Hasta La Ideas

The top floor of this Tokyo house by Japanese architects Apollo appears to be caving in.

Located on a hillside, the three-storey residence has a large roof terrace and oversized windows that overlook the city.

The angled second floor walls slope around a children’s bedroom, whilst a lightweight metal staircase winds down to a living room and balcony on the floor below.

A master bedroom and two bathrooms occupy the ground floor, alongside a garage for storing and repairing the client’s motorcycle.

Floors throughout the house are surfaced in dark walnut, as are cabinets in the living room and kitchen.

Apollo Architects & Associates have completed a few houses with angled walls – see all our stories about them here.

Photography is by Masao Nishikawa.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

Vista (Nishidai Itabashi ward Tokyo)

The clients were a husband-and-wife couple. He works as the director of an advertising agency, while she works in the food business.

The couple purchased a plot of land that faces the cliff of a plateau and commissioned us to build a wooden three-storey residence for themselves and their child.

In order to make the most of the magnificent view overlooking the north side of the plot, we decided to activate the latent potential of the location by installing panoramic windows inside the house that would give the residents an unobstructed view of the scenic surroundings.

The first floor was compactly outfitted with a small, Japanese style straw-matted bedroom, as well as a bathroom and dressing area with an attached terrace.

Each of these spaces commanded a handsome view of the landscape outside.

The second storey was configured as a single, open room with an attached roof balcony.

Bookshelves were also installed on the structural walls, while a table at the edge of the dining area provides a comfortable space for reading, creating a library-like atmosphere.

In addition, we made an effort to emphasize the impression of diving downwards that results from the height difference between the dining room and the living area.

The child’s room and a large outdoor living space are located on the third floor, which also offers the residents a full, untrammeled view of the beautiful landscape surrounding the house.

Although the scenery visible from the terraces located on each floor is identical, the varied character of each space ensures that a different impression of this single landscape is created each time.

In addition to a car-sized parking space, the entrance to the house also includes a built-in bike garage for the owner’s beloved Ducati motorbike that offers ample room for maintenance and cleaning work to be carried out.

Standing at the foot of the slope and looking up at this sleek, white mass that seems to float on top of the hill, the viewer is struck by this symbolic, monumental presence – an impression that contrasts sharply with the closed appearance presented by the front entrance.

The spatial character of this house, which embodies elements that are both mundane and extraordinary, demonstrates the wealth of possibilities that can be realized in urban residential architecture.

Architecture: Satoshi Kurosaki/APOLLO Architects & AssociatesProject Outline

Location: Nishidai Itabashi ward Tokyo
Date of Completion: 2011.8
Principal Use: Private housing

Structure: Timber structure
Site Area: 54.86㎡
Total Floor Area: 111.78㎡ /1F(42.02㎡),2F(47.41㎡),3F(22.35㎡)
Structure engineers: Masaki Structure Laboratory, Kenta Masaki

Facility engineers: Shimada Architects, Zenei Shimada
Construction: Honma Construction
Material Information
Exterior Finish: hydrotect colorcoat eco-ex

Floor: Walnut Flooring
Wall: Wall paper
Ceiling: Wall paper

Would you like to start your Friday morning spending a couple of minutes with rapper Ice Cube while he talks about Charles and Ray Eames? Why did we even bother asking? Of course you do. Fortunately, the good people at Pacific Standard Time have delivered with this particularly nicely shot short film, taking you on a brief and somewhat bizarre journey through Los Angeles and architecture:

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Who knew that Ice Cube, the infamous rapper with ’80s group NWA and actor, studied architectural drawing before he started rapping? Pacific Standard Time, a collaborative project launched this past October and including over 60 cultural institutions across Southern California, celebrates the birth of the Los Angeles art scene. Recently they began releasing a series of videos of Angelenos speaking on their favorite artists and institutions—Jason Schwartzman on John Baldessari, Anthony Kiedis on Ed Ruscha and Ice Cube on the Eames House. Ice Cube tells us, “Coming from South Central Los Angeles, you’ve got to use what you’ve got and make the best of it. What I love about the Eames is how resourceful they are.” In an interview with The New York Times, he continues:

I had learned about [the Eames’] when I was studying architectural drafting. Back then, I didn’t know I was going to make money. So being that they put together a house in two days and used discarded materials—something about their style caught on.

