IDEAS THAT WAS CHOSEN

So far we chose 3 types of multifunctional furnitures to be place and use in the studio apartment. This 3 types of furnitures are flexible and adaptable to the small space. They are design in a way that they can safe space and also provide the needs for the user.

First is the Murphy bed. The Murphy bed  is design in a way that it's able to be kept away easily whenever it is not in use. So if it is not in use the Murphy bed will be seen as though it is a big cupboard with a shelf and a sofa. So in order to transform it into a bed, you need to pull down the shelf revealing a queen size bed. Then the shelf will act as a support for the bed. It also reveal a place of storage like drawers and compartments. So the user can keep their clothes or personal stuff in it. The Murphy bed will use a hydraulic system to lessen the effort to pull or push it into place. So that no injury may occur.

Second is the multifuntional chair. The multifuntional chair is design not just a chair but it can tranform into a stepping stool. The chair also has drawers underneath which can be pull out easily and shelf beneath the backrest. So that the user can put his belongings in it.

Thirdly is the telescopic table. In the beginning. it looks like a desk with shelves and a cabinet. It will also transform into a dinning table by pulling the two front legs, revealing an aluminium bridge as an extension.The cabinet store the planks or leaves as others call it, which is used to place on top of the brigde. This now creates the dinning table which can serve up to 9 people.  

Pros and Cons.

Today we did on an exercise on finding the Pros and Cons of our three main ideas.

First the multifunctional chair. For the Pros firstly it doesn't take up much space, has more functions than a normal chair and fill the need of other furnitures. So in terms this furnitures has a combination of two different things combining into one.

Then the Cons, It requires more materials to build a multifuntional chair than a normal one. So the cost of buillding it is much more higher.Also it depends on the design and the shape of it, which it can only fulfill for certain purposes only.

Second is the Murphy bed. Pros, It is multipurpose, It can morph into other needs when the bed is not in use, for example like a shelf or a sofa. The bed can be kept away easily so that it doesn't take up much space and it is cheaper than a normal bed.

The Cons. Well not much really just that It can be tiresome to keep the bed and take it out again whenever it is needed.

Lastly the multifunctional table. The Pros is that it's save space and it is multifunctional as it name goes and the Cons is that it depends on the design and shape of the table because it can only fulfill certain purposes.

The objective of this excercise is to identify what is the good and the bad thing of our ideas so that we can make the right decision, to work on and improve it or discard it.

Sketches Pt 4

I got an idea how to make the space of the studio apartment bigger. We can built a balcony for each apartment. Then the balcony will be covered with a roof structure to protect it from the weather . So the balcony will act like a room that is hanging outside the building. Other than giving an extra space to the apartment, I think it will give a different aesthetic design to the building.

How about decreasing the space in the toilet. maybe combining two items into one. like combining the shower and the toilet bowl together. I know it sound wrong but if you thing about it it can save you time inside the toilet. You can take a dump then after that you can straight take a shower without living your sit.
But don't worry the water for the shower does not come from the toilet bowl. It come from a different pipe line separated from the toilet bowl one.

Sketches pt 3

The thought of using mirrors to maximize space in a room is not a bad idea. You can use it in a strategically manner, Depending on the shape of the room. Mirrors has this reflective imagery that can make our mind think that a small space is big. So in terms it gives an illusion that the space is big. For say if you want your space to be longer, you can put a tall mirror at the end of the room or maybe you it wider than you can put mirrors at the side of the room. It may not be real but at least it gives a sense that the space is not small.
video: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-your-home-look-bigger-using-mirrors

Or maybe demolishing the brick wall  to connect to another studio apartment. Making it to be a share room instead. Well the only setback is that there's no privacy but at least you have a friend to talk to and it's not lonely and of course the space is bigger.

 SKETCHES

pt 2

The idea of putting movable wall in a studio apartment might be possible. The goal of this idea is to create a space within a space. The movable walls will be set at the side of the room. To move the walls. A series of railing is built onto the ceiling to create pathways for the walls. kind of like railway tracks. To move, you can just push it and the walls will easily slide throughout the room.

How about built in furniture. Where the furniture will be strategically place in the room to maximized space. So no unnecessary items are place in the room that would contribute to the clutter.

