Hasta La Ideas

Architect Shigeru Ban has constructed another building using cardboard tubes – this time a cabin for hikers in a Japanese national park.

Located off the southern coast of Japan on Yakushima Island, Yakushima Takatsuka Lodge sits on a steep woodland slope within the Kirishima-Yaku National Park.

Like many of Shigeru Ban’s buildings, the walls of the hut are made from rolls of recycled paper that have been reinforced with glue. The tubes slot into the gaps between the wooden framework, creating a weather-resistant facade that will be easy to repair.

“Paper tubes can be easily replaced if damaged overtime within the harsh environment of the mountains,” say the designers.

The cabin sits over the foundations of a demolished older structure and it offers a two-storey hideaway that can be used by anyone trekking through the park.

Light filters through the walls via gaps between the tubes, while a wooden door slides open to provide access and a first-floor mezzanine leads out to a small balcony. A sharply inclined roof helps to drain rainwater.

Shigeru Ban has been building architectural structures from cardboard for nearly 25 years. Most recently he completed a cardboard cathedral for the earthquake-damaged city of Christchurch, New Zealand, and has also created a temporary home for the Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture in Moscow.

Photography is by Hiroyuki Hirai.

The post Yakushima Takatsuka Lodge
by Shigeru Ban appeared first on Dezeen.

News: the entrance pavilion for the Design Miami collectors’ fair in December will comprise a mound of sand with an aluminium roof perched on top.

Designed by New York studio Formlessfinder, the temporary pavilion is conceived as a space that will encourage interaction and play from some of the 50,000 visitors to the annual Design Miami fair, which takes place in Miami Beach.

“We’re hoping to create something that people would want to participate in,” said architect Garrett Ricciardi, who co-founded the studio with fellow architect Julian Rose. The pair expect visitors to lounge on the sand and adapt its shape.

They said the concept was developed in response to two of the city’s characteristics – its abundance of sand, beneath buildings as well as on the beaches, and the trend for cantilevered roofs.

“Formlessfinder’s pavilion takes the sand that is elsewhere so problematic and uses it to advantage,” said the fair organisers. “The sand, which is so destabilising for architectural projects elsewhere in Miami, here becomes the stabilising element of the structure.”

A retaining wall will dissect the pavilion, separating the sandy hill from a seating area furnished with milled aluminium benches.

The sand will also draw cool air into the space, allowing it offer a comfortable and shaded environment for guests.

Design Miami has commissioned a new entrance pavilion each year since 2008. Last year’s structure was a cluster of inflatable sausages, while in 2011 David Adjaye created a wooden structure with a hollow belly.

Other interesting projects using sand include a concept for cooling units and a series of affordable houses in Cape Town.

See more design featuring sand »

Here’s some more information from Design Miami:

New York-based architectural practice Formlessfinder to design a pavilion for Design Miami’s 2013 Design Commission

Each December, Design Miami/ commissions early-career architects to build a designed environment for the fair’s entrance as part of its biannual Design Commissions program.

Harnessing multiple, often unexpected, properties of sand and aluminium, Formlessfinder’s Tent Pile pavilion provides shade, seating, cool air and a space to play for the city’s public. The pavilion appears as a dramatic aluminium roof miraculously balanced on the apex of a great pyramid of loose sand. Milled aluminium benches give resting space in the shade, where visitors will be fanned by the cool air naturally generated by the structure.

Formlessfinder describes itself as a ‘formless’ architectural practice – a studio where an expanded range of ideas, material considerations, construction techniques and user interactions all take priority over the shape of the final building. “Form is often the default lens for thinking about architecture. Even when people think they’re talking about something else, like function or structure, there’s often some kind of formal idea underlying the discussion. We’re trying to shift away from form so that we can explore other qualities of architecture, such as new ways of experiencing space or innovative ways of using materials,” explains Julian Rose, who co-founded the practice in 2010 with Garrett Ricciardi. The pair refer to their practice as a “finder” because it has a multifaceted output, which includes research projects and a forthcoming book. But while the theoretical aspect is important to its work, Formlessfinder still has the creation of physical structures at its heart.

