Dutch designer Daniel Hulsbergen created this intricate lamp from materials similar to those he used as a child to make model gliders.
Daniel Hulsbergen of Studio Daniel designed the Satori Lamp for Dutch furniture design company Odesi. Hulsbergen used slender sticks of balsa wood to create the layered octagonal lamp.
“The materials used for building model gliders have some unique properties,” he said. “They are extremely light and very strong for their weight.”
The inner layer framing the light bulb is covered with a soft white canvas used for spanning model aircraft wings, which diffuses the light.
The outer layer forms a cage-like structure with a small section on each of the four sides also covered with fabric.
When light shines through the lamp, the frame creates shadow patterns on the ceiling and walls.
Japanese studio Nendo has dressed up these wooden tables for Walt Disney Japan to look like characters from children’s story books Winnie-the-Pooh.
Nendo created colourful knitted covers for the Pooh Table collection of maple wood furniture so the designs represent the famous yellow bear and his companions.
“To reflect the stories’ setting in the Hundred Acre Wood, the tables use natural-feel maple extensively, and come in sizes and silhouettes intended to recall the stories’ characters,” said Nendo.
The largest table has a red knit covering a shelf beneath it’s top, similar to the sweater worn by Winnie the Pooh.
His close friend Piglet is depicted as a three-legged side table wearing a purple sleeve across most of its top.
Forlorn donkey Eeyore is channelled through a table with a surface that droops to the floor, dressed in grey fabric.
Bouncy tiger Tigger’s orange tail is mimicked by a table’s stand, which extends down past where it branches into three legs.
A design with surfaces at two heights looks like kanagroo mother-and-son pair Kanga and Roo, while Rabbit is identified by knitted socks on two legs of another table in the collection.
The Winnie the Pooh stories were written by AA Milne in the 1920s for his son Christopher Robin, who also features in the tales.
The stories were commercialised by American producer Stephen Slesinger in the 1930s, when the cartoon characters we recognise today were first created.
Following his death, the rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise were licensed to animation studio Walt Disney Productions in 1961.
Nendo created this series for Disney‘s Japanese branch, which has one of its Disneyland resorts in Tokyo.
An intricate three-dimensional lattice of narrow timber slats forms a cloud-like mass around the exterior of this pineapple cake shop in Tokyo by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma (+ slideshow).
Kengo Kuma and Associates was asked by cake brand SunnyHills to come up with a shop design that mirrors the careful preparation of the company’s trademark pineapple cakes, so the architects developed a volume modelled on a well-crafted bamboo basket.
Over 5000 metres of wooden strips were used to construct the precise 3D grid that wraps around around the outer walls and ceiling of the three-storey building. Some pieces were cut shorter than others, revealing multiple layers and reducing the overall linearity.
“Our aim was to create a forest in the busy city centre,” said Kengo Kuma. “We studied how lighting states would change in a day in the woods, and came up with a shape like a basket.”
The narrow slats are arranged at angles of 30 and 60 degrees, creating hundreds of diamond-shaped hollows, and were assembled by local Japanese craftsman.
“I consider that wood joints without glues or nails are the essence of Japanese architecture,” added Kuma. “What is characteristic about SunnyHills is the angle of the lattice; unlike the conventional 90 degrees, we tried 30 degrees and 60 degrees to combine the pieces.
“By designing with these varied angles, we were able to achieve a shape and a frame that evokes a forest,” he added.
An opening at one corner leads visitor into the shop, which occupies the two lower floors of the building. An assortment of differently sized staircase treads form a route between the two floors and are flanked by sprouting foliage.
Cork tiles provide flooring on the first floor, where the architects have also added a kitchen. The cork surface continues up to the level above, which houses a meeting room and staff office.
Here’s a project description from Kengo Kuma and Associates:
SunnyHills at Minami-Aoyama
This shop, specialised in selling pineapple cake (popular sweet in Taiwan), is in the shape of a bamboo basket. It is built on a joint system called “Jiigoku-Gumi”, traditional method used in Japanese wooden architecture (often observed in Shoji: vertical and cross pieces in the same width are entwined in each other to form a muntin grid). Normally the two pieces intersect in two dimensions, but here they are combined in 30 degrees in 3 dimensions (or in cubic), which came into a structure like a cloud. With this idea, the section size of each wood piece was reduced to as thin as 60mm×60mm.
As the building is located in middle of the residential area in Aoyama, we wanted to give some soft and subtle atmosphere to it, which is completely different from a concrete box. We expect that the street and the architecture could be in good chemistry.
Chunky wooden columns and beams support the sloping timber ceiling of this small pharmacy by Japanese studio Ninkipen! in the city of Ogaki (+ slideshow).
Osaka architects Ninkipen! designed the pharmacy for a plot in front of a hospital and chose to let the building’s facade signal its presence to patients, rather than employing typical neon signs.
“We considered how the architecture itself could become a symbol in the town, but unlike other pharmacies filling the streets with big, showy graphic signage,” explained the architects.
The underside of the building’s long pitched roof is clad in timber to create an expansive, warm surface that can be seen through the full-height windows and is intended to welcome visitors entering the pharmacy from the street.
The roof’s low eaves correspond to those of neighbouring buildings, while grass planted on top will eventually cover the entire surface.
A skylight in the middle of the ceiling brings additional daylight into the reception area, as well as to a raised walkway beneath the roof on the upper storey.
The exposed wooden trusses supporting the roof contrast with black metal bracing rods and the black electrical cords from which bare pendant bulbs are suspended.
The dispensing desk is also clad in timber to maintain a consistency of materials throughout the interior.
Photography is by Hiroki Kawata.
Here’s a short project description from Ninkipen!:
O Dispensing Pharmacy
This is a new construction for a pharmacy in front of a general hospital.We considered how the architecture itself could become a symbol in the town, but unlike other pharmacies filling the streets with big, showy graphic signage.
A single sloping roof you can see from the street is made of timber and it will be completely covered with grass in a few years. We lowered the edge of the eaves like the surrounding eaves and made the ceiling continue from there to the second floor with a truss with steel diagonal rods. You can look around to the sky on the other side when you enter the pharmacy.
We think the warm timber ceiling on the back of the roof will gently greet the people coming in for medicine. We are happy if citizens remember this as ‘the Wood Roofed Pharmacy’ and for them this becomes a virgin landscape of pharmacy.
Architect: Yasuo Imazu / ninkipen! Stractual engineer: Yosiki Mondo Use: dispensing pharmacy Location: Ogaki city, Japan
Site area: 177.00m2 Building area: 106.50m2 Total floor area: 172.14m2
This asymmetric Alpine cabin by Austrian architect Peter Jungmann has been named Ufogel because its owners think it looks like a cross between a UFO and a “vogel” – the German word for bird (+ slideshow).
Located on a grassy slope in the East Tyrolian village of Nussdorf, the small shingle-clad structure is a rentable holiday home that sleeps up to four people, but contains only 45-square-metres of floor space.
The building is raised off the ground on metal feet, but is otherwise built entirely from wood. Larch shingles clad the outer walls and roof, while the interior surfaces are lined with timber panels to create a distinctive smell.
A gentle staircase leads up into the main floor of the house, which features a small kitchen and a dining table that can seat between six and eight people at a time.
A small lounge area filled with cushions sits half a storey up, beside a long window that angles upwards to frame views towards the peaks of the Lienz Dolomites.
Stairs continue up to a bedroom level with a curved ceiling, containing both a double bed and a separate bunk. The shower and washroom are also located on this floor.
Underfloor heating helps to distribute warmth throughout the space, but can be supplemented by a wood-burning stove.
Here’s some more information from the Ufogel website:
Ufogel
Explore the difference in our house UFOGEL in Nussdorf/Debant near Lienz in East Tyrol!