As I got older, I could equate it to sampling. I see that’s what we were doing, taking discarded records from the ’60s and ’70s and revamping them.

Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. Beginning October 2011, over 60 cultural institutions will make their contributions to this region-wide initiative encompassing every major L.A. art movement from 1945 to 1980. Watch the full video with Ice Cube on the Eames House for Pacific Standard Time after the jump.

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In the throes of a massive renovation, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is a hive of design news. Today the institution announced that it has raised the $54 million required for the overhaul, a collaboration between design architect Gluckman Mayner Architects and executive architect Beyer Blinder Belle that will increase Cooper-Hewitt’s exhibition space by 60 percent (to approximately 16,000 square feet), as well as reconfigure conservation and collection-storage facilities. Meanwhile, much progress has already been made: renovation is complete on the museum’s two townhouses, which house the—new and improved!—National Design Library, the master’s program in the history of decorative arts and design, and administrative offices. Now comes the main event: renovating the Carnegie Mansion, a task that entails historic preservation (including restoring the exterior masonry and freshening up the wrought-iron fence) and is aiming for LEED certification. When the museum reopens in 2013, visitors will discover a spectacular, new third-floor gallery where the library used to be, as well as expanded and restored galleries on first and second floors.

“It is thrilling to see our vision for Cooper-Hewitt’s redesign becoming a reality,” said Bill Moggridge, director of the museum, in a statement issued today. “Restoring and transforming the Carnegie Mansion and elevating and expanding the museum’s online user experience will broadly increase access to the museum’s rich resources, scholarship, and collections.” Renovation on the digital front will be masterminded by Aussie tech guru Seb Chan, the newly appointed director of digital and emerging media. He comes to Cooper-Hewitt from the the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, where he brought the museum’s collection online, integrated digital content production into everyday practices, and pioneered the use of mobile devices, QR codes, and iPads to deliver gallery experiences. Chan names “increasing public access while communicating the important role of design in building a better world” as among his top priorities for Cooper-Hewitt. Tonight mediabistro.com founder and hostess with the mostest Laurel Touby opens her home for a party to welcome Chan and toast to successful expansion in the physical and virtual worlds.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Dutch architects UNStudio have unveiled designs for a Singapore skyscraper with chunks missing from its facade.

The proposed Scotts Tower will house gardens, swimming pools and barbeque pavilions inside these gaping voids, named Sky Frames, which will surround both the base of the tower and a cluster of floors near the top.

The tower will be 31 storeys high and provide 231 apartments, including a floor of luxury penthouses, near to shopping district Orchard Road.

UNStudio also recently presented proposals for a cantilevered concrete observation tower and an international airport – see more projects by UNStudio here.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

The Scotts Tower (TST), Singapore, 2010

The Scotts Tower SOHO apartment building in Singapore is situated on a prime location, close to the Orchard Road luxury shopping district and with views encompassing both nearby parkland and the panoramic cityscape of Singapore City. The design of the tower embraces both the neighbourhood principle and the history of the city of Singapore, alongside the hybrid conditions created by the prominent blend of architecture and nature inherent to the city.

Neighbourhoods in the sky

The concept of The Scotts Tower is that of a vertical city incorporating a variety of residence types and scales. In addition, outdoor green areas in the form of sky terraces, penthouse roof gardens and individual terraces form an important element of the design. The vertical city concept is interpreted on the tower in three scales; the “city”, the “neighbourhood” and the “home”. The three elements ofthe vertical city concept along with the green areas are bound together by two gestures: the “vertical frame” and the “sky frames”.

