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| Thu 04 Dec 2008 |
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Tag: Architecture
These items have all been tagged with the tag "Architecture", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| Dupli Casa Remembers its Past |
| 2008-10-09 16:55:47 |
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Dupli Casa, a private residence by the Neckar river, near the old town of Marbach in South- Western Germany, is a wonderfull example of connection and fluidity. It connects the inside with the outside, up with down, air with ground and — most cleverly — past with present and even future. From the outside, the three-storey concrete villa looks like a bit like some sort of a fiberglass motorboat job gone funny, yet it also manages to look immensely appealing and intriguing. From some angles, the structure appears to be standing upside down — the lower exterior rim spilling onto the lawn and forming a part of a roof structure, if the building were to stand the other way around. It could have been blown there by the wind; it could be a StarWarsian vehicle frozen in place; it could be just taking off to outer space. The outdoor swimming pool and the white surface surrounding it seem like a perfect reflection of the house, almost as if the house had been face down on the ground, and when it was lifted off the ground, the process had left an imprint of a swimming pool on the ground and the large window opening in the house. The views from the inside are amazing, especially from the vast ground-level openings that again, give the sensation of flying, being airborne, weightlessness. Everything is fluid, flowing and smooth. All of this is very much in keeping with the main inspiration for the house. The new residence follows the footprint of the previous dwelling and its numerous extensions. The idea was to let the “family archaeology” continue in the new building. It’s a house that remembers its beginnings in 1984 yet projects boldly into the future. Dupli Casa is the work of Jürgen Mayer H., founder and principal of his cross-disciplinary studio. J. Mayer H. Architekten in Berlin. Other team members include Georg Schmidthals, Thorsten Blatter and Simon Takasak, plus Uli Wiesler’s architecture studio based in Stuttgart. - Tuija Seipell |
| Bubbletecture H Japan |
| 2008-09-15 07:09:55 |
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Shuhei Endo's steel, timber and glass structure, Bubbletecture H, inflates ominously out of the Japanese landscape. The visitor centre, built in a valley between Osaka and Hiroshima, was planned in three sections housing a theatre/lecture hall, a bookshop/galley and a workshop. Endo’s design aesthetic throughout his career has focused on numerous experiments with steel and the seemingly limitless possibilities the material has in the built environment. He continually sets out to prove that architecture can possess diversity while simultaneously following the rules of geometry, and Bubbletecture H is certainly not an exception. Endo has a phenomenal ability to place anything he designs within nature. The visitor centre is a structural geometry of bubbles from afar. But close up, the surface appears to mimic the faceted planes on the surface of a diamond. Minimal glazing prevents this building from glimmering in its valley. Instead, Endo subdued his design with rusted steel and occasional moss surfaces to sit within the surrounding forest – additionally meeting his client’s desire to educate the people living in the Hyogo prefecture, as well as anyone else who visit on global environmental concerns. Drawn from concepts in traditional Japanese vernacular architecture, the superstructure was prefabricated from local Japanese cedar. Prefabrication minimises both economic and environmental impacts – less material to transport shorter distances instantly reduces carbon emissions released from the onset of the project. And like a cliff temple, the supporting structure clings to the earth only where necessary – the building, nearly 1000 square metres is carefully connected to only sixteen deeply buried 1.5 metres wide beams – and that’s all that goes in the ground. The concept for the design of Bubbletecture H thoroughly examines nature’s cyclical systems. Circulation through the three functional sections of the building is apparent in the rational built form connecting these spaces across the landscape. Another set of systems cycle and collect rainwater that falls on the building’s surface and reuse it for irrigation. And perhaps the most significant systemic process, the life cycle of the entire site, has been acknowledged, as green technology oozes from practically every surface. Endo’s exhibition dedicated to environmental studies hopes to heighten people’s awareness in their surroundings – and by raising awareness improved care is imminent for the valley and its environs. - Andrew J Wiener |
| Munetsugu Hall |
