Beehive housing

Student: Stathi Ioanna - Silaidos Dimitris
Supervisor: Panos Dragonas
Dissertation Thesis at the Technical University of Patra, School of Architecture
Presentation Date: March 24^th 2010

A. On the first part, a dwelling house system is introduced. It has the ability to be placed on every site. The habitants choose the structural parts of the whole building, defining the form and the shape of the construction.
B. On the second part the system is established on a specific site in the area of Keramikos in Athens.

Form standardization and preconstruction are the basic features of this dwelling house system. The hexagon is the primary shape being used, inspired by the beehives. The main attribute of the hexagon is its ability to fit perfectly to 6 similar shapes.

Each hexagon represents a domestic space of the house. The main cell, considered the heart of the house, could be surrounded with additional cells-rooms that form the house. The dimensions of the hexagon are modified in order to achieve a better grade for the lateral walls, where the stairs are placed for vertical circulation.

In order to create different types of dwellings and reduce the total area of them, 3 cells are used for each house. The 3 types and the 3 variations of the houses is the result of choosing the place of the cells that are used each time.

The building is created by placing each house above the other, always  keeping each main cell directly above the other one.  Some cells are displaced by the 1/3 of their total length. The cells that contain the stairs and the elevators are installed at the back of the building applied to the transposed cells. The base of the building is used in order to keep a distance between the lower dwelling and the ground and is also used as the entrance of the building.

Preconstruction concerns the frame of the cell which is constructed by reinforced concrete. There are used 2 different types of cells for each house. The main cell contains entrance area, living room, kitchen and indoor stairs. The additional cells contain bedrooms and working places.

The internal of the cell consists of a curve facing, vertical walls that define wc and kitchen and floor. Materials and colors can be changed. Facade consists of glass frames and venetian blinds for sun protection.