Villa Kanousan by Yuusuke Karasawa

Angular cutaways create apertures through the walls, floors and ceilings of this house in the Bousou Peninsula mountains of Japan by architect Yuusuke Karasawa (+ slideshow).

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

Divided into eight equal portions, the wooden house was designed by Yuusuke Karasawa as a perfect cube with four rooms on each of its two floors.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

Three-dimensional holes cut through the structure at the points where spaces meet one another, allowing views across different rooms as well as between storeys.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

“The partition walls and ceilings of these eight spaces are interrupted by six small cubes that create gaps in the walls and ceilings, providing visual connections between the various rooms,” said Karasawa.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

“Although I spaced the cubes out, the interrelatedness of their angles of inclination connect them, creating a sense of continuity,” he added.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The cutaway sections also help to distribute light through the house. “Beams of sunlight come from unexpected directions and crisscross within the interior, bringing out more layers of complexity to the already diverse interior condition,” Karasawa said.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

Positioned on the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, the house provides a weekend retreat for a family who play golf at nearby country clubs.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The four ground floor rooms comprise a kitchen, a living room, a studio and an entrance lobby, each with white walls and timber flooring.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

A steel staircase winds up to the level above, where a large hallway and two bedrooms are accompanied by a glazed bathroom.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The timber-clad facade features lopsided square windows on each side, offering views out towards the surrounding mountainous landscape.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

Other Japanese residences we’ve featured this week include one that brings light in through the roof, one with a series of small attic spaces and a narrow timber house with paper thin shutters folding out from its wallsSee more Japanese houses »

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

Here’s some more information from the architects:


Villa Kanousan

This is a weekend cottage situated within the deep mountains area of midland of Bousou Peninsula. The site is located on Kanou Mountain, Kimitsu city. Traditional Japanese painting artist, Kaii Higashiyama(1909-99) once mentioned that he was awakened to a landscape painting by the majestic ravine scenery of this site-this cottage is sitting on the slope looking down this ravine.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The exterior shape of this building appears to be a simple cube. However, the interior consists of two layers of the traditional square plan, while a cubic volume is inserted to the points of intersection produced by the wall surfaces, the floor surfaces and the ceiling that divide the space.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The intersecting angle of each cube is defined by the rule of an algorithm, producing the most prominent character of this project – that adjacent cubes are tilted in a definite angle against each other.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The rotation angle of the cubes defined by algorithmic rule dissects the interior volume into various spaces according to the header forms of the cutting plane, providing diverse spatial conditions as each individual room.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

The interior produced by this method have diverse characteristics for each space although the certain sense of order is given to the whole building since the setting of the cube angle is not random.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects

This condition allows to experience the coexistence of the order and the diversity as antinomy based on the physical sensation of the space. It can be said that such coexistence of order and diversity is the most significant characteristic of the architectural space produced by an algorithmic rule.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects
Concept diagram

The toplight on the ceiling brings in the sunlight and filled up the room during the daytime. Beams of the sunlight come from unexpected direction and crisscrosses within the interior, bringing out more layers of complexity to the already diverse interior condition.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects
Site plan – click for larger image

The initial rotation angle of the cube is fixed according to the slope angle of the site, therefore the magnificent natural scenery is reflected and articulated to the spatial conditions of the interior space. The occupants of the space can feel the sense of unity to the scenery visible outside of the windows.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

This weekend cottage was completed under the unique methodology of configuring the spaces – while it exists within the grand nature, and its surrounding scenery is taken into the space. The result would be the new and original physical sensation and experience of the space.

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects
First floor plan – click for larger image

Project name: Villa Kanousan
Location: Kimitsu, Chiba, Japan
Design: 2007-2008
Construction: 2009
Architects: Yuusuke Karasawa Architects (principal in charge: Yuusuke Karasawa)
Consultants: gh9 Co Ltd., mechanical (air conditioning)
General contractor: Eiger Co Ltd – Noriaki Fujii,Yousuke Ozaki
Structural system: timber
Materials used: rose mahogany, exterior: plaster board (emulsion paint finish. Flooring and carpet , interior.
Site area: 459.03 square metres
Built area: 51.83 square metres
Total floor: 87.69 square metres

Villa Kanousan of Cubic Voids by Yuusuke Karasawa Architects
Detailed section – click for larger image

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Dear Ginza Building by Amano Design Office

This towering commercial block in Ginza, Tokyo, by Amano Design Office features a faceted aluminium facade reminiscent of a crumpled-up sweet wrapper (+ slideshow).

