A stark concrete multi-purpose space occupies the ground floor of this house in Osaka by Japanese architect Takeshi Hamada.
Small Living: Sliding Apartment
Architect Gary Chang has lived in the same 32 square meter apartment since he was 14 years old, over 30 years ago.
“My whole family – my parents, my three younger sisters, and me – used to live here. To make ends meet, my parents also rented out one of the rooms to an outsider, a woman in her late twenties. Then the room was rented to her younger brother.”
Tokyo National Art Center
On our recent voyage to Japan, Tokyo proved to be our favourite destination – full of colour, youth culture, fresh design and architecture amongst many other things. One stunning structure which caught our attention, however, was the Tokyo National Art Center.
A stunning construction of glass and concrete, the building appears from afar to be more akin to a crystal than your typical building. The centre was designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa and located in Roppongi, the unofficial modern architecture district of Tokyo. Details »
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Connector
It’s quite a basic algorithm – more people equals more traffic, more traffic equals more noise. Whilst the noise itself may be inevitable, it can be muffled these days by innovative, unique and groundbreaking design concepts.
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at Brooklyn Bridge Park generates an overwhelming hum of traffic on a daily basis. In response, architect Donald Rattner in collaboration with Hage Engineering have “created a proposal intended to ameliorate traffic noise, provide more usable park area than has been possible to date, and enhance the public realm with a work of civic art.”
The design proposes to enclose the expressway, trapping the noise and preventing it from disturbing the visitors to the park. The expressway is set to undergo repairs from 2018 and the project could easily be factored in to the repairs. Rattner explains –
“There is a practical need to deal with the vehicular noise that emanates from the BQE. Regardless of what is ultimately built on the waterfront – housing, restaurants, ball fields, passive recreation areas – visitors to the open space and surrounding structures will be subject to relentless, unpleasant, potentially deafening noise – at 85 decibels, the equivalent of standing next to an operating lawnmower. But there is also an aesthetic dimension that needs to be addressed. Our proposal seeks to provide a pragmatic solution to the problem and simultaneously to offer those on both sides of the river an attractive piece of public sculpture to appreciate.”
The structure also aims to utilise innovative green architecture concepts; the exterior of The Connector will use photovoltaic cells designed to absorb solar energy.It’s the clever mixing of a traditional park with modern and highly practical design which makes the proposal so intriguing.
http://www.brooklynbridgeconnector.net/
For more information, have a read of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Connector e-book.
Contemporary Jewish Museum – Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind is an internationally renowned figure in the fields of architecture and urban design. An American architect of Polish-Jewish birth, Libeskind was originally a virtuoso performer before turning architect and receiving his degree in 1970.
Libeskind has dozends of completed works and many still under construction with projected completion over the next decade.. I wished to share an introduction to Libeskind’s work and philosophy with this example,
The contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.
With the opening of its new building in June 2008, the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) will usher in a new chapter in its 20-plus year history of engaging audiences and artists in exploring contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art and ideas. The new facility will be a lively center where people of all ages and backgrounds can gather to appreciate art, share diverse perspectives, and engage in hands-on activities.
“Inspired by the Hebrew phrase “l’chaim” (to life), the building is a physical embodiment of the CJM’s mission to bring together tradition and innovation in an exploration of the relevance of Jewish values and traditions in the 21st century. The new 63,000-square-foot facility, located on Mission Street between 3rd & 4th Streets in downtown San Francisco, will enable the Museum to present an expanded array of engaging programming including art exhibitions, live music, film screenings, lectures and discussions, and educational activities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
The new addition to the Museum explodes out from inside the traditional building
Minimialsit interior, interesting use of light as well in this shot.
Recycled Paper homes to address homelessness and developing countries.
Wall AG have developed a pre-fab home, the ‘Universal World House’ to be made from recycled paper as a response to those in devloping countries, the homeless or perhaps those displaced by disaster.
The Design uses a product known as Swisscell — Cellulose is extracted from recycled newspaper and cardboard, the resin from the recyclables is then formed into honeycomb like walls that provides an amazing strength to weight ratio as well as excellent insulation.
“Gerd Niemoeller says that the 36sq m paper house weighs barely 800kg (1,763lb)- lighter than a VW Golf. ‘Without the foundation block, the whole house actually weighs in at about 400kg,’ says the design engineer. It will not, however, simply blow away. The basic material is resin-soaked cellulose recovered from recycled cardboard and newspapers.’”
I found this gem via Archicentral.com view the original article here.
and also via Timesonline (UK)
Mr Niemoeller who patented the invention explains.. “The prime purpose is to create intelligent housing settlements almost instantly for the displaced and the urban poor.”
“People don’t want to flee their countries, they’ve been driven to leave their homes out of the need to survive,” said the 58-year-old engineer. “The number of migrants, refugees living in improvised housing, is going to grow with climate change, and we offer an alternative.” An alternative, that is, to the corrugated-iron sheds and lean-tos so often seen in the slums of the developing world.