Formlessfinder approaches new projects with an interest in the specifics of geography and the use of available and appropriate materials, committing to use them in a way that allows for re-use. In researching ideas for Tent Pile at Design Miami/ 2013, Rose and Ricciardi ultimately focused on two phenomena very particular to Miami. The first was the ubiquity of sand in the region; those golden grains visible on the beaches also lie beneath the foundations of every building in the city and beyond. Any kind of construction in Miami must take into account the loose and shifting layer on which the final structure will ultimately float. The second was the architectural vernacular of the city; a kind of tropical post-war modernism distinguished by hybrid indoor/outdoor spaces of which the cantilevered roof seemed particularly emblematic. To design the roof and subsequent seating, the architects enlisted the support of materials powerhouse Alcoa and third-generation aluminium fabricator Neal Feay, both of which were integral in giving life to the ambitious truss design of the roof, executed in raw aluminium.

Formlessfinder’s pavilion takes the sand that is elsewhere so problematic and uses it to advantage. The sand which is so destabilising for architectural projects elsewhere in Miami here becomes the stabilising element of the structure, mooring the lightweight aluminium roof, in lieu of an excavated foundation, for the cantilever, while also being a zero-waste material, completely re-usable after its time at the pavilion.

A retaining wall appears to slice the pyramid of sand in half, creating a more ordered space immediately in front of the entrance to the fair. Bench seating in a variety of sizes is provided by large sheets of aluminium fixed to simple wood bases, foregrounding the raw nature of the materials used. Arranged in a 500-ton pyramid the sand has a thermal mass cooling effect – metal fins driven through the retaining wall into the sand will draw the cool temperature into the seating area, and simple fans will create a refreshing breeze rippling out from the wall.

The pavilion acts as a refuge for the more than 50,000 visitors who come to Miami for the fairs each year, as well as inhabitants of the city’s South Beach neighbourhood. It is intended as a public installation that marries the practical requirements of shelter and seating to spectacular creative architectural ideas from a young practice. Formlessfinder’s Tent Pile engages not only with materials and aesthetics specific to Miami, but with the location of the fair within the city – the pyramid of sand is there to be sat on and played in, the cooling fans to be approached, examined and enjoyed. “We’re hoping to create something that people would want to participate in,” says Ricciardi, and the result is a structure designed to be occupied and explored, as much as it is to be admired.

The post Design Miami pavilion to feature
a pile of sand appeared first on Dezeen.

Neon words and symbols embellish the exterior of this temporary wooden pavilion inside the new Library of Birmingham by designers Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan (+ slideshow).

Designer Morag Myerscough collaborated with artist and designer Luke Morgan to install the pavilion in the new library in Birmingham, England, which was completed earlier this summer by Dutch studio Mecanoo.

The pavilion will host an 18-week programme of workshops with artists, film makers and book makers, and is aimed at challenging people’s perceptions of what libraries can offer.

“The pavilion is meant to be something of a ‘curiosity box’ which closes on Sunday night, undergoes transformation the following day and then when the doors open on Tuesday has become a totally new space depending on what that week’s resident has planned,” said Myerscough.

Brightly coloured words such as “delight”, “discover” and “fantasy” adorn flags attached to the top of the structure and originate from workshops the designers held with youth arts group Birmingham 2022.

“We wanted to greet visitors with a smile and a celebration of the word,” added Myerscough. “It encourages conversation and fun.”

Large openings let light permeate the roof of the pavilion, which is made up of peaks with different sizes and proportions.

A large table surrounded by colourful metal stools forms the central workspace, while exposed wooden battens on the interior walls double up as shelves for displaying images and objects.

Other projects by Morag Myerscough include a temporary cafe covered with the tweets of a poet and a cafe inside a 1960s commuter train. Another installation by Luke Morgan is a skull made from welded plasma-cut steel in an office in London.

Photography is by Gareth Gardner.

Here’s a short description from the designers:

The Pavilion

Centrepiece of the dramatic lobby of the new Library of Birmingham is a temporary pavilion created by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan. The Pavilion is a multifunctional structure designed to house an 18 week programme of creative residencies for the Discovery Season. Artists, film makers, book makers and a range of other creatives will set up home in The Pavilion for a week at a time, making new work and offering a variety of free activities for visitors. The Discovery Season curated by Capsule is a dynamic mix of exhibitions, activities and performances, with the aim to challenge perceptions of what a library can be.