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Tokyo-based Amano Design Office was asked to design an eye-catching building that would entice shoppers from Ginza’s Central Street to a second shopping street just beyond.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

The nine-storey tower accommodates small units that can be used as either offices or shops. Apart from the glazed ground floor, each storey is concealed behind a double-layer facade that comprises a perforated metal exterior and a clear glass interior.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

The architects used computers to generate the faceted aluminium form, then added a floral pattern to soften the appearance.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

“In the neighbourhood of mostly modernist architecture with horizontal and vertical or geometric shapes, the building has a proper feeling of strangeness, attracts special attention and has an appeal as a commercial building,” they explained.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Lighting installed behind the metal panels is programmed to change colour depending on the season, switching between shades of red, blue and green.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

“The facade becomes a part of the interior decoration and obviates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains,” added the architects.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Other commercial buildings from Japan with unusual facades include a herringbone-patterned boutique designed by OMA and a Tokyo bookstore covered in hundreds of interlocking T-shapes. See more architecture in Tokyo »

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.

Here’s the project description from the architects:


Dear Ginza Building

The client is a developer company. It purchased a long-sought after lot in Ginza, and planned to build a commercial/office building. The building site is on the Ginza 1-chome Gaslight Street, which is one street behind the Ginza Central Street. It is on the back side of the Mizuho Bank and Pola Ginza buildings on the Central Street. The atmosphere is quite different from the gorgeous Central Street, and the site is on an empty street which is often seen behind the street with large-sized buildings. Attracting as many people as possible into such a street is our task. The client desired the building to be a gorgeous existence. In addition, the designer desired to provide a “slight feeling of strangeness” to the passersby that would attract them to the building.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Considering the views from the inside, simply obtaining openness with glass seems futile, since the outside scenery is hopeless. Therefore, a double skin structure is employed, which consists of glass curtain walls and graphically treated aluminium punched metal. The facade becomes a part of the interior decoration and obviates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains. By using a double skin, reduction of the air conditioning load and the glass cleaning burden was also intended.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

The irregular facade design was determined by computing a design to avoid arbitrary forms and to approximate forms in nature. We thought that a well-made incidental form would likely be a less-disagreeable design. In the neighbourhood of mostly modernist architecture with horizontal and vertical or geometric shapes, the building has a proper feeling of strangeness, attracts special attention, and has an appeal as a commercial building. The abstract flower graphic is used to balance the impression of the facade, i.e., to free it up from becoming too edgy.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

By computing the design, individual aluminium punched panels are irregular with different angles and shapes, yet all fit into a standard size, resulting in excellent material yield. To avoid being clunky, an extremely lightweight structure is required. Therefore, much caution was taken in its details. The coloured LED upper lighting, which is installed inside the double skin, entertains the passersby with different programs depending on the season. Expected tenants included a beauty salon and aesthetic salon, and the expectations are materialising.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Building location: Ginza-1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Completion year: March 2013
Designer: amano design office
Collaborators: Atorie Oica, Azzurro Architects
Construction firm: Kumagai Gumi Co.,Ltd.

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office

Main use: store building and office building
Lot size: 187.20 sqm
Building area: 155.55 sqm
Total floor space: 1300.02 sqm
Maximum height above rail level: 31.955 m
Structure: steel frame
Number of stairs or stories: nine storeys above ground and one underground story
Main material: aluminium graphic punching metal, extruded cement panel

Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office
Ground floor plan – click for larger image
Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office
Upper floor plans – click for larger image
Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office
Sections – click for larger image
Dear Ginza by Amano Design Office
Elevations – click for larger image

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Light Walls House by mA-style Architects

Perimeter skylights throw light across a grid of exposed wooden ceiling beams inside our second house this week from Japanese studio mA-style Architects (+ slideshow).

