Hasta La Ideas

The latticed facade of this Tokyo bookstore by Klein Dytham Architecture comprises hundreds of interlocking T-shapes that subtly reference the logo of entertainment retailer Tsutaya (+ slideshow).

“The T idea for the project came to us during the initial briefing session with the CEO of Tsutaya,” architect Mark Dytham told Dezeen. “He was hoping for an iconic building, branded in a non-branded way, without having to rely on signage.”

The little shapes also combine to create larger Ts on the elevations of the three buildings that make up the complex.

The grid created by the shapes lines up with the structural systems, and Dytham explained how this helped them to “determine the general layout” of each building.

This layout was also influenced by the locations of several large trees, which the buildings nestle between.

Louvred steel bridges link up with aisles on the first floor of each block, which the architects refer to as the “magazine street”.

As well as sales areas for books, CDs and DVDs, the store also contains a convenience store, a lounge and cafe.

Other projects we’ve featured by Klein Dytham Architecture include an airport lounge for Virgin Atlantic and a combined home and salon.

See more stories about Klein Dytham Architecture »

Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.

Here’s a project description from Klein Dytham:

T-Site, Daikanyama, Tokyo

Klein Dytham architecture won the T-Site commission in a 2 stage invited competition. 77 architects were invited to submit proposals and KDa made it to the final selection with Kengo Kuma, Atelier Bow Wow, Mikan Gumi and Kumiko Inui, before winning the project in the final round.

KDa’s new Daikanyama T-Site is a campus-like complex for Tsutaya, a giant in Japan’s book, music, and movie retail market.

Located in Daikanyama, an up-market but relaxed, low-rise Tokyo shopping district, it stands alongside the legendary Hillside Terrace buildings designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki.

Slotted between large existing trees on the site, the three pavilions are organized by a “magazine street” that threads through the complex, blurring interior and exterior.

Tailored particularly to over-50 “premium age” customers, Tsutaya’s normal product range is complimented by a series of boutique spaces carrying carefully curated product ranges.

Other facilities include a café, an upscale convenience store, and the Anjin lounge, where visitors can browse a library of classic design magazines and books or peruse artworks for sale as they eat, drink, read, chat, or relax.

Externally, KDa’s characteristic wit emerges in subtle ways – the perforated screens of the façade are formed from the Ts of the Tsutaya logo, and much larger T-shapes are disguised in the building plans and elevations.

Architecture and interior design: Klein Dytham architecture
Art Direction: Tomoko Ikegai
Architectural Consultant: RIA
Structural Engineer: Structured Environment
Main Contractor: Kajima Construction

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

The post Daikanyama T-Site by
Klein Dytham Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.

This concrete bungalow on a remote Japanese island is built to protect its occupants from both extremely bright sunshine and destructive typhoons (+ slideshow).

Designed by architects Harunatsu-Archi, the single-storey Villa 921 is located in Iriomote, an island that can only be accessed by boat and is mostly covered by rainforests and swamps.

The wood and glass walls slide open across the front and rear of the building, allowing the wind to move through the rooms.

Projecting canopies shade the rooms and terrace from harsh sunlight, which the architects claim is five times stronger than on the mainland.

During typhoons, the house and terrace can be screened behind protective screens, which fasten onto the protruding eaves.

Inside the house, rooms are divided into three rows and include a kitchen and bathroom on one side, a bedroom on the opposite side, and a living and a dining room in the centre.

The bedroom has two doors, so that one side can be converted into a children’s room in the future.

“The usable area of the house only amounts to about 70 square metres,” said architects Shoko Murakaji and Naoto Murakaji. “This is by no means large, but thanks to the amazing views of the landscape, there is never a feeling of narrowness.”

Other Japanese houses we’ve featured include one that is extraordinarily narrow and one shaped liked an arrow.

See more stories about houses in Japan »

Photography is by Kai Nakamura.

Floor plan

Long section

Cross section

The post Villa 921 by
Harunatsu-Archi appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects Spark have added a stairwell resembling a giant wedge of Swiss cheese onto two Bangkok shophouses they’ve converted into a youth centre.

Commissioned by Thai bank TMB, the Fai Fah centre provides the venue for a programme of workshops and classes that encourage children and teenagers to take part in creative activities.

