Hasta La Ideas

Japanese architect Shimpei Oda has reworked the dark interior of a humble 1920s house in Kyoto to bring natural light into living spaces and create a small gallery that opens to the street (+ slideshow).

With a width of just 4.1 metres, House in Shichiku is typical of the long and narrow houses built in many of Japan’s dense urban districts, nicknamed “eel beds”, and the challenge for Shimpei Oda was to work out how to bring daylight inside.

“Because the next building was way too close, the inside of the house was so dark, even in the daytime,” said Oda.

The two storeys of the house were re-planned to ensure each of the main rooms received natural light, whether from a window or through openings in the walls or ceilings.

According to Oda, the house had suffered several poor quality renovations in the past, so missing walls and pillars had to be replaced.

“The existing structure was arbitrarily shifted and newly inserted structures and reinforcements were painted with white colour,” he said.

The small gallery is located on the ground floor and is fronted by a square grid of nine windows, some of which fold open to provide a direct access from the street.

The main entrance sits alongside and leads through to a generous open-plan space that functions as a living room, dining space and kitchen.

Bathroom and toilet facilities were considered least in need of natural light, so are grouped together in the space between the living room and gallery.

A lightweight steel staircase with a zigzagging profile leads directly up to a home office with bedrooms on either side. Exposed wooden columns and joists support the roof, while large openings help to bring light through each space.

Photography is by Shinkenchiku-sha.

Here’s the project description from Shimpei Oda:

House in Shichiku

This was the renovation of a house which was built in the 1920s and the house was surrounded by old rows of houses. The house with a frontage of 4.1 metres and depth of 12.8 metres was like so-called “sleeping places of an eel”.

Because the next building was way too close, the inside of the house was so dark even in the daytime. The house had been illogically renovated at several times before so that important pillars and walls were missed.

A resident hoped to live with furniture and paintings. A studio, sanitary, and home office were inserted as volumes of the structure. Those intended not only to reinforce the house but also to softly divide spaces to up and down and left and right.

The whole image was glimpsed from openings and slits which were widely opened and the volumes itself were painted with white colour so that the texture could visually stand up to indicate the depth and extent.

The front of the studio opened to alley was changed from a shutter to windows. To change to the well reflective material of lean-to roof, it functioned as a reflector and could get the natural lightning to the inside so it diffused to bright all. Also, it was concerned the transition of brightness by time.

The existing structure was arbitrary shifted and newly inserted structures and reinforcements were painted with white colour. Those were created the context of time but functionally which meant to indicate those things mixed naturally without any conflicts. The softly divided space may be able to use by any discoveries for the living, studio, and home office as extension with the factor of furniture and paintings which may increase in the future.

Project name: House in Shichiku
Location of site: Kyoto, Japan
Site area: 83.50 sqm
Building area: 53.60 sqm
Total floor area: 91.00 sqm
Type of Construction: wood
Program: house

The post Shimpei Oda reworks humble Japanese
house to create light-filled spaces appeared first on Dezeen.

These interactive installations by artist Daniel Rozin use sensors and motors to rearrange objects into a mirror-image of whoever stands in front of them (+ slideshow).

In his Mechanical Mirrors, Rozin connects motors to items including wooden pegs, plastic spokes and pieces of rubbish, then assembles them on large picture frames.

Behind each image is a hidden camera that feeds what it sees in real-time to a computer, which converts the image into an 830-byte video signal. Software designed by Rozin then instructs each motor to move the panel it controls accordingly to make up the image. The result is a mirror-image of the person or object in front of the panel.

“The mechanical mirrors are made of various materials but share the same behaviour and interaction,” explained Rozin. “Any person standing in front of one of these pieces is instantly reflected on its surface.”

His most recent installation, the Angles Mirror, used 465 plastic spokes arranged in a triangle-shaped steel frame to achieve this effect.

With his Weave Mirror, Rozin used 768 motorised and laminated C-shaped prints to mimic the look and feel of a homespun basket.

For his Trash Mirror meanwhile, he assembled 500 pieces of variously coloured bits of rubbish collected from the streets of New York and the artist’s pockets.

“This piece suggests that we are reflected in what we discard,” said Rozin. “The piece celebrates the ability of computation to inflict order on even the messiest of substances – trash.”

Rozin’s first mirror used 830 square pieces of wood. He continued to experiment with the material, most notably in 2007, where he used 650 wooden pegs, cutting each one at an angle to create the illusion of pixels.

“The silently moving wood components in this piece flicker like jewels or coins in the spotlight, challenging our notions about what constitutes a ‘digital object’,” he said.

Rozin has been commissioned to build an installation using this technology at the Taiwan Taoyuan international airport later this year. Rozin’s work will also be on display at the Barbican in London this summer as part of the gallery’s Digital Revolution exhibition.