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Positioned in a shady location between two neighbouring buildings in Aichi, Japan, the wooden house couldn’t have many windows, so mA-style Architects added skylights around each side of the flat roof.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Daylight disperses itself through the interior by bouncing off both the ceiling beams and the laminated wooden walls.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

“The design intended to create a space with uniformly distributed light by adjusting the way of letting daylight in and the way of directing the light,” said the architects.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Bedrooms and storage spaces are contained within two-storey boxes scattered through the interior. Rectangular openings lead into the spaces, plus those at first-floor are accessed using wooden ladders.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

“Considering each box as a house, the empty spaces in between can be seen as paths of plazas and remind us of a small town enclosed in light,” the architects added.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

A bathroom, a study space, bookshelves and a kitchen with steel surfaces line the perimeter of the open-plan space.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

White-painted wooden panels clad the exterior of the rectilinear structure, including a sliding door that gives the house a corner entrance.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Led by partners Atsushi and Mayumi Kawamoto, mA-style Architects has also completed a house with small attic spaces tucked into the triangular roof and an elevated house that points out like a giant rectangular telescope.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

See more architecture by mA-style Architects »
See more Japanese houses »

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Photography is by Kai Nakamura.

Here’s a project description from the architects:


Light Walls House

The site is in a shady location where a two-story neighbouring house closely stands on the south side, and even the shade and shadow on the path intensify the impression of darkness.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Therefore, the design intended to create a space with uniformly distributed light by adjusting the way of letting daylight in, and the way of directing the light.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

By taking into consideration the space for the residents, the functions for living, and the relationship with the surrounding environment, creation of a diversity and richness in the house was intended by controlling the concept of light.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Along the edges of the 9.1m square roof, sky lights are made, as if creating an outline, in order to provide sunlight.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

The roof beams narrow the sunlight, and the slightly angled clapboard interior walls with laminated wood reflect and diffuse the light.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

As a result, soft and uniformly distributed light is created and surrounds the entire space.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Along the outline of lighting, work spaces such as a kitchen, bathroom, and study are arranged. Private spaces such as bedrooms and storage are allocated into four boxes.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

The path-like spaces created between them are public spaces. Each box attempts to balance within a large spatial volume.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Light coupled with the rhythm of scale raises the possibilities of the living space for the residents.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

Considering each box as a house, the empty spaces in between can be seen as paths or plazas, and remind us of a small town enclosed in light.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

The empty spaces, which cause shortening or elongating of distances between people, are intermediate spaces for the residents, as well as intermediate spaces that are connected to the outside when the corridor is open, and these are the image of a social structure that includes a variety of individuals.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects

In terms of a natural component, in which light is softened by small manipulations, and of a social component, in which a town is created in the house, this house turned out to be a courtyard house of light where new values are discovered.

Light Walls House by mA-style architects
Floor plan
Light Walls House by mA-style architects
Concept diagram

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Glass office for Soho China by AIM Architecture

Mirrored walls and glass ceilings transform this office interior in Shanghai into a labyrinth of reflected light and imagery (+ slideshow).

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

Shanghai studio AIM Architecture designed the office for Soho China, the property developers behind Zaha Hadid’s Galaxy Soho and Wangjing Soho projects, and it occupies a space in the company’s Fuxing Plaza complex.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

The space functions as a showroom, so the architects wanted to show customers the raw condition of the office units available to rent.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

“As Soho rents out the offices in this building in bare shell state, the main design idea is to show the customers what they are actually getting, and at the same time add a layer of inspiring luxury to it,” they said.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

Ventilation ducts and other service pipes are visible through a continuous glass ceiling, while glass floors surround individual meeting rooms.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

Mirrored partitions alternate with glass screens and windows, juxtaposing views between rooms with framed apertures of the Shanghai skyline.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

“The glass-only approach allows a complexity that emerges from a simple choice,” added the architects.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

The entrance to the office is via an all-white corridor, where strips of light are reflected to create the illusion of a never-ending grid.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

Other offices filled with mirrors and glass include a Tokyo office with a hidden slide and a production studio in New York with translucent screens and glass partitions. See more office interiors »

Photography is by Jerry Yin, Chief Architect, SOHO China.

