Hasta La Ideas

A grid of timber louvres screens the end facades of this Japanese house by architects AE5 Partners.

A fold in the middle of the two-storey House M divides it into two symmetrical halves.

Openings on both sides of the fold create entrances leading into an open-plan living room on one side of the house and bathrooms on the other.

A mezzanine library overlooks the living room from the floor above, while a bedroom is located opposite.

Another gridded timber screen inside the house creates a first-floor balustrade.

You can find more Japanese houses on Dezeen, including one with slides between floors, by clicking here.

Photography is by Nacasa & Partners.

The following information is from the architects:

House M, Kaga-shi Ishikawa-ken Japan

Context

Along a series of lushly green mountains narrow rice field terraces are divided by a mountain stream.  Surrounded by this complicated yet beautiful, abundant nature, a settlement can be seen in Kashiwano-machi, a town in Kaga city, Ishikawa, Japan.

The project site was established in an gap between a national road and the edge of the city. How should the building be designed to fill the space in of a town that was slowly built up over a long period of time by people and nature? The foundational concept of the plan should proceed from the climate, the culture, and the historical context and, what is more, it should express modernity. It was thought that this approach may be necessary and most natural for the residents and town people.  A “Kura” (Japanese warehouse) is a feature of the typology of the town. It is a secondary house that can be seen anywhere since every house in the town has a Kura.

With small, aesthetic proportions, it fills the space and distance between houses and it helps block the prying eyes of neighbours. It can be said that the planning site complies with the traditional construction style of the town: a house like a Kura with a few open doors is built between a busy national road and the head house in which the client family lives.  Additionally, the volume of a Kura suits the current “a house for a woman living alone” theme.

While moving forward with the plan, the typological aspect of the Kura was used within the constraints of the building’s site and context to specialise the process. The process begin like this: a decision was made using a volume study that maintained the proportions of the dialogue between the building plan and the surrounding environment. Then, between the head house and the building plan, a chevron shaped courtyard was made way for, creating a complete assembly whose plan is known as Kunoji. Between the Kunoji and the main house the space became a welcoming courtyard and, at the same time, the north-western side of the Kunoji produced a small space that answered the client’s request of having a private garden.  Via this process an architectural shape that acts as a part of the town was derived.

Geometry
 Embracement / Louvered Facade

Kuras stand with dignified and steady beauty. To acquire the shape, the building’s level surfaces and the exterior were designed with appropriate geometric proportions. The flat surfaces use two squares and isosceles triangles. The elevated surface toward the Tsumagawa (the side that contacts the ridge at a right angle) was constructed using Silver Ratios. The one of a Kura’s features is that it has only a few open doors. This relates to the house owner’s privacy. It is carefully designed to protect the dwellers privacy; The Tsumagawa facade was changed to wooden louvers so that it gets bright daylight; the wooden pieces are arranged to face in a constant direction at every other step.

The intent of the configuration of all of the louvers references the concept of “order and the unexpected”. There is an old persimmon tree in front of the louvers that was planted a long time ago. At first glance the randomness with which the branches and leaves grow seems to have a constant regularity which, when combined with the louvers opposite, abides by the concept of “order and the unexpected” to create a dialogue between nature and the architecture. Additionally, a polygonal shape was used to design the top lights placed on the 2nd floor terrace above and the open windows facing the road.  Doing so, the contrast of the order (mathematically proportioned) in the flat and elevated surfaces against the free lines of the open windows attempts to bring into being a pleasantly designed harmony. The lights coming from the open windows or wooden louvers change seasonally and, according to the time of day, produce a rich tapestry of colour for an entire lifetime. On the other hand, the lights of the open windows add small flares of colour and warmth to evenings wrapped in silence or seasons covered in snow.