The house has eight built-in single and double beds and a veranda with a sealed-off area housing a shower and a lavatory. It has been designed together with the German development aid agency GTZ, and with the architect Dirk Donath, from the Bauhaus University in Weimar.
Apart from the sleeping area, there are shelves, a table and benches. “It has been designed so that a family can slaughter an animal on the veranda, wash it in the shower and hang it, along with fish, on an integrated washing line.” The whole wall of the kitchen can be tipped open to let air in and to blur the distinction between inside and outside.
It may be a tad exaggerated (or perhaps ignorant?) to name a design the ‘Universal world house’ I wonder if it could stand up to the likes of a harsh Australian summer or a freezing Greenland? One would also have to question is stability and fire susceptibility — Regardless, a positive step toward global housing.. no matter how fundamental
Nature and Nosigner
‘Nosigner’
“In an age with tons of artificial things around us, I feel many people desire to have real things that provide them with experiences from nature.”
Fluoflo, 2008
Originally studying to be an Architect, the Japanese industrial designer who goes by the alias ‘Nosigner‘ clearly found his calling beyond the composition of a building. Nosigner has been recently featured in all the latest design shows and magazines – getting rave reviews for his forward thinking installations and product designs. The works created by the designer has a flowing theme, using nature as the inspiration behind his projects. The use of nature is just part of Nosigner’s overall goal to increase awareness on global issues relating to the environment and waste.
The origination of the name ‘Nosigner’ and and in-depth discussion of his projects was featured in an interview for this months issue of Metropolis. Check out the article here.
Spring Rain
Pokkari, 2007
Luminaire composition of feathers.
Rebirth, 2008
Luminaire composition of hollowed egg shells.
Marcel Breuer Chair – The Wasilly Chair
I was in IKEA recently (yes, the second time in 2 weeks..) looking for a new desk chair amoungst other things (bookshelf, desk lamp, bath mat, you know, the usual)
I’d just sat on my what felt like 20th chair.. testing for back support, neck support, tilt, rotation, etc.. there’s a lot to think about when it comes to buying a chair.
It got me thinking of the thousands of differnet chairs out there and, perhaps a few blog posts on the more famous out there would make for good reading..
So, first under the microscop is, the Wassily Chair (Or model B3)
by designer Marcel Breuer –
“my most extreme work . . . the least artistic, the most logical, the least ‘cozy’ and the most mechanical.”
The chair was designed between 1925 and 1926 whilst Breuer was working as the head of a cabinet-making workshop (yeah I don’t get it either..) at the Bahaus.
Breuer worked as an architect, teacher and furniture designer, though it is certainly safe to say that it is the model B3 that he is referenced to, despite a number of famous works.
Although not made specifically for the painter, Wassily Kandinsky (one of my favourite painters, he even did my desktop background for me..) a replica was created for his private quarters and the chair was then coined the “wassily chair.”
The inspiration behind the lightweight steel tubing?
Well, Breuer was apparently an avid biker, he would ride his bicycle daily; noticing the strong, but lightweight handlebars and frame of his bike.
If it could make for good handlebars, then why not furniture?
The frame of the chair is in fact the same as say a stuffed club armchair but instead, has been stripped to it’s simple frame and draped together with simple black leather. Against the gleaming steel tubing it represents much of the modernist movement.
Like everything, the chair gone through, sadly, a mass reproduce — every man and his dog is now making a Wasilly chair.
Want one?
Try here… there is a Wassilly chair for every budget.
http://www.nextag.com/wassily-chair/search-html
A whole research article could be devoted to “choosing the right Wassilly chair for you”
The chair is now part of the permanent collection at the MOMA.
Fit for a vampire.. The Hoke House (the Cullen House from Twilight) – Skylab Architecture
Edit!: Also see my interview with Architect — Jeff Kovel Here
UPDATE: Interior Images of the residence from New Moon HERE
Myself and two other architecture students went along to see the new vampire come romance movie twilight..
..We made the mistake of going opening day. Aussie kids are currently on their Christmas break and amoungst them, screaming teens, all hungry for the blood (like vampires.. get it?) of teen heart throb, ex- harry potter star, Robert Pattinson or ‘Edward Cullen’ as those who have seen the movie might know him.
Young Architect Toy…
So i came across this whilst searching around Amazon -
The stereotypical child architect...? well he does look like a wanker i guess.
The young architect by …‘Poof-Slinky’ (no….really…) Details »
Sebastian Irarrazaval- Pedro Lira House
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I was delighted to hear that one of my favourite architects and designers Sebastian Irarrazaval has been awarded for his ‘Pedro Lira House’ and will also feature in the just published Phaidon atlas of the 21st century World Architecture -
Details »
State of the industry – Architects in turmoil
An article from the Age describes a bleak outlook for Architects in the upcoming years.
“One source put the Melbourne job losses at more than 100, with such firms as John Wardle, Hassell, Bates Smart, ARM and Hayball all believed to have made cuts.”
Some of the biggest names in Australian architecture are having to lay off their workers, making the world financial crisis a scary reality for many – the cuts come as a direct result of clients tightening their belts, and deferring major projects -
Details »