Here’s a project description from AIM Architecture:


Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

An all glass and mirror inner cladding exposes the infrastructure of SOHO’s new office building in Shanghai. The glass creates manifold reflections of the sales models and meeting rooms, while leaving the original height and structure in view. This creates a ‘double reality’ that merges with the stunning views of downtown Shanghai.

Membrane ceilings create extra attention for the models. Light and surfaces reflect throughout the space, even further diffused by half see-through mirrors. Some of the floors are islands of stone or carpet, to create static moments to offset this sea of reflectivity.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

As SOHO rents out the offices in this building in bare shell state, the main design idea is to show the customers what they are actually getting, and at the same time add a layer of inspiring luxury to it.

The glass-only approach allows creating a complexity that emerges from a simple choice. That is what makes this project bold and layered at the same time.

Glass office by AIM Architecture for SOHO China

This project by AIM Architecture is part of Fuxing Plaza, a large mixed-use complex (140.000m2) that hopefully will boost more energy and surprises for the city.

Date of realisation: September 2013
Design team: Wendy Saunders, Vincent de Graaf, German Roig, Carter Chen and Jiao Yan.
Client: SOHO China

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Share.Food tableware by Bilge Nur Saltik

London Design Festival 2013: Royal College of Art graduate Bilge Nur Saltik has designed a collection of minimal white plates, bowls and cups that tip backwards and forwards, revealing a flash of fluorescent pink on their undersides (+ slideshow).

Share.Food tableware by Bilge Nur Saltik

Share.Food tableware by Saltik features a small bowl, a large plate and a cup, each with a v-shaped base.

Share.Food tableware by Bilge Nur Saltik

Saltik intends to playfully encourage people to share food and drink by tilting the vessels in different directions, rewarding them with a warm glow of colour from underneath as they do so.

“It is a bit of a balancing game around the dinning table,” Saltik told Dezeen. “Users can either balance everything towards themselves or they can tip them over and open their plate to other users.”

Share.Food tableware by Bilge Nur Saltik

“It is quite a nice gesture to tip the plate and offer your food to someone – it is kind, surprising and playful,” she added.

Each object has a painted base that creates a soft glow when placed on light-coloured surfaces. “The glow is to underline the angles,” the designer said. “It is to indicate the direction of sharing and to create curiosity.”

Share.Food tableware by Bilge Nur Saltik

Saltik’s tableware was on display at design showcase Tent London and the Going Into Business exhibition of work by this year’s Design Products graduates from the Royal College of Art during London Design Festival.

Share.Food tableware by Bilge Nur Saltik

We’ve also featured Saltik’s OP-jects dimpled glassware that creates kaleidoscopic effects, which she presented at Show RCA 2013 earlier this summer.

See all our stories about London Design Festival 2013 »
See Dezeen’s map and guide to London Design Festival 2013 »

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Koya No Sumika by mA-style Architects

Small attic spaces are tucked between the ribs of a triangular roof at this house extension in Japan by mA-style Architects (+ slideshow).

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Japanese firm mA-style Architects designed the timber roof as a series of V-shaped frames, which sit over a rectilinear base and create triangular windows at each end.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Added to the west side of a family house, the Koya No Sumika extension provides a separate living and dining space for a couple and is connected to the main building by a glass and timber passageway.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

“The young couple desired feelings of ease and spaces that ensure quiet and comfortable times,” said the architects. “The extension is designed as a minimum living space and pursues both maintaining distance and retaining fertile relationships.”