The post Mechanical Mirrors by Daniel Rozin replicate
images using everyday objects appeared first on Dezeen.

This asymmetric Alpine cabin by Austrian architect Peter Jungmann has been named Ufogel because its owners think it looks like a cross between a UFO and a “vogel” – the German word for bird (+ slideshow).

Located on a grassy slope in the East Tyrolian village of Nussdorf, the small shingle-clad structure is a rentable holiday home that sleeps up to four people, but contains only 45-square-metres of floor space.

The building is raised off the ground on metal feet, but is otherwise built entirely from wood. Larch shingles clad the outer walls and roof, while the interior surfaces are lined with timber panels to create a distinctive smell.

A gentle staircase leads up into the main floor of the house, which features a small kitchen and a dining table that can seat between six and eight people at a time.

A small lounge area filled with cushions sits half a storey up, beside a long window that angles upwards to frame views towards the peaks of the Lienz Dolomites.

Stairs continue up to a bedroom level with a curved ceiling, containing both a double bed and a separate bunk. The shower and washroom are also located on this floor.

Underfloor heating helps to distribute warmth throughout the space, but can be supplemented by a wood-burning stove.

Here’s some more information from the Ufogel website:

Ufogel

Explore the difference in our house UFOGEL in Nussdorf/Debant near Lienz in East Tyrol!

Our exclusive and bizarre holiday house – Ufogel in the picturesque Nussdorf near Lienz has an unusual architecture. It is built on stilts and floating above the meadow in a peaceful and unspoiled nature. The panoramic windows offers a unique view of the breathtaking Lienz Dolomites, the Val Pusteria impressive mountain peaks and the so-called “Carinthian Gate”.

Your exclusive holiday home for your unforgettable holiday is a compact building, made entirely of wood, both inside as well as outside. The smell of wood flows through the room. A generous, as the only access bridge-like connection to the seemingly floating building. Almost like at home standing in the entrance area with slippers.

Following you will find the kitchen with a spacious kitchen, sink and hob. A stove with optional hotplate complements the kitchen and spreads warmth throughout the house. The cantilevered table can comfortably accommodate 6-8 people. For more generosity, the seat can be folded down. The huge panoramic window with a lawn on the mezzanine bridge the gap to the surrounding nature. A feeling like the convenience of Inside Outside. Natural materials, coupled with quality products – the best of the region. Substances (Villgrater nature) not far distant from the production Ufogel give more softness and comfort. Whether you relax comfortably watch TV, play, sleep, cook or just want to switch off – nothing seems impossible.

Upstairs there is a spacious double bed in pine, which can be transformed into a bed when needed. Another, separate bunk offers the special recreational value for two. An open glass cabinet with a view into the shower creates sufficient space for luggage. The barrier-free bathroom, overlooking the East Tyrolean mountains makes the shower experience. The Ufogel has a floor heating, which can optionally be supplemented by the stove. A refrigerator and a storage box with several areas are available. For hot summer days, a fully automatic sun protection system is installed, which can be operated manually. Experience the extraordinary – in Ufogel.

The post Alpine holiday cabin by Peter Jungmann
has metal feet and a beak appeared first on Dezeen.

The concrete cells of the canopy spanning this new airport terminal in Mumbai was designed by American firm SOM to reference both the open-air pavilions of traditional Indian architecture and the arrangement of feathers in a peacock’s tail (+ slideshow).

The new 40-hectare terminal at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will accommodate 40 million passengers a year for both international and domestic flights, and was designed by SOM to adopt the styles and motifs of the regional vernacular.

“We designed an airport that is intimately connected to its surroundings,” said SOM partner Roger Duffy. “By subtly incorporating regional patterns and textures at all scales, Terminal 2 resonates with a sense of place and serves as a spectacular symbol for India and Mumbai.”

The check-in hall is located on the upper level of the four-storey terminal, directly beneath the perforated concrete ceiling. This canopy is supported by 30 tapered columns that are punctured with similar recesses, creating a decorative pattern of openings that are infilled with coloured glazing to allow light to filter through the space.

“The monumental spaces created beneath the 30 mushrooming columns call to mind the airy pavilions and interior courtyards of traditional regional architecture,” said the design team.

“The constellation of colours makes reference to the peacock, the national bird of India, and the symbol of the airport,” they added.

A 900-metre long glass wall with a gridded cable frame provides the hall’s facade. The decorative canopy extends beyond the walls to offer protection from both intense heat and monsoons, but also creates an area where Indian departure ceremonies can take place.

The rest of the terminal is laid out with an X-shaped plan, where modular concourses radiate outwards from the central core to minimise walking distances to boarding gates.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing offer passengers the opportunity to watch planes arriving and departing, while patterned jali screens help light to filter gently through the spaces.

