Three Florist's Houses – Living With Plants Across Three Sites
Project Overview
My occupant is a florist, and according to a florist’s working requirements, I design a flower shop, a flower farm and a research house in North Melbourne, Castlemaine and Lerderderg respectively.
The florist usually lives in the flower shop. In autumn and winter, she goes to the flower farm and lives there, spending time planting seasonal flowers. In summer, she goes to the research house every weekend to study local plants.
Across the three houses, the consistent design concept is to use flowers and plants as the main elements to divide the space, allowing the florist to live with plants while also protecting her privacy.
House 2: Flower Farm – Living Surrounding the Plants
Spatial Strategy
In the flower farm, I use the strategy of living surrounding the plants. This means the living area is at the centre and is surrounded by the plants, clearly separating the indoor and outdoor areas while blocking views from outside. The height of the living area increases with the level of privacy. The kitchen is used as a public area so it is on the ground floor. The first floor is her planting studio, and on the top is her sleeping area and toilet.
Material and Environmental Strategy
The greenhouse uses 45x120 seasoned hardwood and polycarbonate. Polycarbonate has lower embodied carbon and allows sunlight to enter the house. Ventilation panels at the corners ensure air circulation. The living area has an independent ventilation system fixed on the roof.
The flower farm also has two water tanks for collecting rainwater and irrigating the flowers.
Construction Strategy
The house in the flower farm has two independent construction systems. The external system is a greenhouse, which makes it easier for the florist to grow flowers that require higher temperatures. The internal system is a stud wall structure supported by four columns, ensuring that the temperature in the living area is not too high during the day or too low at night.