BS 8300 - Designing for Disability - NBS TV video

BS 8300 - Designing for Disability - NBS TV video

Green roofs - NBS TV video

Green roofs - NBS TV video

Church of Light-tadao ando

Located in a quiet residential neighborhood in the suburbs of Osaka, the small Christian church made of silky smooth concrete sits modestly within its environment. The communal church consists of two rectangular volumes that are both cut at a 15 degree angles by freestanding concrete walls. One indirectly enters the church by slipping between the two volumes, one that contains the Sunday school and the other that contains the worship hall. 

 

                    

 

 

The space of the chapel is defined by light, by the strong contrast between light and shade. In the chapel light enters from behind the altar, from a cruciform cut in the concrete wall that extends vertically from floor to ceiling and horizontally from wall to wall, aligning perfectly with the joints in the concrete. From this cruciform shape an abstract and universal light seems to be floating on the concrete wall, its rays extending and receding over time with the movement of the sun. Light is also permitted to seep into the interior from the slicing of the volume by the freestanding concrete wall. The darkness of the chapel is further accentuated by the dark and rough-textured wood of the floor planks and the pews which are built out of reused wood used during construction as scaffolding.

 

 

In contrast to the darkness of the chapel the interior of the Sunday school is built of lighter colored wood with a smooth surface. The volume of the Sunday school opens up to a double height space with a mezzanine level that contains a small kitchen, bench and table which are used for congregation gatherings

 

The volume containing the Sunday school also has light that penetrates the space through the slicing of the volume by the freestanding concrete wall. The space comes alive not only with ever changing light but also through the voices of children singing, sounds of the piano, adults enjoying a meal of soba noodles after Sunday worship and laughter.

 

 

temple of water-tadao ando

Few of Tadao Ando's projects represent the architect's contribution to Japanese culture better than his Water Temple: more than a building, it is a sensorial experience representing a radical change in the age-old tradition of Japanese temple architecture

 In something more than a simple inversion of the conventional ascent to the holy place, Ando employs a series of different architectonic spaces conceived as a succession of theatres for initiation. Walking between the lotus flowers, one feels that this is a place which transcends day-to-day life, a place where the combination of architecture with nature and the reverberation of the placid mirror of water naturally lead to meditation and asceticism.
After descending the narrow staircase flanked by the cement walls so typical of Ando's works, the visitor finally reaches the sacred space, where everything is enveloped in a warm vermilion red - an unusual use of colour by the architect.
Access to the sanctuary is not immediate: once again, basic geometrical elements oblige the visitor to take a route which only gradually leads to the place of worship, offering continual surprises along the way.

Ando has taken the oval shape of the pool underground and made it into a sacred enclosure within which he has organised different spaces, dividing the area in two with the long stairway and assigning half of it to the sanctuary and the other half to the adjacent rooms.
The sanctuary is bounded by two semicircular walls enclosing a wooden structure built on the traditional model of Shingon temples, with a statue of Amida Buddha in the centre.

The sacredness of the room is accentuated by the use of colour and light: natural light from a single source filters through a grating behind the statue of the Buddha and floods the nave, warming up the vermilion red in which the room is painted.

The plastic and spatial results achieved here make the Hompuki temple one of the high points of Ando's career, expressing a universe of symbolism and colour formerly unknown to him which has enriched his way of expressing the character of Japanese space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1rV8Un2lTY

 

 

Tadao ando and minimalism

TADAO ANDO


Tadao ando is one of my favourate architect and taking about minimalist design in architecture and not mentioning his work would be making the topic incomplete.

The minimalist design is strongly influenced by the Japanese traditional design and architecture, which focuses on the simplicity and elegance of the shapes.

Tadao Ando creates buildings, in which light, water, wind and concrete are used in perfect harmony. concrete and glass is seen extensively in his designs.He encloses the spaces with thin concrete walls. The walls are the main element according to him. They have the power to divide the space, to rearrange the placements and to create new territories. He uses basic geometric shapes – squares, rectangles, circles, triangles. The most striking element of his design is the opening and the way in enhances and and makes spaces intresting.

In his residential designs He doesn’t seek openness in the outside, but rather aims to put a fence around the inner human space. The dense fence, which surrounds his buildings, is placed between the lively places – the yards, which make the rain, greenery and wind a part of the household territory.he thinks about the user in a very stong way and this is seen in detailing in his design.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ruuyudjfUdM


I find almost all his buildings really intresting and explored some of them in detail to understand the his ideologies and thory in practice in terms of minimalistic and rational approach towards design.

paper houses- shigeru ban

This was the first project in which paper tubes were authorized for use as a structural basis in a permanent building designed by shigeru ban.

An S-shape configuration comprised of 110 paper tubes (2.7m high, 275mm in diameter and 148mm thick) defines the interior and exterior areas of the paper house.Ten paper tubes support the vertical load and the eighty interior tubes bear the lateral forces. The cruciform wooden joints in the bases of the columns are anchored to the foundation by lug screws and cantilevered from the floor. The large circle formed by the interior tubes forms a big area.