| 2008-07-22 16:59:17 |
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Norihiko Dan — born in 1956 in the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan — is the designer of the beautiful Munetsugu Hall, completed in 2007 in Naka Ward, Nagoya, Japan. It is a privately-funded concert hall that continues the age-old but almost-dead tradition of wealthy arts patrons initiating and financing the creation of art spaces. Fluid, white wall shapes are the distinctive feature of Munetsugu Hall’s main performance space. The walls bring to mind artistic sweep marks left by a gigantic builder who in his boredom doodled in his mortar tray with a massive trowel and then let the shapes solidify. Norihiko Dan has won several architecture awards in Japan and Taiwan including the Distinguished Architect Award of the Japanese Institute of Architecture and the ARCADIA Award Gold Medal in 2007. His work has been part of exhibitions in Japan, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy and the UK. In addition to being a respected architect and educator, Norihiko Dan is also an architecture historian and writes novels and screenplays. Munetsugu Hall’s generous benefactor is Tokuji Munetsugu who with his wife Naomi made a fortune in the restaurants business. Their company Ichibanya Co. Ltd. (based in Aichi, Japan) operates more than 1,000 curry and pasta restaurants under the names Curry House CoCo Ichibanya and Pasta de Coco. Munetsugu spent two billion yen to build the 310-seat concert hall. He has also set up a nonprofit organization to support welfare, sports and arts activities. - Tuija Seipell |
| The World's Coolest Houses - Book No.2 |
| 2008-07-09 09:41:02 |
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We are on a hunt for supremely cool houses, from beach homes, country homes and city pads to holiday houses and ski retreats, we want to know where the coolest houses are for our upcoming book. We are looking for the most unique houses from Sao Paulo to Sydney. Slightly cool, standard-issue luxury won’t do it. The houses we want must think like Zaha Hadid who said “I like architecture to have someraw, vital, earthy quality.” So, if you are an architect of such a house, please submit your project for consideration or if you a photographer who has photographed such a house, please get in touch - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| Golf & Country Club, Sempachersee |
| 2008-07-07 04:14:11 |
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Golf and drab are synonyms, right? And the mere mention of Golf andCountry Club makes you run. Away. Fast. Golf may indeed have a bit ofan image problem but that did not deter the Zürich-based Smolenicky & Partner Architektur when they were retained to work on the expansion of the venerable Sempachersee Golf Club located near Lucerne in Switzerland. In addition to the new club house-restaurant building and the newmaintenance building, both of which Smolenicky designed, the expansionincluded a second 18-hole golf course. All of this has made Golf ClubSempachersee the largest golf club in Switzerland and, quite likely,the club with the coolest club house. In their approach to the club house, Smolenicky sought to manifesttwo things: what they call the “country character of the golfingculture of the Sempachersee course” and the course’s worldlysophistication. They took their design cues from “the rural warmth of atimber barn and the clear lines of a Maserati sports car.” Theresulting building, the sleek and minimalist interior, and themagnificent 180-degree panoramic views of the Sempachersee lake and theAlps might just be reasons enough to give golf another chance. Or, atthe very least, rethink what a golfing environment could look like. By Tuija Seipell |
| Humlegård House - Braving The Elements |
| 2008-06-12 06:10:30 |
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Humlegård House is the stark-looking, year-round residence of a former Finnish TV documentary producer. He moved to this house, located in the town of Fiskars, 78 kilometers west of Helsinki, from a central-Helsinki heritage apartment. Many aspects of Humlegård, especially its placement to respond to the forces of nature, resemble the owner’s childhood home, a large country manor in central Finland. Designed by Kimmo Friman of Friman Laaksonen Architects of Helsinki, Humlegård House is situated on a small, flat hill so that the north-south line runs diagonally through the building. This is the traditional way of placing a building so that it functions optimally as an energy efficient and comfortable dwelling in the harsh, Finnish climate. Protection from the wind and maximum use of sunlight are primary considerations, and the placement of rooms is as much dependent on how much the room needs heat and daylight as it is on how the residents use each space. The floor plan resembles the layout of a traditional peasant farmhouse, split lengthwise into two. The house consists of three