We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Laurent Troost about their original and creative House design work. Laurent Troost is an award-winning architectural designer, that makes our world a better place with their original house works.
Laurent Troost ("LT") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Campinarana House. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
LT : The preservation and valorization of Campinarana - a type of Amazon forest characterized by small trees, whose soil is shallow and clayey - was the starting point for the concept of the project. To minimize deforestation and preserve as much as possible of the Forest, the main architectural strategy for construction in the 20 x 40 m plot was the reversal of the classic housing typology. At Casa Campinarana the rooms are located on the ground floor and the internal living environments, the outside seating and the swimming pool, are located on the upper deck.
LT : The roof has been the main focus in technical terms. The main transversal volume received a contemporary reinterpretation of the colonial roofs, with 8 pitches in 2 independent levels, allowing the fruition of the winds and the creation of an air mattress in the in-between space, protecting the thermal comfort of the living space of the upper floor of the house. On the East and West side, the roof consists of lateral vertical planes that protect the inhabited spaces from the first and last rays of equatorial sun. There was also the concern to create an independent roof of the house, with the construction of eaves of two meters to the North and to the South, supported only by eight supports in "V". The roof, therefore, can dilate in function of the thermal variation and insolation throughout the year, without compromising the structure of the house. The choice of Corten as roof material was due to its low maintenance and evolutionary character in harmony with the Forest of Campina and its reddish clay soil so present in the landscapes of the Amazon.
LT : I'm hoping this award winning design will trigger a more respectfull attitude towards nature in Manaus. Nature is seen as a problem by most of the population when it should be seen as the solution. To preserve and to valorize nature is increasing value to whatever you will build. This vision has to change.
LT : The process started in 2012 and the house has been completed in January 2018.
LT : It's a commission but almost without any constraints.
LT : Does not apply for architectural projects.
LT : Campinarana is a type of Amazon forest characterized by small trees, whose soil is shallow and clayey.
LT : To try to get recognition to help change visions about architecture nested in nature environment.