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Small pockets slotted into the sides of the living area provide storage spaces for books and plants, as well as study areas with wooden desks and chairs.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

A set of protruding wooden stairs and a separate ladder lead to the compact attic spaces overhead, as well as to a bed deck at the front of the building.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Bare light bulbs hang down from the triangular ceiling sections to illuminate the space.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Other mA-style Architects projects we’ve featured are an elevated house in the shape of a giant rectangular telescope, a wooden house lifted off the ground and curved like the hull of a boat and a metal-clad house with a smaller wooden house insideSee more Japanese houses »

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Photography is by Kai Nakamura.

Here’s a project description from the architects:


Koya No Sumika

This is an extension plan for a young couple’s house next to the main house. The main house is a one story Japanese style house with about 200m2, which is commonly seen in rural areas.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

It is a big house with many rooms and mainly consists of large spaces for people to gather and to provide hospitality. However, the young couple desired feelings of ease and spaces that ensure quiet and comfortable times.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

A simple extension may enable each of the house’s residents to live completely separated, but the relationship between the families and the connection with the main house might be lost.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

Therefore, by utilising the functions for living in the main house, the extension is designed as a minimum living space, and pursues both maintaining distance and retaining fertile relationships.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

The extension is attached by a connecting-corridor on the west side of the main house. This enables the residents to switch their mindset before entering into the other living space, and the common garden maintains a proper sense of distance. By relying on the main house for the large kitchen, bathroom, and future children’s room, only a few functions for a living space are required for the extended part.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

The living spaces are aggregated into a simple continuous structure, which consists of small, 2m high, U-shaped bearing walls. A V-beam roof truss is made with 62mm panels and structural plywood on both sides, and it is topped with a 69mm thin roof.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects

By overlapping the bearing walls and the V-beam frame, and by using a variety of finishes, contrasting spaces are created and a sense of scale in the vertical direction is born in the flat house. By doing so, as the residents’ living scenes unfold, light and air freely circulate in the space, and the people’s lines-of-sight extend beyond the area in a state of freedom. We intended to leave a rich blank space that fosters the imaginations of the residents.

Koya No Sumika by mA-style architects
Ground and first floor plans

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State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

Copper walls will gradually change colour from dark grey to rich brown on the exterior of this church archive in Nuremberg, Germany, by Hamburg office GMP Architekten (+ slideshow).

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

The seven-storey structure houses the archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria and is located close to the main church building on the site of a former factory.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

GMP Architekten designed a pinkish sandstone plinth for the base of the building. This allows it to nestle against the side of a hill, as well as to fit in with its neighbours.

“Seen from across the garden, the new archive appears as a continuation and extension of the Theological Seminary,” said the architects.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

A glazed ground floor is sandwiched between this plinth and the copper-clad upper floors, which comprise two overlapping box-like volumes.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

The oxidising copper panels are arranged vertically and interspersed between narrow metal stripes. Alternate panels extend down over windows, creating the appearance of columns.

“The natural metal surface will undergo various oxidation stages and colour changes until it finally develops a velvety, brownish appearance,” added the architects.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

With 21 miles of shelving, the new facility doubles the storage of the church’s previous archive and provides an additional restoration workshop.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

A reading room for visitors is located on the entrance floor and leads out onto a large terrace with views of the nearby Wöhrder lake.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten

GMP Architekten is best known for designing a series of stadiums, including three for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and three for the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. See more architecture by GMP Architekten »

Other archive facilities featured on Dezeen include a concrete and steel bunker for the British Film Institute and a Corten steel-clad archive for the city of Essen, Germany. See more archives »

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten
Entrance floor plan – click for larger image and key

Photography is by Heiner Leiska.

Read on for a project description from GMP Architekten:


State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria

Today, the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Bavaria is inaugurating its new archive in Nuremberg with a special ceremony. The new building, which was designed by architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), took three years to build and is located on a former factory site in the direct vicinity of the existing main building. With 34 kilometres of shelving, the State Church archive now has more than twice the storage space compared to previously and, in addition, accommodates a restoration workshop and enough space for visitor rooms. In the “Memory of Evangelical Bavaria”, the Church is archiving – amongst many other original documents – letters by Martin Luther and documents by popes and emperors, as well as numerous historically important books and paintings. The State Church archive has been designed to include passive air conditioning of the archives.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten
Long section one – click for larger image

The new building consists of two intersecting solid cubes which seem to float above a transparent receding ground floor. The structure rises from a basement floor about one metre high along the road, which develops into full storey height along the downward slope towards the south, including a large terrace which offers views of the Wöhrder See lake. The ensemble consists of a solitary building sculpture with main facades on all sides. It thereby confines the adjacent Zeissstrasse on the one side, and the garden of the Theological Seminary to the east on the other side. Seen from across the garden, the new archive appears as a continuation and extension of the Theological Seminary. The plinth of the reinforced steel structure is clad with reddish sandstone which forms a continuation of the existing sandstone wall and anchors the building in the landscape context. The external walls of the archive are finished in a shiny copper facade with a subtle vertical structure. The natural metal surface will undergo various oxidation stages and colour changes until it finally develops a velvety, brownish appearance.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten
Cross section one – click for larger image

Visitors enter the public areas of the archive via Veilhofstrasse. From there they also reach the lecture hall, which can also be used for exhibitions. This hall faces the corner of Veilhof-/Zeissstrasse in a manner that welcomes the public. The reading room faces both east and west and is located on the quiet garden side. The offices are located above, on two levels surrounding the archive areas, and provide easy access for members of staff to the repository. The repository areas themselves occupy four floors above the ground floor, as well as the two lower ground floors. Since the first lower ground floor extends out on the slope towards the south, access is available from Zeissstrasse to the workshop and functional rooms.

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten
Long section two – click for larger image

Design: Meinhard von Gerkan and Nikolaus Goetze
Associated Partner: Dirk Heller
Project Leader: Karen Schroeder
Design Team: Christoph Berle, Katharina Traupe, Monika Braig
Implementation Team: Christoph Berle, Miriam Bamberg, Judith Saile, Alexander Schnieber, Sui Jinying
GFA: 9,327 square metres
Client: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria

State archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria by GMP Architekten
Cross section two – click for larger image

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Oslo by Angell Wyller Aarseth for Bernhardt Design

London Design Festival 2013: Norwegian collective Angell Wyller Aarseth has designed a wooden lounge chair with a slung seat and back for Bernhardt Design (+ slideshow).

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_23

American furniture brand Bernhardt Design asked Angell Wyller Aarseth to design an armchair that combines the studio’s Nordic sensibility with a link to American heritage.

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_5

The resulting chair features a simple open frame made from solid walnut, a material commonly used in American furniture production.

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_24

Gently curving armrests continue around the sitter to form a backrest onto which a padded sling is attached.

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_6

An additional cushion fastened to the back of the sling provides supplementary support.

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_7

Oslo is the first commercially produced design by Angell Wyller Aarseth, which was formed in 2010 by Oslo National Academy of the Arts graduates, Christoffer Angell, Øyvind Wyller and Simen Aarseth.

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_20

It is available in a range of coloured leather and fabric options and is launching this week during the London Design Festival.

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_19

Bernhardt Design presented a chaise designed by Eindhoven couple Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk at the 2011 edition of the London Design Festival. See more furniture by Bernhardt Design »

dezeen_Oslo chair by AWAA for Bernhardt Design_14

Other launches at this year’s LDF include a collection of wooden bedroom furniture by British brand Another Country and a range of wicker lamps by Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune.

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Here’s some more information about the project from Bernhardt Design:


Northern Lights – London, UK

It takes a spark to light a fire. Such a spark was cast one evening three years ago during the 2010 London Design Festival. As part of 100% Norway, Ambassador Bjarne Lindstrom organized a reception to connect Norway’s best home-grown talents with the international design world. While there, three young designers, Christoffer Angell, Øyvind Wyller and Simen Aarseth, met Jerry Helling, President of Bernhardt Design. That chance encounter has now come full circle with Bernhardt Design’s launch of Angell Wyller Aarseth’s Oslo Chair at the 2013 London Design Festival.