The “vertical frame” organises the tower architecturally in an urban manner. The frame gives the tower – on a macro scale – the “vertical city” feel, whilst dividing the four residential clusters (packages) into different “neighbourhoods”, which are identified through alterations in the tint of the glass. The micro scale in the design is provided by the balcony variations of the individual residential units, which provide the feeling of “home” (unit identity) to the residents.

The “sky frames” – at the lobby (Level 1 & Level 2) and sky terrace (Level )- organise the amenity spaces and green areas of the tower. They represent the connecting element of the tower to Singapore City; projecting the identity of the tower to the city, whilst simultaneously bringing the city to the tower by framing the cityscape views at the Sky Garden level and embracing the neighbouring green park areas at the Lobby Terrace levels.

Customised living

The four residential clusters are each designed for versatile and customised living. Individual identity is given to each unit by means of type, scale, distribution and articulation of outdoor space, along with the possibility for personalisation of the interior layout. The individual articulation of each cluster within the main framework of the tower is directly related to the organisation and materialisation of the terrace spaces. These varied outdoor spaces afford a choice of views, with corner terraces providing both cityscape panoramas and vistas over the natural landscape adjacent to the building.

The individual residences within each cluster offer a choice of refined living space where craftsmanship, attention to detail, design and material finishes are essential elements of the four unit types.

City Loft, City View, Park View and Penthouses

Situated above the lower sky frame, the hundred and twenty-eight City Loft residences in the first cluster occupy the lower sixteen floors of the tower. Single urban units with a multifunctional design, compact spaces and cutting edge features, the City Loft residences measure 62sqm (669sqft).

The second cluster offers a total of eighty City View units distributed in two clusters. The first cluster shares the first sixteen floor plates with the City Loft residencies. While the second cluster of 48 units runs above the previous package. These urban professional units are characterised by a sophisticated balance of representative and private spaces. The City View units have a floor area of 82sqm (887sqft).

Park View units form the next cluster above the second sky frame, covering five floors and containing twenty units. The Park View urban family residences offer communal and retreat spaces in a motion friendly design, with each covering an area of 122sqm (1315sqft).

Crowning the tower is the final cluster containing one floor of three exclusive Penthouse residences. The Penthouses residences are characterised by prestigious views, distinctive interior spaces, private lobbies and outdoor spaces enjoying the exclusive leisure facilities of private rooftop terraces with an option for private pools. The Penthouse residences have a floor area of 265sqm (2854sqft).

Gardens and recreation

The nearby green area to the West of the tower is extended into the Scotts Road site initially by means of a ground level landscape concept designed by Sitetectonix. This ground level concept incorporates a multi-layered environment which links together the different zones and recreational facilities available to the residents. The various landscape spaces consist of elements including planting, paving, and water features – including recreational water, green waters, vapor waters, water walls and swimming waters.

The landscape is articulated by two areas; urban recreation to the North and enclosure and relaxation to the South.

Recreational facilities within the gardens include a 50 meter lap pool with sunning deck, a children’s pool, a wellness pool, dining & BBQ pavilions, a Meeting pavilion and massage and gym pavilions.

Sky Frames

Vehicular and pedestrian access to the Scotts road tower is also incorporated in this ground level concept. A green gateway to the residences is created by the lower sky frame terrace, the “sky lobby”, which is located eight meters above the access routes to the building. This terrace therefore serves to continue the natural landscape of the gardens vertically into the tower, whilst simultaneously providing direct access for the residents to the recreational facilities, without the need to traverse access routes and the main entrance lobby at ground level.

A second sky frame terrace, the “sky garden” is introduced above the third cluster, offering panoramic views and the possibility for use as a social platform for outdoor events. Facilities such as Jacuzzi pools, a swimming pool and a dinning deck can be found in the “sky garden” level.