Above: photograph is by TMB

During the design process the architects held design workshops with local children, who had the initial ideas for the steel lattice that covers the facades of the two original shophouses.

Above: photograph is by Spark

“Spark’s workshops with the Fai-Fah children were inspiring,” explained TMB Bank’s Paradai Theerathada. ”They gave the children a great sense of accomplishment from being involved in the design process for such a large-scale, tangible project.”

The children also chose a palette of colours to mark each of the building’s six storeys, including the bright yellow that features in the event space and mezzanine gallery at the base of the building.

Other rooms include a library, an art studio, a pottery classroom and a dance studio.

Above: photograph is by Spark

A garden is located on the roof, where the L-shaped stair tower wraps around to create a storage room.

Above: photograph is by TMB

Long, narrow shophouses are a typical building typology in Southeast Asia, and we also recently featured one converted into a residence with a swimming pool inside.

See all our stories about shophouses »

Photography is by Lin Ho, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s a project description from Fai-Fah:

FAI-FAH

Fai-Fah, which means “light energy”, is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme initiated in April 2010 by TMB Bank. The programme acts as a catalyst for change in Thai society through working with underprivileged children and teenagers in their community using the arts as a vehicle for self-development and creative thinking.

In October 2010, Spark was invited to design Fai-Fah Prachautis, the refurbishment of two shop houses located in a residential district of Bangkok.

The art and creative education programmes contained in the client’s brief have been distributed over five floors, and include: the multi-function “living room”, the art studio, a library, the gallery, the dance studio and a multi-purpose rooftop garden.

The design was developed at interactive workshops with the Fai-Fah children and teenagers, volunteer arts staff, and members of TMB’s CSR team.

Ideas generated during the workshop such as the façade screen and the interior colours were incorporated into the design, underlining the positive nature of the collaborative process and ownership of the concept amongst all of the project’s protagonists.

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

The five levels of the building are linked by a central feature staircase with each level defined by its own colour theme.

First floor mezzanine plan – click above for larger image

Utilities and services are housed in a new inverted L- shaped structure, the “Utility Stick”, which is plugged into the rear of the building; it rises from the courtyard and bends to form a garden store at roof level.

Second floor plan – click above for larger image

The existing shop house façade has been transformed by the application of a bespoke lattice screen and Fai-Fah logo, a statement that the building is different from its adjacent neighbours and announcing to the community that Fai-Fah has arrived.

Third floor plan – click above for larger image

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Forth floor plan – click above for larger image

GFA (area above ground): 569 sqm
Project Completion: Quarter 1, 2012
Facilities: Event Space (Living Room), Gallery, Library, Art Studio, Dance Studio, Roof garden

Roof  plan – click above for larger image

Architect: Spark
Design Director: Stephen Pimbley
Team: Wenhui Lim, Mark Mancenido, Suchon Pongsopitsin
Client: TMB Bank Public Company Limited
Client Team: Paradai Theerathada, Sakchai Sriwatthanapitikul, Nopawan Saengteerakij, Thatchakorn Prutnoppadol, Mallika Uswachoke, Radomdej Taksana, Aree Vesvijak, Jumpol Kwangosen, Saranyoo Nantanawanit, Siriporn Lerdapirangsi
Fai-Fah Kids: Master Thanakan Namunmong, Chisanu Kiatsuranayon, Sirinart Naksombhob, Kamolthat Sutat Na Ayudhya
Local Architect: 365COOP Company Limited

Section – click above for larger image

The post Fai Fah by Spark appeared first on Dezeen.

A converted nineteenth century farm building once used for drying hops has been nominated for the RIBA Manser Medal for the best new house in the UK, following a renovation and extension by architects Duggan Morris (+slideshow).

Set amongst the agricultural fields of East Sussex, the restored buildings of Old Bearhurst include the brickwork oast house, with its two circular towers and pointed cowls, and a timber-clad barn.

The architects constructed a single-storey extension to tie these two structures together, but set the floor of the building slightly below ground level to prevent the new roof rising above the eaves of the oast towers.

Roughly sawn green oak clads the exterior of the new block, which accommodates a kitchen, living room and playroom for the client’s growing family.

Utility rooms are sunken by another half a storey to separate them from the main domestic activities.