multi-function areas: two large living rooms linked by a loft with a bathroom and walk-in closet below. In a typically Finnish fashion, the building appears simple, stark and utilitarian yet exudes a harmonious and stylish form & function sensibility. The owner and architect selected each building material carefully, opting for traditional, natural materials. “I did not want materials of which we did not have decades of experience,” said the owner. Horizontal spruce board – left untreated for maximum structure breathability -- is the main feature of the interior. The spruce-clad outer facade weathers into a beautiful gray color that matches the stark surroundings. The east-facing facade is clad with galvanized corrugated-steel that protects the wall from rain and sun and also reflects excessive sun away in the summer. The placement of windows was determined by the requirements of the interior spaces. A separate, tiny log sauna, also designed by Friman, was built later east of the main building. By Tuija Seipell |
| Corbu's Building Gained A Creature |
| 2008-06-10 02:40:55 |
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The Carpenter Centre for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the only major Le Corbusier-designed building in North America. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this building some time ago, a crazy-looking temporary puppet theater was constructed within its sunken courtyard. Apparently, great engineering and technical features held this odd little theatre together, but we are much more fascinated by its appearance. The theatre resembles an alien mega-crawley, some sort of an animal -- perhaps subterranean or even submarine -- that managed to disguise itself with AstroTurf as a benign being but was in fact, a voracious, people-eating igloo. It lurks under the overhang, waiting to devour unsuspecting keeners of puppetry. French conceptual artist Pierre Huyghe and Harvard assistant professor of architecture, Michael Meredith, collaborated on the structure using the help of computer technology and a team of GSD students. For them, metaphorical identities for the structure included an egg, a seed, a tumor, an alien spacecraft, and Le Corbusier’s brain. The structure was built with 500 white polycarbonate panels – each unique in shape -- held together by 2,000 bolts to form a rigid frame covered in real moss, not its plastic imitation. Regardless, we think it is a live creature as emphasized by the entrance, which is a soft, flexible, mouth-like opening built so that it appeared to frame a tree when viewed from the innards. The puppet opera performance told the story of the Carpenter Centre with Corbu himself appearing in marionette form. The performance was created by Huyghe who works with many media forms, from film to puppetry to “public interventions.” In 2002, he won the the Guggenheim Museum's biennial $100,000 Hugo Boss Prize, one of the premier juried prizes of the contemporary art world. By Tuija Seipell |
| Deluxe Apartments In The Sky |
| 2008-06-03 12:29:01 |
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Movin’ on up, now more than ever encapsulates stunning design, impeccable service, effortless living from the time the sun rises to well after the sun sets. We’ve been noticing a rising trend in the sheer number of luxury residences - we recently told you about an exclusive collection of seaside properties in Abu Dhabi. And now from New York to Buenos Aires, and from Moscow to Beijing, we’ll reveal a few more of the coolest luxury abodes. Many of us have been accustomed to the stylistic cues offered by W Hotels across the world – but how many of us will actually have a chance to pick up the phone from our own kitchens and receive assistance from the ‘Whatever, Whenever’ hotline? Soon, for those who jumped at the chance to purchase a W-styled apartment in one of their newest locations south of the World Trade Centre in New York City, the possibilities will be limitless. W Residents may share the building with distinguished hotel guests in the lower portion of Manhattan, but luxury amenities such as a rooftop terrace, a fitness centre and spa in the sky, a media screening room and digital lounge, as well as a separate entrance, will be solely for those permanently living in the upper floors of the luxury tower. While the W Hotel New York Downtown will take up the first twenty-two floors, the upper levels have been split into furnished residences (Floors 23-30) and customised residences (Floors 33-56). Interior design exceeds expectations, even by W standards, with sleek and functional kitchen built-ins to a translucent wall from the bedroom to a ‘peek-a-boo loo.’ A bit further in the heart of Tribeca, Five Franklin Place is destined be the epitome of luxury residences. The 20-storey building will contain 55 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units that will be set up as duplex lofts on the lower floors; single-level city residents above; plus three triplex penthouses each with a rooftop terrace and serviced by private internal lifts. The building itself, designed by Dutch architect Ben van Berkell of UNStudio, will be wrapped in a series of horizontal black metallic bands – each of which ungulates as it curves around and hugs the frame of the structure. The façade is apparently a direct tribute to the original 19th-century built form of cast iron that shaped lower Manhattan – and the metallic surface will reflect light while highlighting the magnificence of the neighbouring buildings. The building’s façade is not merely about aesthetics, as the bands will also create shading from the daylight, deflect heat, and guarantee every residence will have the highest degree of privacy, and simultaneously frame unparalleled views out across Manhattan. The Loft Residences on the levels have a double-height living area that maximises the light entering the space. The height of the great room continues on through a gallery where a white lacquered library wall ascends up into the second level. The upper-tier City Residences feature integrated terraces off the main living areas, and all units are custom-fitted with B&B Italia kitchens and built-ins throughout. The master bathrooms feature a circular sliding wall that allows the bathroom to become part of the bedroom and share its spectacular city views. And for those at the top, the five ultra-luxurious Sky Penthouses are unmatched in practically every aspect. Again, B&B Italia has masterfully crafted the space, including the kitchen. Sweeping views from every room, even the master bathroom, automatically heighten the occupants’ awareness of their place in the cityscape and the surrounding environment. The skylines of our cities are rapidly changing – ingeniously designed buildings are competing for our attention. But architectural beauty alone is not going to provide the type of service we’re growing accustomed to expecting after spending millions on luxury lifestyle. We feel that the rise of luxury residences has only just begun – and we want to know all about it. If you are aware of luxury residences we should investigate, please let us know. By Andrew J Wiener. |
| Living On Exhibit |
| 2008-05-28 01:04:08 |
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Antwerp, Belgium-based one-year-old sculp(IT) is a partnership of two architects, Pieter Peerlings and Silvia Mertens. They have recently completed a clever office, residence and studio for themselves in what they call “Antwerp’s narrowest house” located in Anwerp’s former red-light district. They took a 2.4-meter (7 feet 10 inches) wide space between two buildings, erected a steel skeleton in it and installed four wooden floors, one each for work, dining, relaxing and sleeping, plus a bath tub on the roof. A one-piece staircase connects the floors. The walls are all glass, allowing light in and creating a feel of space. In a nod to the area’s “exhibitionist” past, each “window” to the street has a black frame emphasizing the showcase or display aspect. The multi-color lighting scheme completes the seedy notion. By Tuija Seipell |
| Nurai - Exclusive Private Residential Estate, Abu Dhabi |
| 2008-05-19 06:55:33 |
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There’s a new planet in the solar system and it’s called Luxury. Actually, it is here on earth, on a little-known island called Nurai, located northeast of Abu Dhabi city. The 130,000-square-meter island is about to be transformed into an achingly glamorous and luxurious resort and exclusive private residential estate, comprised of one boutique luxury hotel resort with 60 suites, 31 beachfront estates and 36 water villas. The mammoth project is a collaboration between New York based Studio Dror, led by Dror Benshetrit, that has designed the residences, and the Paris-based firm AW2 are responsible for the design of the hotel. The sheer scale of the project is awe-inspiring; the incredible multi-storey water villas alone will span 515 square metres each, comprising of three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a private rooftop garden with spa pool, private infinity pool, multiple decks, outdoor barbeque area, gourmet kitchen and concealed service quarters. No doubt Tom & Katie are making their reservations already. As for the private “Seaside” residences (which are sure to be snapped up by Saudi Princes and oil shieks because they will probably be the only ones who can afford them), the five bedroom-six bathroom estates span across between 3,000 – 6,050 square metres. Each “Seaside” estate will include a private beach and garden, rooftop garden with spa pool, infinity swimming pool, indoor reflecting pools, concealed service quarters, entertainment patios, outdoor dining areas, chef and show kitchens and outdoor showers. The resort is due to open in 2010 and residences start at €20 million. By Lisa Evans |
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