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A strong supporter of young designers, Helling is often on the look-out for promising new talent. “There are bright young designers working all over the world, the tricky part is finding ones who are the right fit,” Helling said. “Sometimes, we meet through formal channels like tradeshows and exhibitions. More often, however, a first meeting is more serendipitous – through mutual acquaintances or at cocktail parties such as where I met Christoffer, Simen and Øyvind.”

The trio of young Norwegian designers calls themselves AWAA. They met during school at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and, as Angell puts it, they “found each other creatively.” As their paths crossed in classes and at exhibitions, they realized they shared the same theories about design – primarily a focus on archetypal purity and structure, the layering of elements, and a passion for classic Scandinavian modernism.

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It was an exciting time for the three young students as they formed a loose collective to explore these shared values and ideas. They soon decided to apply for 100% Norway during the London Design Festival, in hopes of broadening their industry exposure. They were accepted, and were elated when Helling handed them his business card at the Ambassador’s reception.

“Young designers often have this intense passion that can fade with time and success,” Helling added. “Talking with AWAA sparked an interest. You could sense a light burning in them.”

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After meeting Helling, Angell, Wyller and Aarseth sent a portfolio of their work. Helling was impressed and suggested they apply for the 2011 ICFF Studio program at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York. Their Handle Me cookware designs were a critical success, winning an award for best accessories. It was also at the end of ICFF that Helling formally asked them to collaborate on a new project.

“We’d trained ourselves to not get too excited when someone says, ‘We want to work with you’, because we’d heard it so many times before. But Jerry followed through,” says Wyller. “It’s really exciting when someone tells you this great thing will happen, and then it really does.”

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The Oslo chair is AWAA’s first product together to be launched commercially, and it is a balanced mix of the Nordic trio’s design philosophy and Bernhardt Design’s American heritage. When Helling asked them to design an armed side chair, AWAA first delved into the physical essence of an armchair – namely that it is made up of four legs, a seat and back, and arms – to focus on a pure skeletal structure. They then set out to layer comfort onto the structure by adding a sling seat and back that seem to rest upon the frame, like garments on a figure.

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As a result, they have created a light, airy chair that is comfortable and strong, yet visually simple and open. Rather than being made from traditional Scandinavian hardwoods, Oslo is made of solid walnut, giving it a distinctively American sensibility. The Oslo chair may be upholstered in fabrics and leathers from Bernhardt Textiles or in the customer’s own material.

With the debut of the Angell Wyller Aarseth’s Oslo Chair at the 2013 London Design Festival, Bernhardt Design shows that what starts as a spark can become a bright light.

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About Angell Wyller Aarseth

The Norwegian design collective Angell Wyller Aarseth (AWAA) was founded in 2010 by Christoffer Angell, Øyvind Wyller and Simen Aarseth. While pursuing their Masters of Design at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, the three realized they had complementary ideas about design. They decided to form a loose collective to explore those ideas, while also continuing to work individually as interior architects and product designers.

After exhibiting together at the 2010 London Design Festival (at 100% Norway, a juried exhibition of leading Norwegian design talent), and Design Tide in Tokyo, the collective debuted their first range of cast iron cookware in Paris in January 2011. AWAA subsequently showed a larger range of products at the Salone Satellite in Milan, where they received a Special Mention from the jury, and at ICFF in New York, where they won ICFF Studio for their cookware. In 2012, they presented their collection of seating, lighting and tables at the Salone Satellite in Milan.

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AWAA approach design by analyzing an activity to determine its essential elements to then establish an archetypal object that fulfills those elements. From there, they layer on elements to lend meaning, functionality and adaptability to the object.

Their diverse personal interests and experiences contribute to their designs. Angell is also an interior architect with experience in lighting design, having interned with the American lighting brand Rich Brilliant Willing. Wyller is a freelance designer and has experience with design journalism from his time as a columnist with the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. Simen works as a brand strategist and designer at the Oslo-based firm Work.

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Classroom extension by Studio Webb

Studio Webb has added a zinc-clad roof extension to a private school in south London, which sets off against the building’s existing brickwork (+ slideshow).