Photography is by Robert Polidori, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s a project description from SOM:

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2

Ten years ago, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport welcomed six million passengers per year through its gates; today it serves nearly five times that number. With the city’s emergence as India’s financial capital and the country’s rapidly expanding and economically mobile middle class, the existing airport infrastructure proved unable to support the growing volume of domestic and global traffic, resulting in frequent delays. By orchestrating the complex web of passengers and planes into a design that feels intuitive and responds to the region’s rocketing growth, the new Terminal 2 asserts the airport’s place as a preeminent gateway to India.

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 adds 4.4 million square feet of new space to accommodate 40 million passengers per year, operating 24 hours a day. The terminal combines international and domestic passenger services under one roof, optimizing terminal operations and reducing passenger walking distances. Inspired by the form of traditional Indian pavilions, the new four-story terminal stacks a grand “headhouse”, or central processing podium, on top of highly adaptable and modular concourses below. Rather than compartmentalising terminal functions, all concourses radiate outwards from a central processing core and are therefore easily reconfigured to “swing” between serving domestic flights or international flights.

But just as the terminal celebrates a new global, high-tech identity for Mumbai, the structure is imbued with responses to the local setting, history, and culture. Gracious curbside drop-off zones designed for large parties of accompanying well-wishers accommodate traditional Indian arrival and departure ceremonies. Regional patterns and textures are subtly integrated into the terminal’s architecture at all scales. From the articulated coffered treatment on the headhouse columns and roof surfaces to the intricate jali window screens that filter dappled light into the concourses, Terminal 2 demonstrates the potential for a modern airport to view tradition anew.

A Gateway to India

All international and domestic passengers enter the terminal headhouse on the fourth floor, accessed from a sweeping elevated road. At the entrance, the lanes split, making room for wide drop-off curbs with ample space for traditional Indian departure ceremonies. From the moment of arrival, the terminal embraces travellers. Above, the headhouse roof extends to cover the entire arrivals roadway, protecting passengers and their guests from Mumbai’s heat and unpredictable monsoon weather. A 50-foot-tall glass cable-stayed wall – the longest in the world – opens to the soaring space of the check-in hall. The transparent facade also allows accompanying well-wishers, who must remain outside of the terminal due to Indian aviation regulations, to watch as their friends and family depart.

Once inside, travellers enter a warm, light-filled chamber, sheltered underneath a long-span roof supported by an array of multi-storey columns. The monumental spaces created beneath the thirty mushrooming columns call to mind the airy pavilions and interior courtyards of traditional regional architecture. Small disks of colourful glass recessed within the canopy’s coffers speckle the hall below with light. The constellation of colours makes reference to the peacock, the national bird of India, and the symbol of the airport.

The check-in hall leads to a retail hub – a common space that allows passengers to shop, eat, and watch planes take off though expansive, floor-to-ceiling windows. Centrally located at the junction of the concourses and the terminal core, these commercial plazas provide a focal point of activity in close proximity to the gates. Within these spaces and throughout the concourses, culturally referential fixtures and details, such as custom chandeliers inspired by the lotus flower and traditional mirror mosaic work created by local artists, ground the traveler to a community and culture beyond the airport. Regional artwork and artifacts are displayed on a central, multi-storey Art Wall, illuminated by skylights above. The prevalence of local art and culture, coupled with the use of warm colours and elegant accents, elevates the ambience of terminal beyond the typical, often unimaginative airport experience.

Although the terminal is four storeys, interconnecting light slots and multi-storey light wells ensure that light penetrates into the lower floors of the building, acting as a constant reminder of the surrounding city and landscape. At dusk, illuminated from within, the terminal glows like a sculpted chandelier.

A Flexible Footprint

The construction site of the new terminal building was located in close proximity to the existing terminal which had to remain fully operational during construction. This site requirement inspired the elongated X-shaped plan of the terminal, which could both mould around existing structures and incorporate modular designs to accommodate rapid and phased construction. This innovative form also allows for the consolidation of important passenger processing, baggage handling, and retail/dining functions at the centre of the terminal. On each floor, radiating piers permit the shortest possible walking distances from the centre of the terminal to boarding areas, while also maximising the terminal’s perimeter for aircraft gates.

The terminal’s roof – one of the largest in the world without an expansion joint – ensures further terminal flexibility. The long-span capabilities of the steel truss structure allow for the spacing of the thirty 130-foot columns to be far enough apart to not only give a feeling of openness to the large processing areas below but also to allow for maximum flexibility in the arrangement of ticket counters and other necessary processing facilities.

