ORANGE HOUSE PRIVATE RESIDENCE
Orange House is a three-storey-residence of steel structure, which is located on a very steep site in Bilkent, Ankara. The site has a nice combination of urban view and the one of Middle East Technical University forest. The building is composed of five separate rectangular volumes that are connected with each other via glass curtain walls. The building follows a 60 cm x 60 cm grid structure; therefore the proportions of the volumes obey this dimensioning. These volumes are made up of aqua panels, which are cement-based materials covered with glass fiber mesh. The aqua panels are colored with orange plastic paint, which does not fade away even when it is subject to intense sunlight during summer. Both the outside and the inside walls of the volumes are painted in orange. Therefore, the orange color of the outside façade continues at the inside spaces.
Each volume contains separate rooms which are dimensioned according to client requirements. The rooms open to a general circulation area at every flloor. The walls were designed as a double-layer structure and provides spaces for shafts, rainwater pipes, door frames, wardrobes and decorative niches.
DESIGNOGRAPHY
INTERIOR DESIGN
Color has a particular dominance over the design. Both the exterior and interior spaces are designed by placing color at the focus of attention. During the day, the building is clearly visible from a distance as the result of its orange color. At night, however, one may observe changes in the color of the residence both in the exterior and interior spaces due to an extensive use of LED lighting equipment that are mounted to such architectural elements as façade, pools, stairs, and terrace decks.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
The landscape design of the Orange House was accomplished in a 10800 sqm of area that surrounds the building. The client requested the use of deciduous plants for the design in order to feel the seasonal changes in their garden. They required a design based on color that changes due to seasonal change. Therefore, we developed a diagram of deciduous ornamental plants that displays flowering seasons and their colors. The plants are organized in a linear pattern. Identical plants are aligned in one row. The users can observe the color of the season that became dominant in a particular row. White and yellow colors dominate the design on spring, purple on summer and red on autumn. The maintenance is also considered in the design; the plants are selected among the ones that survive in arid climate.
There is also a sunken garden that is located along the basement floor. It is a 130 square meter garden that is placed under a glass bridge that leads to the entrance of the house. Due to the arid climate, the owners requested a garden that needs minimum maintenance and wanted to lean towards water-free landscape solutions for that particular location. In order to accommodate this request, a modern version of a dry rock Japanese zen garden was proposed. In the sunken garden design, the sand material of a typical zen garden is replaced with crushed and tumbled white marble stone, crushed black andesite stone and dark-red volcanic tuff. Rocky islands that would be found in zen gardens, are replaced with stainless steel pots that are graded in steps, from small to large sizes, descending like ridges of mountainous rock. The sunken garden is designed in circles, resembling the sand waves of the zen garden.
The circle shaped waves are created by using 20 cm x 1200 cm stainless steel sheets. The sheets are welded to each other to develop longer sheets for making larger circles. Each region that is defined between the stainless steel semi-circles harbors a different material, therefore making waves differ in color. Crushed stones, volcanic tuff and ground covering plants are placed in between the semi-circles. Glory trees are then planted at the center of every pot.
CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS