Centre of Vision
Matariki is a shortened word for the phrase, “the eyes of the god Tawhirimatea.” Human eyes always look for a light source. As a result, what was previously an infinite galaxy covering the sky is replaced by sleepless high-rise buildings. Why not build darkness again? The only light source entering the room enveloped with thatched roof is the central skylight.
The brief of this project being designing an open plan home with a maximum internal gross floor area of 40 square meters, I decided to design a home taking a philosophical approach of Maori culture while integrating the structural, grid like plan and orientation of Japanese rooms – alongside traits of Wabi-Sabi, Japanese terms for imperfection on the organic shape of the roof that ties the structure together to portray a sense of softness. The roof structure sends focus on the middle opening; a skylight that gently nudges the residents to look up towards the sky, towards the brightest spot in the room.
1:50 Scale Model