A Hub of Energy Efficiency

Terminal 2 uses a high-performance glazing system with a custom frit pattern to achieve optimal thermal performance and mitigate glare. Perforated metal panels on the terminal’s curtain wall filter the low western and eastern sun angles, creating a comfortable day-lit space for waiting passengers, and responsive daylight controls balance outdoor and indoor light levels for optimal energy savings. Strategically-placed skylights throughout the check-in hall will reduce the terminal’s energy usage by 23%.

At Terminal 2, modern materials and technologies are used to powerful effect. But while cutting-edge strategies set a new standard for sustainable, modern airport design, the terminal is as much a showpiece of the history and traditions of India and Mumbai as it is an unprecedented structural and technological achievement. Rising from the Mumbai cityscape, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport celebrates both India’s rich cultural heritage and the country’s increasingly global future.

The post SOM completes Mumbai airport terminal
with coffered concrete canopy appeared first on Dezeen.

A massive concrete frame wraps over the top of this house in South Korea by A.M Architects and shelters a traditional narrow porch (+ slideshow).

The house near the town of Bongsan-myeon also features an assortment of freestanding walls and projecting canopies.

“The concept of ‘architecture like promenade’, which accumulates spacial experience is well expressed in piled walls with sequential views of the interior and exterior, serving as an element to add a sense of depth and the direction of entry,” said A.M Architects.

Beginning with a straightforward cuboid, the architects removed boxy sections to create voids in the building’s facades and reduced these volumes to surfaces that act as a backdrop for three trees planted around the boundaries of the site.

The rectangular frame that surrounds the front of the building casts dynamic shadows onto the toenmaru – a narrow wooden patio that can be accessed from the study.

A freestanding concrete wall signals the main entrance to the house, which is accessed via a short flight of wooden steps.

As well as the front steps, wood is used for the terraces and to clad one section of the building’s front facade, providing a warm contrast to the stark cast concrete walls.

From inside the entry hall a window directly opposite provides a view of one of the trees at the back of the property.

A corridor traversing the house from east to west culminates in a window on the east elevation that looks out at another tree.

The house’s bedrooms, study and living room are arranged off this central corridor, which incorporates a skylight to introduce natural light into the space.

The main living room at the west end of the corridor connects to the kitchen and dining area and to a large wooden deck that projects into the garden.

Low windows provide additional daylight and views of the gardens outside, while a tall window looks out towards a distant mountain that is framed by the large concrete rectangle.

Photography is by Kim Jae Kyeong.

Here’s a project description from A.M Architects:

MUN JEONG HEON

Architecture like Promenade

The concept of Architecture like Promenade, which accumulates spacial experience, well expressed in piled walls with sequential view of interior and exterior, which servers as an element to add sense of depth and the direction of entry.

The controlled form of the entrance placed in the entry part is an objet for moving toward another space. On going into the entry space, the house, surrounded by horizontal free-standing walls floating in the air, appears overlapped. Free-standing walls of exposed concrete to emphasise horizontal stream are used as a method to attract people’s eyes and become visually magnified.

The light of nature falling long in dynamic angles through the cantilever decoration beam protruded from the flat surface of the wall, the light of nature falling is naturally ushered to the deck in front of the entrance with the property of concrete, and makes the place of main entrance recognised with free-standing walls. Also, the glance extending long along the stream of free-standing wall stays a little far in the foot of the mountain passing over spindle tree fence.

Enter the inside, over the transparent window, we can see a tree in the back yard along the grass extending the floor all in one, which is the architectural element to induce boundless horizontal extension of the space visually.

As soon as we go into the living room along the corridor, we can feel the energy of the extended light going down softly through the ceiling. The composition of walls repeating solid and void serves as an element of architectural promenaded which makes us feel the outside and inside space sequentially with the natural light, and guides the direction of entry with tension.

Free-Standing Walls for Selective View

The inner garden seen from the living room expressing the changing seasons with free-standing walls for selective view keeps an indirect eye on the landscape of distant mountain hanged at the end of exposed concrete free-standing walls through toenmaru connected visually with the study. Such architectural element becomes a device to draw nature selectively, and to makes a metaphoric communication between interior space and exterior space possible.

The domain created through a layer and a layer communicates with nature along with various forms of walls controlling the visual and spatial movements. Organic setting up of interior and exterior spaces connecting to corridor, back yard, living room, inner garden, study and toenmaru creates the architecture of incessant relationship and stream.

Architects: A.M Architects
Architect in charge: Kim Tae Yun
Location: Taehwa-ri, Bongsan-myun, Kimcheon-si, Kyeongsangbuk-do, Korea
Area: 99.82m2

The post Mun Jeong Heon house by A.M Architects
is surrounded by a huge concrete frame appeared first on Dezeen.