How about using smaller types of furniture.Which is used in korea and japan, like the japanese tatami bed which can be folded and be put away easily. A foldable small table that is used for breakfast in bed. Which can be used for work or eating your meals and light enough to carry with one hand and even small enough to be put away. A chair with only the backrest and sit cushion. With all this furniture s combined together. I believed that the space will be flexible and a whole lot more spacious.

Sketches & Ideas

First I had an idea on using colours to maximize the space in the room. As people we have a sense of interest in colours and with different kind of hues we can feel different kind of emotions. Colours also can give an illusion. For example we can used white colour to paint a small room and make it seem bigger than it appears to be. Or maybe using rich paint colours. Using bright colours can give us a cheery and a happy feeling. Other than that we can used graphic wallpaper to give the space a personality. Although using graphic wallpaper in a big room might be to overwhelming but i think using it in a smaller room will make fabulous.

Another is that changing the shape and size of the room which catered to each persons needs. Maybe asking the owner what they need the most in the room. if like they need a bigger work area we can design the kitchen to be a pantry. If they want a bigger living room than we can take out the bed and replace it with a sofa bed. If they want a bigger space then we can extent the room.

Brainstorming 101 ideas

We are brainstorming about getting ideas to solve the problem of studio apartment is to small. We have to at least get 101 ideas no matter how ridiculous it is and we cannot criticize each other's ideas. It was easy at first until we got to our 60th idea. Our brain  just stood a stand still. We pounding our heads away to come out with ideas and we just told ourselves not to think to practical. What is in our mind just let it out. Then the lecturer ask us for our attention. She told us that all the people in the group except for the leader must move to another table with another leader of a different group. And the leader of that group must explained their idea to us and from there we give them our feedback or even give them extra ideas that we can thing off.

So far i think that the way they explained their ideas was quite understandable. To me some of their idea could work in real life. Especially the recycling bit where they construct different rubbish chute that separate the plastics from the Cans and the newspaper. 

After that session we go back to our sit and we had enough ideas to work on. There were some interesting ideas but we can't use it cause it was not practical. Then our lecturer told us to choose 3 - 6 ideas that you want to used to solve the problems and work on it. So in the end my group decided to choose three ideas. The ideas are the Murphy bed, multifunctional chair and the twisted table.

Experience

I wanted to experience what is like living in a studio apartment  but sadly I can't just bust in and ask the owner if i can sleep over at his place cause that's going to be uncomfortable and weird. So my group  decided to pretend that our bedroom is a studio apartment. So we challenged ourselves to live in our bedroom for a day without stepping out of our room except using the bathroom. Then we would record our feeling and experiences.

So this is how it goes, in the morning i ate breakfast inside my room. It was going well and the food was delicious. Until I spill my food on the carpet. I was so piss about it and frustrated at the same time but cleaning was easy though.

Then I started to do my work. It was a foam and structure exercise. While i was doing my work i create a lot of mess within my room. There was clutter everywhere until i do not have room to move. The room even became dusty and stuffy and causes me to have difficulty to control my sneezing. I feel so constraint and uncomfortable. and even stress by looking at this small space. I feel so irritated just by looking at it. For me i felt that i need to get out of the room to get some fresh air and just wanted to run away from it.

Interview

Hey guys. This week we need to find a person who work related to or living in a studio apartments.
and to find his or her views and opinion on it.

This person that I chose as an interviewee, is one of my friends who works in Surbana (Architectural Company) located at red hill Singapore. Cintamamat which is not his real name, work in Surbana as an architect assistant. He works in an architectural department. How I contacted him is through facebook and how I interview him is by online messaging through Facebook also.

Cintamamat said that the reason why small studio apartment is being built is because of the elderly. It is to provide shelter to the elderly with barrier free provision. It is built all around the Singapore's housing estate. He said that the idea of building studio apartment began in the mid 90s by the minister of home affairs (Mah Bow Tan) but he was not sure. hahahahahahah. He said that not one department specialize on the design of the studio apartment but the whole Archi department. His view is that it does not benefit the elderly because it is small and expensive. It is like the government is asking the elderly to prepare themselves to live in a smaller space when they go 7ft under. It would be better if they make it more bigger or cheaper or give it for free to the elderly, which is a nice way of paying them back for the hardwork of building up Singapore he said.

His view on the idea of studio apartment is ridiculous and scrap the idea of  building more of it because It is getting smaller and cramp. Also it does not help them much. He will not sell his present house for a studio apartment but if he had no choice he would rather migrate than to buy it.