Entirely hand-crafted, The Pavilion has been designed to reflect the diverse and often radical Discovery Season creative residency programme including. The timber single-storey structure is topped with a neon ‘crown’ of signs emblazoned with words that originated from workshops held with youth arts group Birmingham 2022.

Myerscough, Morgan and two assistants hand-painted the exterior walls with symbols used in on-line communication, embracing digital with an analogue technique. “We wanted to greet visitors with a smile and a celebration of the word,” she says. “It encourages conversation and fun.”

The interior of the timber box structure has been kept as simple and raw as possible, allowing each resident to change the space as much as they wish. Battens can be used as ad hoc shelves, while the ceiling is made from wooden slats which provides views of the neon rooftop signs and delivers a striking internal dappled lighting effect.

Two sides of the structure feature full-height double doors while the others have large windows. These can either be swung open for transparency or closed to create a more intimate environment for projected installations, in stark contrast to the Library’s vast lobby space.

“The Pavilion is also meant to be something of a ‘curiosity box’ which closes on Sunday night, undergoes transformation the following day and then when the doors open on Tuesday has become a totally new space depending on what that week’s resident has planned,” Myerscough adds.

The Pavilion was erected on site in just two weeks, and was designed to make best use of a space directly opposite the Library’s main entrance. It snugly fits between concrete pillars, working within tight spatial restrictions imposed by the Library’s fire protection system.

As part of the Discovery Season, Studio Myerscough also hosted a week-long residency using the intricate interlocking aluminium patterns of the cladding for the Mecanoo-designed Library as inspiration to create a new A to Z font with the people of Birmingham. Designed to be completely demountable, it is hoped that a new home for the Pavilion will be found at the end of the Discovery Season.

The post The Pavilion by Morag Myerscough
and Luke Morgan appeared first on Dezeen.

London Design Festival 2013: design firms Studio Glowacka and Maria Fulford Architects have installed 1500 metres of undulating paper strips to create a pavilion at trade show 100% Design in London this week (+ slideshow).

Studio Glowacka and Maria Fulford Architects draped streams of white paper over a square frame to create a temporary ceiling for the Paper Space auditorium.

Additional strips of paper drop vertically to the floor and create a perimeter for the hub.

Visitors are encouraged to share ideas on rolls of paper within the structure, which can then be torn off and taken away. “Paper is a blank canvas for communication and a receiver for ideas,” Maria Fulford said.

“Paper Space is illuminated by borrowed light from the adjacent exhibitor structures, changing character like a paper chameleon depending on the neighbouring light conditions,” she added.

There is also a bespoke table inside the space that was hand crafted by students at UCL Bartlett School of Architecture. It is made from five-millimetre-thick steel plates and white oak.

Paper Space is being used to hold events, talks and debates during 100% Design, which is open until tomorrow.

Other installations at London Design Festival this year include 5000 spinning paper windmills in a doorway at the V&A museum and an Escher-style installation of fifteen staircases positioned on the grass outside Tate Modern.

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

Photographs are by Alastair Browning.

The post Paper Space by Studio Glowacka
and Maria Fulford Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

This timber structure clad in recycled food packaging houses a temporary library and book exchange and was designed and built by architecture students in Cēsis, Latvia (+ slideshow).

Summer school students and tutors from Riga Technical University (RTU) modelled the Story Tower on a giant wooden lamp, creating a sheltered destination for people to duck inside and find something to read.

Shelves are integrated within the tapered walls and are filled with books on the lowest levels, placing them at easy-reaching height for visitors.

Students spent two weeks designing the miniature library and built it over three and a half days using reclaimed materials.

The frame and floor were made from locally-sourced soft timber, while recycled Tetra Pak juice cartons were folded, cut and mounted to create the waterproof roof shingles.

Students attached a total of 2250 shingles to pre-fabricated panels, then carried them to the site along with the wooden frames.

Now complete, the book exchange is stocked with unwanted books from a local library that is currently undergoing a refurbishment.

“We sought to use the locally established concept of a free book exchange to create a dialogue between diverse groups and individuals of the town,” said the design team. “[It is] a place where books can be deposited before making a journey, exchanged after finishing a journey or simply borrowed while waiting for a bus.”

