A stark concrete multi-purpose space occupies the ground floor of this house in Osaka by Japanese architect Takeshi Hamada.

via: Dezeen » Blog Archive » House A by Takeshi Hamada.

“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.”

Chang has since renovated the space four times and calls the apartment his ‘domestic transformer.’ Now the soul occupier, the apartment can be easily changed to suit Chang’s desire through the use of sliding wall units and fold away furniture, boasting over 20 different configurations.

“The key idea is that everyone could look into their home more carefully and into how better to optimise their resources, because space is a resource. There is no use making your home as if it is a perfect show flat but at the same time never using the space.”

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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.

Inside, the building proves to be every bit more impressive. The expansive windows allow for immense brightness, illuminating the entrance of the building which nothing but vast open space. Structured concrete staircases creep up the perimeter of the entry, leading to other rooms at the rear of the building whilst a tremendous conical structure fills the emptiness.

Contrasting beautifully with the lightness of the glass and the cool concrete are the dark polished floorboards, peppered with circular air vents at sporadic intervals providing much needed air conditioning to hot little visitors.
The interior walls are a mixture of wooden panelling and smooth grey concrete, tremendous high ceilings and curving walls a welcome opposition to the straight, structured staircases, doorways and exhibition room walls.

We didn’t get to visit the exhibitions being held at the Centre, but the building alone was enough to cause our jaws to drop. The sheer size of the entry hall alone is astounding. The view from the top of the Mori Tower Observatory Deck demonstrates the contrastive structure of the building, the mixture of harsh lines and curving walls which result in a modern, fresh, clean and ultimately very cool structure. Though in Tokyo, you’d expect no less.

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.

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.