Case Study

Hi, today i'm going to research on people who transform their tiny apartment into many variety of rooms.
The thing is that we cannot renovate the space of the studio apartment that is given to us. The only thing that we can do is to adapt to the space.

So here is a man call Christian who own's a tiny apartment located at Barcelona's hip born district . He called it the Lego style apartment.  He has only a small space to work with and  he do not like a lot of clutter in his space because he will get annoyed by it. His furniture's is hidden in the walls of his apartment. Which can be pull down or slide out to make a bed, dining table or even a kitchen. He got his inspiration from small boat furniture's reading in magazine and from japan style elements in living. Also when he was young, he would sit on his sofa and surround himself with a lot of pillows and he would feel cozy in them. Which he related to it as a bird nest concept.

To me this idea really works in small spaces and it's a good idea.
but the thing is that. it's a fix furniture. so in terms, it has to be custom made.
to fit in the space.

The knowledge that I've gathered is really beneficial cause it shows that it's possible to save space in a small area.

Here's the video link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWaO5TJS00

Causes

Some of the causes that studio apartment is being built is that the population is increasing and there is much need for shelter. Other than that the plot of  land is to small and they have to adapt and design within the area. So maybe that's the reason why studio apartment is being built that way. Sometimes you can see the pillars of the building popping out from the walls which make the room even smaller. So one quarter of the room is occupied by pillars.

The other reason why the space is too small. Is because of the human nature. You know sometimes it is just our habit that we are just to lazy to clean up our stuff. We always stated that we are going to clean up the mess later. But the later will become hours, days or even maybe months. Then it would cause a limited space in the room and the room would get smaller and smaller. In the other hand maybe the person is just too busy to do the cleaning. Well you know, maybe he has to much projects to handle and to occupied in finishing his work. until he just forgot to do it.

















it

Stakeholder

Hi guyz today i'm going to talk about a stakeholder in the title of why studio apartment are so small.

Well to me if i'm in the government shoes and if my land is limited. But i need to provide shelter for my people. I would maybe think about what is needed in the shelter and not for personnel leisure . Maybe i would not like my country to be covered with lots of buildings. I would live some space for greenery practice. Like putting trees, plants and flowers just to make more beautiful and maybe a fitness corner. hahaha.To promote this housing i would make the price more cheaper than ordinary flats.

Dora is a student studying in Singapore. she is 21 years old . she has a friend whose name is katty who is staying in a small studio apartment. Sometimes if they had to do a project work together katty would invite Dora to her apartment. When Dora got to her place she felt a bit claustrophobic because of the small interior in it. she felt so uncomfortable because of all the clutter in her apartment but Dora did'nt say anything and just do their project like nothing happen.. Then they felt a bit hungry so katty decided to cook something for them to eat. While katty was cooking the smoke from the kitchen spread to the living space. Dora felt a bit suffocated by the smoke. Her eyes got watery . so she quickly step out of  katty's apartment and was relieve by the fresh air outside.

Why is studio apartment small

Well To me, studio apartment are design to suit the needs of a single person. They cannot raise a family there because it's just too small.Plus if they would have childrens. It would be kind of awkward for them to be in the same room.

Other than that your privacy is exposed to your friends and famiIlies who came to visit you. It would be so embarrassing . If they would found something that you wouldn't want them to find. Hehehe...

Brainstorming

During the day we had a brainstorming section about what is the good and the bad things about studio apartments. First I look at the furniture's. The furniture is to big for such a small space. It only fit a single purpose and it is not flexible.

Now about visitors!!! You can't bring a large group into your studio apartment cause it's just to small. You can't have study groups, no sleep over's, no party's and most importantly no privacy. OMG!!!!!.  It is going to be embarrassing if someone saw your underwear just lying around in your apartment or even things that you do not want anyone to know about. If you know what i mean.

The room maybe would be fool of stuff which will lead to clutter in the room then would constrict movement. and limit ventilation. Which in terms make you feel restless and uncomfortable. Which then lead to sickness and stress. Ayoyoyoyo!!!!! .

I think one of the reason that studio apartments are being built is that the population is increasing, plot of land is too small and the government want to save land cause of Singapore's limited land space. Well this is a difficult situation. haissssssss!!!!!!!