Only the original buildings feature a first floor, creating bedrooms and bathrooms at opposite ends of the house.

Concrete floors dominate at ground floor level, while timber lines the floors and surfaces of rooms upstairs.

Last year Duggan Morris were awarded the RIBA Manser Medal for the renovation of a 1960’s residence.

This year they face competition from four other projects, including a holiday home from Alain de Botton’s Living Architecture series.

See more projects by Duggan Morris Architects on Dezeen »

See more stories about houses »

Photography is by James Brittain.

Here’s some text about the project from Duggan Morris:

Old Bearhurst involved the extensive remodelling of a two century old Oast House to provide space to accommodate the client’s growing family. The scheme included a complete overhaul of the existing barn and roundels as well as the construction of a new annex.

The building is set within agricultural land and defined by an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which has drawn out a unique response to the topography, landscape, history and setting.

Site plan – click above for larger image

The project was aimed at creating a unified series of flowing, contemporary spaces, allowing a greater degree of flexibility, linking internal spaces to the impressive rolling fields to the south, and the higher meadow land of the north. Equally, the brief called for a building with character and personality, respectful of the existing Oast house, and taking advantage of the views and surrounding environment.

Ground floor plan – click above for larger image

A key objective of the brief was to ‘rediscover’ the integrity of the building through careful observation and research where new additions and alterations would work harmoniously to create a new envisioned whole.

First floor plan – click above for larger image

However, the core ambition of the scheme was to create a dwelling which, over time, would come to reflect an exemplar approach to contemporary rural renovation work and to create a flexible living environment for the growing family within the exceptional surrounds.

Section – click above for larger image

Section – click above for larger image

Section – click above for larger image

North elevation – click above for larger image

South elevation – click above for larger image

The post Old Bearhurst by
Duggan Morris Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Danish firm C.F. Møller likens its completed art and craft museum in Norway to a “block of ice that has slid down from the surrounding mountains” (+ slideshow).

The Sogn & Fjordane Kunstmuseum is located within the small town of Førde, which sits on the edge of the Jostedalsbreen glacier, the largest body of ice in continental Europe.

The architects referenced this by using frosted glass and illuminated fracture lines to create a glacial facade around the four-storey building.

A bright blue staircase spirals up though the museum to lead visitors to galleries on each of the floors.

A roof terrace is screened behind the parapet walls and offers a view towards the mountains.

See more stories about museums here, including one shaped like a kitchen sink that we featured recently.

See more stories about C.F. Møller »

Here’s some extra details from C.F. Møller:

Sogn & Fjordane Art Museum

The small Norwegian town of Førde draws its qualities from its interaction with the surrounding mountains, which are visible everywhere, and from Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier on the European mainland, which lies in close proximity to the town.

The town’s new museum, Sogn & Fjordane Kunstmuseum also draws upon the distinctive landscape for its architectural expression: the museum lies like a crystal-clear block of ice that has slid down from the surrounding mountains.

The crystalline form provides an asymmetrical plan solution, with varying displacements in the facade. The facade is clad in white glass with a network of angled lines, reminiscent of the fracture lines in ice. This network also defines the irregular window apertures. In the evening these lines are illuminated, so that the museum lies like a sparkling block in the middle of the town’s darkness.

Inside, visitors move upwards through the museum’s four floors of exhibition space, and at the top a panoramic view of the mountains can be enjoyed from a roof terrace that can also function as an exhibition space or stage.

C.F. Møller Architects were also responsible for the design of the SEIF office building which is the museum’s closest neighbour, and for a residential complex on the same site which is presently under construction.

Client: Sogn & Fjordane, Futurum AS
Address: Førde, Norway
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
Construction: Åsen & Øvrelid
Landscape: Schønherr Landskab
Engineers: Hjellnes Consult, Sweco AS, Nord Vest Miljø AS

Size: 3,000 m2
Construction: 2010-2012
Prizes: 1st Prize in architectural competition, 2006

Floor plans – click above for larger image and key

Section – click above for larger image

East elevation – click above for larger image

North elevation – click above for larger image

West elevation – click above for larger image

South elevation – click above for larger image

The post Sogn & Fjordane Kunstmuseum
by C.F. Møller Architects appeared first on Dezeen.