Our exclusive and bizarre holiday house – Ufogel in the picturesque Nussdorf near Lienz has an unusual architecture. It is built on stilts and floating above the meadow in a peaceful and unspoiled nature. The panoramic windows offers a unique view of the breathtaking Lienz Dolomites, the Val Pusteria impressive mountain peaks and the so-called “Carinthian Gate”.
Your exclusive holiday home for your unforgettable holiday is a compact building, made entirely of wood, both inside as well as outside. The smell of wood flows through the room. A generous, as the only access bridge-like connection to the seemingly floating building. Almost like at home standing in the entrance area with slippers.
Following you will find the kitchen with a spacious kitchen, sink and hob. A stove with optional hotplate complements the kitchen and spreads warmth throughout the house. The cantilevered table can comfortably accommodate 6-8 people. For more generosity, the seat can be folded down. The huge panoramic window with a lawn on the mezzanine bridge the gap to the surrounding nature. A feeling like the convenience of Inside Outside. Natural materials, coupled with quality products – the best of the region. Substances (Villgrater nature) not far distant from the production Ufogel give more softness and comfort. Whether you relax comfortably watch TV, play, sleep, cook or just want to switch off – nothing seems impossible.
Upstairs there is a spacious double bed in pine, which can be transformed into a bed when needed. Another, separate bunk offers the special recreational value for two. An open glass cabinet with a view into the shower creates sufficient space for luggage. The barrier-free bathroom, overlooking the East Tyrolean mountains makes the shower experience. The Ufogel has a floor heating, which can optionally be supplemented by the stove. A refrigerator and a storage box with several areas are available. For hot summer days, a fully automatic sun protection system is installed, which can be operated manually. Experience the extraordinary – in Ufogel.
Portuguese architect João Branco has converted a small office building in Coimbra into a home by installing softwood joinery that functions as furniture, storage and partitions (+ slideshow).
Described by Branco as being “closer to carpentry than building construction”, the project involved adding three sections of woodwork to the lower floor of the two-storey property to create a living room, dining area, study, kitchen and toilet.
“The intervention proposes to let the light flow, converting it into a diaphanous space and thus increasing the feeling of spaciousness,” said the architect.
The first wooden structure sits just beyond the entrance. It creates a study area for two people beneath the staircase, but also accommodates a cloakroom, a shelf and a gridded bookshelf.
Ahead of this, a low and narrow timber piece doubles as both a sideboard and a bench, separating the living and dining areas.
The kitchen and toilet are both housed within the third structure. This is made up of floor-to-ceiling partitions, some of which turn out to be doors, and also includes a row of kitchen cupboards and a countertop.
“The objects are designed to provide the greatest possible sobriety, resulting in a high degree of abstraction and giving the house enhanced spatial clarity,” added Branco.
An oak parquet floor was added throughout the space, while an existing staircase with wooden treads leads up to bedroom spaces on the level above.
Three pieces of furniture create a home. The aim was to convert a former two-floor office into a rental apartment. The proposal, which develops at the lower level, focuses on reconverting a small area, originally subdivided and dark, to accommodate the social areas of the house.
The intervention proposes to let the light flow, converting it into a diaphanous space and thus increasing the feeling of spaciousness. The main decision is not to build, intervening by dispensing with traditional construction work, in favour of a dry approach, much simpler, without creating new walls or divisions. To that, the plant is emptied, introducing in the diaphanous space three wooden pieces of furniture that will organise the space.
Exploded axonometric diagram – click for larger image
Firstly, a box contains wet areas: kitchen and bathroom. A mobile with a bookcase and table gives form to the the entrance and to a small office under the stairs. Finally, a movable lower furniture separates the living and eating areas. With only these three pieces, shape is given to the spaces of the house, always visually connected to maintain unity and flow of southern light.
Floor plan
This work, closer to carpentry than building construction, focuses on the details and encounters. Reducing to a minimum the elements, fittings, switches, etc. the objects are designed to provide the greatest possible sobriety, resulting in a high degree of abstraction and giving the house enhanced spatial clarity.