Surface  86 sqm

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Speaking of government-based contests as we were in that last post, we turn to something a bit more positive (or at least something that fewer people seem angry about). Launched last month, the National Mall Design Competition, which is attempting to rehab three specific areas to focus preservation efforts on (Union Square, the Washington Monument grounds at Sylvan Theater and Constitution Gardens) has now named their jurors. Picking their favorite entries for the estimated $700 million project are a list of, as was expected, luminaries from a number of fields. They include the Washington Post‘ former architecture critic, Benjamin Forgey, Pentagram‘s Michael Gericke, and architect about town, Thom Mayne. Thus far, the competition has reportedly registered more than 1,200 designers and firms from 10 countries and 30 states who are interested in participating. Out of those, the jurors will pick 58 to move forward. Here’s a bit about the process:

“In Stage I, the Jury will evaluate lead designers based on past design performance, philosophy, design intent, thoughtfulness, creativity and overall resume,” said Donald J. Stastny FAIA FAICP FCIP, the Competition Manager. “The Jurors’ professional expertise and diverse perspectives will be valuable assets in the selection process.”

The Jury will meet over three days to select the lead designers who they recommend be invited to participate in Stage II. That recommendation will be made to the Steering Committee, which will confirm that the designers met all of the requirements as stated in the Competition Manual and that there were no conflicts of interest in the Jury process.

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Designed by 0 to 1, to be located on the property of a Finnish Fine Artist, this house is a live-work space for an artist. The form was generated from..

After last week’s surprise drubbing at the hands of the National Capitol Planning Commission and members of the Eisenhower family, architect Frank Gehry got himself out in front of the debate earlier this week to try and smooth the situation over a bit concerning his planned Eisenhower Memorial in Washington DC. At the meeting last week, you might recall, the NCPC still wasn’t certain about the dimensions and scope of the project, while some members of the Eisenhower family asked that the whole project be put on hold, wanting to slow the whole thing down so they’d be able to think it all through more clearly. The Washington Post reports that in a meeting on Tuesday evening, Gehry admitted that the issues people were having with the memorial were “fair” and that they “are asking good questions.” What’s more, the architect reportedly explained that this is the sort of project that takes on lots of thinking and revisions as it goes along, and that he’s planning to agree to the family’s request for a meeting to make sure he gets the memorial right. “We’re clearly going to make them happy,” he told the Associated Press. Though if none of that works in appeasing everyone, we bet that Gehry will have no choice but to reassemble his Super Tech Squad and demand things go his way…or else.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Paris studio 1024 Architecture have completed a cafe made from scaffolding and shipping containers on an island on the Seine in Paris.

Les Grandes Tables is located on the Île Seguin, where architect Jean Nouvel is currently converting a car factory into a museum.

Elevated amidst the scaffolding structure is an oriented strand board box, which houses the first floor restaurant.

A staircase at the front of the building leads visitors up to this dining room, whilst an open space below is used for informal events and parties.

Another scaffolding structure published on Dezeen temporarily housed a temporary cafe, sauna and paddling pool – see our earlier story here.

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

Photography is by Brice Pelleschi, apart from where otherwise stated.

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

Here’s some more details from 1024 Architecture:

Les Grandes Tables de L’île

A restaurant/bar/open-air café positioned on Île Seguin in the middle of a temporary garden whilst waiting for the architect Jean Nouvel’s macro project to be implemented, Les Grandes Tables de L’ile is a place to meet, for haute cuisine and why not even parties to accompany the reconstruction of this island steeped in history.

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

The project is an architectural hybridization between an agricultural greenhouse, a barge and a timber-frame house.

Modelled after a large wood fibre box suspended in a scaffold structure from which freight containers are hanging, all encompassed beneath a transparent umbrella…

An eye-catching iconoclastic assemblage with an area of 300m2 to accommodate 120 covers and the cuisine of Arnaud Daguin, a chef with stars to his name.

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

Constructed from scaffolding, wood fibre panels and containers, according to the principle dear to the 1024 duo, the restaurant can be promptly extended by video and lighting effects by changing with the assistance of mapping for the duration of a party or a particular event.

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

‘A meeting place aimed at initiating the reoccupation of the venue.

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

An architecture which must be able to disappear without leaving any traces…’

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

Client: Les Grandes Tables (Paris/Ile Seguin)
Team: Pierre Schneider and François Wunscel (Architects) / Stéphanie Grimard (project monitoring)

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

Companies: SIRC (containers and construction) / PLETAC (scaffolding) / Light-Event (Electricity) / RECYCLING (interior lights) / ABAC (heating and CMV)

Above: photograph is by C. Sancereau

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