The structure is semi-permanent and will stay in the town square until the main library re-opens in 18 months time.

“The tower’s location is the precise point where local shifts taking place within the town are most visible,” the team added, referring to its position between the train station, bus terminus and library.

Another student project on Dezeen that you access from underneath is a cinema in Portugal that you stick your head inside.

Other temporary buildings built by students include a giant wooden cocoon in a park in Kent, a wedge-shaped wooden pavilion with water and stepping stones and a pod-shaped woodland retreat.

See more libraries »
See more buildings in Latvia »

Here’s some more text from the design team:

The Story Tower

The Story Tower is the built result of the Building Works Unit run by Theodore Molloy, Niklavs Paegle and Thomas Randall-Page during two weeks in August at the RTU International Architecture Summer school, Cēsis, Latvia 2013.

Designed and built with 9 students, the Story Tower sits in the small city of Cēsis in a busy square between the train and bus station and the civic library and is built intirely from locally sourced and recycled materials – Timber and Tetra-Pak.

We sought to use the locally established concept of a free book exchange to create a dialogue be- tween diverse groups and individuals of the town. A place where books could be deposited before making a journey, exchanged after finishing a journey or simply borrowed whilst waiting for a bus. The tower’s location is the precise point where local shifts taking place within the town are most visi- ble. It is the front door step of Cēsis where the rhythm of the town is most exposed.

The form of the building was conceived as an urban scale lamp, providing light and a place to read 24 hours a day. During winter when day light is short the tower will act as an illuminated external reading room. The building is semi perminent and is designed to stand until the library re-opens in its refurbished premises in 18 months time.

The 2 week workshop guides students through an accelerated production process, compressing local research, brief development, conceptualising, designing, detailing, fabrication, construction, and use in to only two weeks. The workshop allows students to understand the implications of actions early in the design process by feeling their effects first hand.

The Story Tower itself was designed at the beginning of the second week and constructed in three and a half days. It is comprised of three simple elements: a floor to welcome people in, a book shelf structure, and upon this a roof/lampshade to shelter the user.

The floor and structure are from locally sourced soft wood and the cladding is made form Tetra Pak shingles, a material more commonly used for milk cartons. Our workshop was donated a 100kg roll of tetra pack that was damaged and therefore unusable for cartons however we saw huge potential in the material as it is designed to be water proof and is easy to fold, cut and fix.

The team spent a day making 1:1 scale silver origami mock-ups exploring how we could best use the material reflecting light, creating openings, and most importantly shedding water. All 2250 shingles were individually hand made buy the students and fixed to prefabricated panels before they were carried to the site along with the prefabricated frame elements. This streamlined process allowed the team to construct a building with just two days spent on site.

The team also built a relationship with the local library and its staff who are currently undergoing an overhaul of their premises and stock and are in the process of refurbishing the existing library. Through conversation the director agreed to stock the book exchange from their unwanted books and to maintain the structure for the future as a public library out-post. The concept of a book ex- change also links into a local problem whereby many people, particularly of the older generation, have collections of books that they no longer want.

In a post-internet age books find themselves between intrinsic worth and monetary irrelevance, many are both as valuable as ever but with out resale value. The Story tower was designed to celebrate the individual reader and the notion of sharing and exchange.

Viewed from a distance the population of Cēsis, like many regional towns across Europe, can be seen to be shrinking. When viewed close-up however, this local shift has a more human dimension. What emerges is a small but important flow of newcomers to the town bringing new ideas, stories and ventures. The Tower, at the interchange of these diverse groups stands as a monument for the stories brought by new arrivers and the long survivors of Cēsis.

Tutors: Theodore Molloy, Niklavs Paegle, Thomas Randall-Page
Students: Artūrs Tols (LV), Christof Nichterlein (DE), Dumitru Eremciuc (MD), Natascha Häutle (DE), Rūta Austriņa (LV), Signe Pelne (LV), Tanja Diesterhof (DE), Ulkar Orujova (AZ), Zoe Katsamani (GR).

The post Story Tower by RTU International
Architecture Summer School appeared first on Dezeen.