The Rotsee rowing regatta takes place every summer on a lake outside Lucerne, Switzerland, and this wooden tower raised over the water accommodates the officials who observe, time and marshal each race (+ slideshow).
Designed by Swiss studio Andreas Fuhrimann Gabrielle Hächler Architekten, the Zielturm Rotsee, or “finishing tower”, is to be used for just three weeks of every year when Rotsee lake becomes the venue for the final leg of the World Rowing Cup.
The three-storey pine structure sits over a concrete pier that projects out across the still waters of the lake – nicknamed “Lake of Gods” by rowers in reference to the almost imperceptible current due to the protection of surrounding hills.
Wooden shutters fold and slide away from the facade to reveal windows and balconies that can be used as viewing platforms during races. The rest of the time they can be locked shut, turning the structure into an opaque wooden cuboid.
“[The building] usually remains closed and stands still on the reflecting water surface, transformed in an enigmatic sculpture-like house, with its shutters closed,” explained the architects.
The three storeys of the building are connected by staircases both inside and outside, and each floor is slightly offset from the one below.
“By subtle offsets of the three levels, the volume seems fragile and delicate, despite its considerable volume,” said the architects.
The building was prefabricated using a specially treated pine that will absorb less water, making the structure more stable and durable.
Zielturm Rotsee was used for the first time in 2013 and replaces another structure that had lasted for 50 years.
The topographical situation on the Rotsee-Delta is a unique landscape, embedded in between two hill chains the lake is very calm. Through its ideal character for rowing regattas the lake is called the “Lake of Gods” amongst rowers.
The requirements for the new finish tower were various and complex. Based on its function and the surrounding landscape the main aim was to create identity. By stacking the spacial units, the vertical volume achieves a point of reference on the wide horizontal plane of the Rotsee. By subtle offsets of the three levels, the volume seems fragile and delicate, despite its considerable volume.
The finish tower is part of the first phase of the Naturarena Rotsee area development. The opening of the rowing centre is scheduled for July 2016. The finish tower and the future rowing centre will form one architectural ensemble, perceivable by the mutual materialisation, constructive and aesthetic themes. The three-storey high, prefabricated wood construction is carried by a pillared concrete platform above the water level.
The statically active concrete platform provides access to the tower from the water and the shore. In combination with the stairway on the rear, but no less prominent facade of the building, the concrete structure anchors the building close to the lakeshore. This allegorises the hybrid character of the building, being a functional active building on one side and a sculpture in the lake on the other.
While the building is in use only during the rowing regattas, three weeks every summer, it usually remains closed and stands still on the reflecting water surface, transformed in an enigmatic sculpture-like house, with its shutters closed. This metamorphosis taking place every year was the ambitious challenge in designing the finish tower.
An architectural manifestation for this prominently situated finish tower in the picturesque landscape is necessary in order to find the balance between the practical functional and the sculptural-aesthetic requirements.
The aesthetic impression of the tower is emphasised once the building is closed and the sliding shutters are retracted. The large-sized sliding shutters give the facade a relief-like expression and let the tower appear plastic and house related.
Similar to a classical sculpture, the tower changes its appearance depending on the position of the observer and blends into the surrounding natural landscape, influenced by the constantly changing days and seasons. The intrinsic, however abstract form has a strong recognition value, and therefore conveys identity for the rowing sport; illustrating the function of the building, the context related access of the tower and the stacked units.
The functional units OK-FISA, Jury-Timing and Event-Speaker are axially arranged with the finish line, one above the other. Whilst the shorter facade is pointing towards the finish line, the longer facade is facing towards the finish area indicating the end of the sports ground.
The wooden construction of the finish tower consists of prefabricated elements, in order to build cost- and time-efficient. The wood used for the facade is a specially treated pinewood, from sustainable forests. A innovative method using pressure, heat and acetic acid brings the wood to reaction so that the ability of absorbing water can be reduced essentially, making the wood dimensionally stable and extremely durable.
