Free plan is the first of the three design tactics studied and consists of the spatial and social organization using cores and implied volumes. Cores and socio-spatial elements that support more specific uses and are defined in more specific physical terms while implied volumes, as their names, are looser zones, both in terms of use and in terms of physical structure.
VK HOUSE
Juliaan Lampens
Completed in 1974, this brutalist house was designed by renowned Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens as a single-person home near the city of Ghent. The raw concrete structure offers complete privacy and an expansive open-plan minimalist space, softened by wooden floors and furniture. The house is designed with absolute openness, with large glass windows offering views of the terrace and garden and a concrete hanging roof 2.6 meters above the floor resting on two slender steel beams. The only fixed elements are three concrete cylinders for the bathroom, toilet, and staircase to the cellar. The kitchen area is demarcated by a hanging concrete square and the work surface that floats out into the living area to become the dining table. This design encouraged the family to live together in a space that is free of acoustic or perceptual privacy.
RETIREMENT HOUSE
Peter and Alison Smithson
Peter and Alison Smithson's retirement house, located in Hindhead, Surrey, England, is a significant example of their unique architectural style and philosophy. Designed in the early 1990s, the house is a demonstration of their well-known ideas about the integration of architecture and nature. The house is situated on a rural site surrounded by lush vegetation and rolling hills, which the Smithsons sought to integrate into their design.
The house is comprised of two main structures: a main building and a smaller annex. The main building is a simple, rectangular form with a flat roof and a minimal aesthetic, typical of the Smithsons' style. The house is constructed of concrete and glass, materials that are used to create a sense of permanence and stability, reflecting the Smithsons' belief that architecture should be anchored in the site and the landscape.