Japanese rooms, the meaning of Mu, and Kenya Hara on emptiness

pimg alt=”0trajarom.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/0trajarom.jpg” width=”468″ height=”752″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pI received an interesting note in response to A HREF=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/alternative_sleeping_surfaces_part_2_if_you_want_a_real_japanese_futon_youll_need_this_tool_too_17526.asp#comments” yesterday’s post/A about living with a traditional Japanese futon. The author of the note, A HREF=”http://lo13.com/attitude/” Ko Nakatsu/A, took exception to my oversimplified blog-ready description of why futons are folded and put away, and wanted to set the record straight in greater detail (which should be of great interest to architects and designers of environments):/p

blockquoteThe futon’s fold-away function is not [just] for “freeing up useable square footage in a space-tight country”. That notion is merely a benefit from the true meaning and original philosophy of a futon. The true reason for the fold-and-store-away function is so that you can create an “empty space”.

pBy creating an empty-space, it allows for limitless potential of reasons for the room’s existence. It could become a tea room, dinner room, bedroom, entertainment room… the empty room creates “potential” to be any room. Traditional rooms in Japan (which are becoming rare) often have nothing that is permanent, even the “walls” or fusuma, slide away to create a larger expansive empty-space. The people, wall, furniture, and artwork, enter and then leave the room, to return it to empty-space, full of potential…./blockquote /pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/japanese_rooms_the_meaning_of_mu_and_kenya_hara_on_emptiness_17529.asp”(more…)/a
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Monster stationery case

Queste matite sembrano proprio essere intrappolate tra due fauci. Stationery case design byTomáš Král and Camille Blin.
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Lego Wedding Ring

Ve la sentite di rischiare?
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Lego Wedding Ring

Lego Wedding Ring

Drzach Suchy’s Shadow Clouds (or, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Rapid Prototyping)

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pIn IRaiders of the Lost Ark/I there was an amulet attached to the Staff of Ra. When you placed the staff in a particular place in the Map Room and the sun was in a certain position, it would shine a beam pointing directly to the hidden location of the Well of Souls./p

pDrzach Suchy, the architect cryptographer/software engineer behind the wicked A HREF=”http://www.core77.com/blog/technology/not_so_fast_ombrae_17466.asp” Ombrae display/A we showed you last week, have taken the idea of light + shadows + timing + location a few steps further with their A HREF=”http://drzachsuchy.ch/shadow-cloud/” Shadow Clouds project/A. A written description would be complicated, but the vid explains it succinctly:/p

pobject width=”468″ height=”282″param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yM665rHOFJchl=en_USfeature=player_embeddedversion=3″/paramparam name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/paramparam name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always”/paramembed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yM665rHOFJchl=en_USfeature=player_embeddedversion=3″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowScriptAccess=”always” width=”468″ height=”282″/embed/object/p

pDrzach and Suchy envision their RP’d cubes being used for signage, but we think the architectural possibilities would also be cool, a la IRaiders/I; you could get different interior projections at different times of day, depending on where the sun was. I’d start simple, with a frowny face at the start of the workday and a smiley face at quitting time./p

div style=”align: right;”img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/09/0drzachsuchy004.jpg” width=”468″ height=”487″ alt=”0drzachsuchy004.jpg”//div
a href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/drzach_suchys_shadow_clouds_or_indiana_jones_and_the_temple_of_rapid_prototyping_17528.asp”(more…)/a
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Community Service Announcements

I consigli del Jeremy per un giusto tenore di vita sociale. Direi che va a carattere 😉
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Community Service Announcements - Jeremyville

Deluxe Vito Hat Fall/Winter 2010

Arriva l’inverno e l’hat di Deluxe calza a pennello. Lo trovate in 4 colorazioni diverse.
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Deluxe Vito Hat Fall/Winter 2010

Batman Logo

Scegliete il vostro bat-logo preferito!
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Batman Logo

It Is Right To Draw Their Fur: Animal Renderings

Dave Eggers’ clever new book of drawings

righttodraw2.jpg righttodraw3.jpg

Dave Eggers, author and founder of the indie publishing house McSweeney’s recently unveiled yet another creative talent: the knack for drawing. His oversized “It Is Right to Draw Their Fur: Animal Renderings” arrives in McSweeney’s book release club members’ mailboxes this week and his first collection of drawings.

righttodraw1.jpg

Packaged in a delightful cardboard portfolio, it consists of 26 posters on heavy and regular stock in three sizes of animals Eggers drew with China marker in the late hours of the evening at the end of 2009 into this year. Most are accompanied by nonsensical sayings as imagined by him, an attempt to put words to the animals’ staid-to-confused expressions.

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Eggers explains in the enclosed booklet that his drawing background stretches back to his childhood days, when he aspired to become a painter after his hero Manet. He later made extra money through his illustrations. The pictures he’s drawn of animals are simplistic, but the detail lies in the fur. Strokes upon strokes create a coat that you can almost feel with your eyes.

For non-subscribers, “It Is Right to Draw Their Fur’s” official release date is 1 October 2010, but it’s already available from McSweeney’s online store or from Amazon.


Potasze House by Neostudio Architekci

Polish firm Neostudio Architekci have added a timber-clad extension to this farm building in Poland to create a residence.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Potasze House was originally used by an agricultural university for seed drying and sits in woodland on the outskirts of Poznan.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

The single-storey extension accommodates a kitchen, living and dining space, while the existing building was refurbished to house a garage on the ground floor and bedrooms on the first floor.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

The existing building has been rendered and whitewashed to contrast with the extension.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

All photographs are by Pawe≥ åwierkowski.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Here’s some more from the designers:


This project is located on a picturesque plot that originally was a home for seed drying installation of Agricultural University – and with its magnificent Acacia trees plantation and natural splendor was a design challenge for us.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

The main task was to create a new structure that would accommodate a spacious single storey living space with a kitchen and a dining area.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Existing building was to be refurbished to house a garage and storage functions in the ground floor and bedrooms in the upper level.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

New structure is attached to the existing one with the staircase.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

The entire building is clearly divided into two volumes ñ the old one with its historical charm that shows its primary usage and the addition that is a clean contemporary form.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Used materials and large windows in the living space connect with the surrounding scenery ñ the form seems to be dissolved in the nature.

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Architects: Neostudio Architects

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Location: suburbs of Poznan, Poland

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Project team, architecture: Bartosz Jarosz, Pawe≥ åwierkowski, interiors: Bartosz Jarosz, Pawe≥ åwierkowski, Magda Nowak

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Structural Engineer: Marcin Bielecki

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Client: Private

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Project area: 224 sqm

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Construction year: 2008-2009

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Photographs: Pawe≥ åwierkowski

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Click above for larger image

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Click above for larger image

House near Poznan by Neostudio

Click above for larger image


See also:

.

A Studio for a Danish Artist
by Svendborg Architects
Vol House
by Estudio BaBO
More
architecture stories

Chiral Projection Artwork

Une belle projection artistique sur un écran et une sculpture en papier taïwanais intitulée “Chiral” par le créatif Robert Seidel, actuellement présenté au Museum of Contemporary Art de Taiwan. Un soundtrack réalisé par Richard Eigner. A découvrir en vidéo dans la suite.



chiral2

Previously on Fubiz