Three mature trees were rooted to the centre of this site in Western Australia, but architecture firm MORQ managed to convince the owners to build their family house around the peeling trunks and burgeoning foliage (+ slideshow).
Located south of Perth in the town of Margaret River, Karri Loop House was constructed around one large Karri tree and a pair of Marri trees – both of which are indigenous to this region of Australia – after MORQ came up with a design that prevented them needing to be chopped down.
The single-storey residence has an H-shaped plan that wraps around the trunks of the three trees and also frames a pair of irregularly shaped courtyards.
To avoid disturbing the delicate shallow roots, the architects raised the house off the ground by positioning it on hand-placed steel tripod footings, rather than digging pile foundations.
Dramatic double-height ceilings and large windows were then added to the living room and master bedroom to “celebrate the presence of the trees” by offering residents views of the leaves and branches overhead.
“These trees, their root systems and their unstable large branches presented a challenge to the build-ability of the house,” said the architects.
“We like to think of this project as a mutually beneficial development; the building is designed to retain the trees, while the trees visually contribute to the quality of the inner space,” they added.
A raised deck runs along the northern side of the house to create an outdoor seating area beneath the canopy of the Karri, while a sheltered triangular terrace at the end of the living room features a vertical window framing another view of the tree.
A rainwater harvesting system is built into the roof, which channels water through to an irrigation system feeding the tree roots.
Plywood clads the inner and outer walls of the house. On the outside, it has a roughly sawn surface coated with a layer of black paint, while interior surfaces have been sanded smooth to reveal the natural grain.
Wooden ceiling beams were left exposed in various rooms inside the building. Straw bales were also added to provide insulation, but are concealed within the walls.
The mature trees located in the middle of the site (a Karri and two Marris) played an essential part in shaping our project. The first part of the design process was spent in investigating the requirements for retaining these trees, as well as convincing the clients of their unique presence on an otherwise anonymous site. With the support of a renowned arborist, the decision was finally made to keep the trees. As a result, the house sits in between the tree-trunks and its outline defines two open courtyards of irregular shape. These embrace the trees and the surrounding landscape, around which family life occurs.
A tall window in the dining area and a periscope-like skillion in the master bedroom, celebrate the presence of the trees from within the house, framing views of both foliage and peeling trunks. These trees, their root systems and their unstable large branches presented a challenge to the build-ability of the house. We like to think of this project as a mutually beneficial development: where the building is designed to retain the trees, while the trees visually contribute to the quality of the inner space.
To protect the integrity of the shallow root-system a matrix of steel tripod footings was used: each of them had to be dug by hand, and repositioned every time a root was encountered, resulting in an irregular structural grid. These footings also raise the house off the ground and give it a somewhat temporary look.
Any part of the house footprint overlapping the root system would result in an uneven rainwater supply to the roots, which could cause a shock to the trees. Rainwater collected on the roof is therefore taken under the house, channelled into a trickling irrigation pipes and then evenly fed to the tree roots.
Lightweight construction seemed the most appropriate response to the existing trees requirements, however straw-bales were chosen as a preferred form of insulation. This decision required all perimeter walls to be prefabricated as ladder-frames and later assembled on site. It also resulted in unusually thick perimeter walls, seldom employed in timber framed buildings.
The house was mainly constructed out of timber, whose grain and texture inform both interior and exterior spaces. Wall linings use different grades of plywood: rough sawn, painted black on the outside, and sanded, clear-treated on the inside. The floor and ceilings are also in clear-treated plywood. The roof structure is resolved with Laminated Veneer Lumber beams, which are left exposed on the inside of the ceiling.
Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter ont conçu cette jolie maison de vacances privée, à Havsdalen en Norvège. Les baies vitrées donnent une belle vue sur les montagnes enneigées et l’ensemble du mobilier est en bois, de quoi apporter un peu de chaleur à l’atmosphère. Les photos sont signées Søren Harder Nielsen.
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