-T