Wolf House and its Surrounding

Wolf House in daylight

Wolf Residence at nightfall

Although located beside a public park, Wolf House still possesses a fairly high level of privacy. It is surrounded by trees and high bushes. The house it is self is sided by aluminum panels.Flourishing trees create wonderful shades in summer which lower temperature in the house.

Privacy of the residence is well protected from the public park besides it

The courtyard and back yard are well hidden even in winter

The wall facing the neighbor is fully covered by aluminum siding

Roxborough Driveway in front of Wolf House;
the dwelling across is blocked by vegetation in summer

Overlooking into the public park from major intersection,
Wolf House is well hidden behind the trees

Mechanical Lines and Circulation Study

The lighting system in the home is extremely simple. The first set of lights begins at the front entrance and extend down the long hallway towards the south wing, covering both the kitchen area and the living room.

                                      

Exposed Ductwork

The ventilation ductwork follows the same simplicity, shown in the model elsewhere. The exposed ductwork, light systems, and trusses are in line with each other and are organized cleanly throughout the structure. As a result, the home's systems can be exposed without a cluttered appearance, allowing them to become aesthetics of the home at the same instance.



1st & 2nd Floor plan circulation axes highlighted



Shown in orange, the circulation axis is the pivot point of the different spaces within the house. The first floor is divided between the entrance and the living spaces  the second is divided into the children's and the parents' spaces. Unlike the Myers Residence, where the two wings are connected intimately by an atrium in the middle, the separated wings in the Wolf Residence are only united by a narrow hallway. As a result, the openness between the two sectors throughout the house is completely cut off.

Main level hallway division

Division between children and parent's spaces

Morphology: Effects of Materials and Structures

Concrete Structure Axonometric & Plan

An extremely heavy structure that limits flexibility and openness.

All-Wood Structure Axonometric & Plan

Wolf house span across 24 meters longitudinally. Using a wood structure would require both exterior load bearing wall and interior load bearing wall. It could not provide the openness required by Wolf House.



Composite Structure Axonometric & Plan

Myers Residence, the project done by Barton Myers before Wolf Residence, adopted this type of structure. The load bearing walls on the outside support lateral loads while the steel joists and the metal deck spanning across these walls bear shear loads. As shown in the photo, only two side walls are made of concrete masonry, allowing the rest of the house to be built in steel frames. This type of structure requires no interior load bearing walls; Myers took advantage of this to allow for open space and sliding walls in the house.

Extremely open space in Berryman house



All-Steel Structure Axonometric & Plan

Using the Myers Residence as a precedence, Barton Myers chose an all-steel structural frame for Wolf House. Without the load bearing wall, the whole house was built in steel. Open web steel joists, metal decking and steel studs were built on top of concrete footing with caissons piled underneath for support. This structure not only produced the open space Myers Residence could not construct, but also reduced pressure on the foundation-- a requirement for the poor soil condition of the site. As a result, Wolf Residence has a structure lighter than all the structures above. It required no solid wall for support, thus appears to be a floating house. Sections and side elevations clearly show the eight steel studs supporting the entire building.

Exposed Ductwork & Lighting Systems Axonometric & Plan

After the steel frame construction was completed, the home remained lightweight. The Wolf Residence only became structurally stable after the application of drywall.

Eames House and Wolf House

Similarities between the Eames House (1949) and the Wolf House:

: structural devices exposed and made of steel (steel joists in Eames House, Steel trusses in Wolf House)

: detailing exclusively with steel and glass

: exposed structural elements (corrugate metal decking in Eames House)

Here are pictures of the Eames House. The house was originally designed as a proposal for prefabricated housing, using materials that were readily available on the market. The space in the house was a result of its structural elements-- all made of steel.

Eames House: Steel joists and corrugated metal decking give an industrial effect

These elements are continued inside the Wolf House as well

The following image is an interior picture of the Wolf House. The same corrugated metal decking and steel structural elements can be found, and are expressed in the interior of the house as well, just as in the Eames House.

Interior picture of the Wolf House

The steel elements in combination with the modern bath 
fixtures  express an idea about dwelling in which a space can 
feel intimate and personal, despite contradictory stylistic choices.

In both buildings, the choice of exposed steel structural elements achieve a certain personality and hyper modernist style within the home. It creates an industrially themed feeling to the rooms, and attempts to convey a message about modern dwelling. In the case of the Eames House, it is the idea of prefabricated homes that cost a tenth of the price of usual wood framed homes and that can still feel personal. The industrial atmosphere is embraced, but in the case of both the Eames House and the Wolf House, the life of the spaces are dependent on the furniture the home owner chooses. The steel framework and structure lays out a canvas for the home owner's personality, which can be observed in the interior of both homes.

Naval Inspiration

"The engineering curriculum of the USNA integrated naval subjects, engineering drawings, auxiliary naval machinery, naval boilers and steam propulsion, all of which kindled my interest in  ship and aircraft design and construction ... (Their) highly organized and sophisticated systems (enhanced my interest)." --Barton Myers

Barton Myers in Uniform

Here are some examples of naval machinery that influenced Barton Myers. Personally, the exposed pipes and valves in this machinery remind me of the exposed ducts and steel trusses present in the Wolf House. It is fair to say that Myers' inspiration for the interior design of the Wolf House can clearly be related to the following pictures. Myers also mentions highly organized systems, which is an attribute of the Wolf House. The way he placed all the building's utilities on one side of the building might also be based on his fascination with ships and his time in the navy. The utilities are placed all along the wall that is facing the neighbour, as opposed to the wall facing the beautiful view of the park. This is similar to the way a ship's machinery is not open to the public and does not hinder the beauty of the ship, because rather, it is stored where only the mechanics have access. Although Myers celebrates and chooses to show certain utilities such as ducts for aesthetic purposes, he also considers an efficient organization of the parts that make the house run smoothly.

Naval boiler

Auxiliary naval machinery

Old steam propulsion engine

"Another steel influence was the battleship Olympia ... I loved the contrast of the new and old navy: the modern riveted steel plate and contemporary naval hardware, furnished with the traditional interiors of oriental rugs, mahogany chests and old ship's silver." -Barton Myers

In this quote, Myers talks about his passion for steel, the material that is most present in the Wolf House and majority of his designs. Here is a picture of the ship he mentioned in the quote. The beautiful contrast in colour and style can clearly be seen in this picture. 

Picture of the battleship Olympia

Myers also talks about his appreciation of the juxtaposition of modern and classical styles. This contrast is present in the Wolf House, with a modern, industrial interior furnished with more classic furniture and decorations.

Myers admits his time in the navy had much impact on his designs and his preference for material such as steel. This source inspiration is obvious in the Wolf House as well as his other buildings. 

Refer to Mechanical Lines & Circulation