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

London-based Studio Webb added the red-zinc extension over the roof of the Victorian primary school in Battersea, creating two extra classrooms on a new second floor.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

The 14-week project saw the steel-framed structure placed on top of the existing building, which Studio Webb director Rik Webb said was “the school’s only viable opportunity left on the site”.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

The firm chose materials that would fit in with different kinds of brickwork. “Within close context to a conservation area and neighbouring red brick and copper church, a sensitive design approach and appropriate choice of materials was critical,” said Webb.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

The architects continued the corbeled parapet detailing of the brick structure then added the new gabled structure above to create a generous space featuring numerous skylights.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Two light-filled classrooms are separated by a long corridor with a bathroom and storage room at one end. A triangular corner window offers views towards the cathedral next door and out over the city rooftops beyond.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Other school extensions we’ve featured include a gabled extension to a nineteenth-century boarding school in Brightona new facade inspired by post war system-built schools, also in London and a stark concrete extension to a secondary school in Lisbon.

See more extensions »
See more stories about schools »

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

Here’s a project description from the architects:


Battersea School

Approached by a private school client, and inheriting a previous scheme, Studio Webb were appointed to undertake an appraisal period which enabled the design development of a second floor classroom extension in Battersea.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

With a fast track programme and comprehensive consultant team a lightweight steel structure with external zinc cladding with was produced.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Within close context to a conservation area and neighbouring red brick / copper church, a sensitive design approach and appropriate choice of materials was critical.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

A simple gable form extends above the existing brick Victorian school block below. An expanse of structural glazing to the corners brings an abundance of natural light to the teaching spaces, and provides a practical internal layout.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Vertical red zinc cladding was chosen to respond sympathetically to the adjacent church detail. The uniform surface of the material looks to offer a clean monolithic separation from the existing.

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Project Type : Private school extension
Location : Battersea, London, UK
Tender date : 06.04.2013
Start date on site : 11.05.2013

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Contract duration : 14 weeks
Gross internal floor area : 93m2
Contract / Procurment : JCT MWD 2001 / Traditional
Construction Cost : £234,000.00 exc. vat

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects

Client : l’ecole de battersea
Architect : Studio Webb Architects Ltd
Structural engineer : lyons o’neill
Quanity surveyor : measur
Contractor : rem projects (interiors) ltd
Building control / CDM : Head Projects Building Control Ltd

Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects
Floor plan – click for larger image
Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects
Roof plan – click for larger image
Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects
North elevation – click for larger image
Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects
West elevation – click for larger image
Classroom extension by Studio Webb Architects
South elevation – click for larger image

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Launch collection by Noble & Wood

London Design Festival 2013: British design brand Noble & Wood is presenting its debut collection of crafted furniture and products at designjunction this week (+ slideshow).

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London-based designer Paul Blease launched the collection under the Noble & Wood label at Maison & Objet in Paris earlier this month, and is showing it at designjunction this week as part of the London Design Festival.

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“Crafted modernism is our design philosophy, which explores the qualities of traditional craft techniques and combines them with modern manufacturing technology,” Paul Blease told Dezeen.

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The collection includes a console designed in collaboration with Gautier Pelegrin that leans against the wall and incorporates an additional smaller shelf to help organise everyday clutter.

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The magazine holder is made from a solid wedge of Carrera marble, American walnut or ash, with leather pouches slung over the top.

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The three legs of the Domino stool are fixed together by a horizontal brass bar and a removable felt pad adds extra comfort on the seat.

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A solid turned-wood stool has a felt pad that can be switched for a metal surface to transform it into a side table.

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Wall hooks in two diameters are available in copper or anodised aluminium finishes with a range of coloured leather fronts.

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A leather strap used to suspend the Loop mirror from its wall-mounted hook fits snugly into a groove that runs around the wooden frame.

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Noble & Wood collaborated with textile designer Sarah Pourcher on a wallpaper design featuring her hand-drawn patterns.

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Noble & Wood’s collection is on show at designjunction until 22 September, alongside a debut furniture collection from Joined + Jointed and a range of wicker lamps by Claesson Koivisto Rune.

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