 A freestanding paper tubes column with a 1.2m diameter in the surrounding gallery contains a toilet. The exterior paper tubes surrounding the courtyard stand apart from the structure and serve as a screen. The living area in the large circle is without furnishing or detail other than an isolated kitchen counter, sliding doors, and movable closets. When the perimeter sashes are opened, the roof, supported by the colonnade of paper tubes, is visually emphasized and a spatial continuity is created between the surrounding gallery space and the outdoor terrace.

http://www.dma-ny.com/site_sba/?page_id=331


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1NjJX6Hps


 interior view

exterior view

 

paper architecture- shigeru ban

Shigeru ban and his usage of paper as a building material intrested me a lot to see more of his projects and how he uses it in architecture.The japan pavillion expo 2000 in hannover, germany was one of his first experimantal projects with paper.

'environment' was the hannover expo's theme and the concept of the japan pavilion was to create a structure whose materials could be recycled when it was dismantled.ban designed a curvy paper tunnel supported by a matrix of recycled paper tubes, to make the construction as low-tech as
possible, the joints were affixed with tape.unfortunately, the structural form needed further re-inforcement in order to gain legal approval in germany.

while ban had originally envisioned a purely paper tube structure, the german building authorities insisted on the addition of a wooden structure.the paper tubes were laid out flat on a temporary scaffold used to push the paper grid into the final shape over 3 weeks.the pre-curved timber structure was then lifted into position and connected.the temporary monument did not end up in the hannover dump.it is covered with a specially designed, recyclable paper membrane roof. PVC is the most common substance for tent-like structures,especially in europe. however, because it emits dioxins when burned,shigeru ban came up with his own water resistant and fire retardant paper roofing, which is also light penetrating.Since the structure was temporary for the foundation he used wooden boxes with sand.the structural paper tubes were bought and recycled by a german paper tube company.honeycomb board has been used as partitions for the interior.the pavilion consisted of an approach zone, an exhibition space 72m long, 15.5m high, and 35m span at its widest point, and administrative offices.

http://vimeo.com/36366065

http://www.allisonrozwat.com/#A-Study-Shigeru-Ban-s-Japanese-Pavilion

   interior view of the pavillion

   paper tube grid


   honeycomb board partition

   waterproof paper membrane

     elevation

   nightview

  nightview

  pavillion under construction

Shigeru ban

Shigeru ban is one of the japenese minimalistic architecture genius. i particularly like his usage of natural materials such as paper as a building construction material fascinating.

His design philosophy is to create uniquely free and openspace with concrete rationality of structure and construction method.Ban creates entirely new spaces using such materials as paper tubes. He reexamines the existing materials inrecycled forms anduses them in ways no one had ever thought of previously. Thus, he addresses environmental concerns and alludes to the Japanese spiritual preference for natural housing materials.his designs are the ultimate reincarnation of minimalistic architecture. his architecture is much different from tadao ando and john pawsons. he mostly has no walls in his designs.

curtain wall house

this house has a open plan minimal walls and a huge curain wall on the exterior which is the false facade. Ban played with the idea of a glass curtain wall system, and took the terminology quite literally when he decided to envelop the exterior of the house in conventional domestic curtain.
 The curtain that Ban uses drapes over the two story structure and acts as a facade wall when drawn over the structure.

 
Though it may seem that the drapery is hanging freely at the exterior, behind it there is a series of sliding glass doors that provide protection from unfavorable weather conditions, yet still create a feeling of transparency. When closed during the day, the curtain still filters in the daylight into the living areas of the house,traditional Japanese rice paper functioning like the rice-paper screens, alluding toscreens Japanese architecture. When pulled back, the curtain allow the air to enter the interior space freely, and are excellent as a passive cooling mechanism.

 The building is located at the intersection of two busy streets in Tokyo and is raisedabove the street level by columns. Banuses abstract vocabulary of planarelements, such as roofs, walls and floors with minimum enclosure. The only room that is closed off from the public eye isthe bathing area. Though compared withMies Farnsworth House, Ban points outthe difference that where Mieshermetically seals off his building fromthe exterior elements, Ban uses glass to allow visual but not acoustical or thermal exchange, the Curtain Wall House allows complete engagement with all aspects ofits urban context.

                                                           second floor plan

                                                         third floor plan


In the Cutain Wall House, Shigeru Ban employs the idea of an “un-private house”, using the curtain as the only visible separation between the inside and the outside. His idea is alsomanifested in the free plan of building. Without any partitions, spaces and functions can bearranged according to the owners desires. Spaces are very flexible in its use.

Fashion and Minimalism

Minimalism as a style when started was seen not only in architecture but also in various other feilds such as music, theatre, literature,graphics and also in fashion.

some fashion designers adapted the principles in their design and some used architecture, especially designers practicing minimalistic architecture to design their showrooms.

The top brands such as GIORGIO ARMANI's intrest in the work of claudio silverstrin who has a minimalistic style that is elegant and soulful, executed with clarity of mind, creative ingenuity, and a concern for details made him the choice for the designing their showrooms thus making their architectural image not just minimalistic but strive for timeless elegance which is also the style of the brand. the usage of limestone and ebony as the main materials the architect acheives this is the series of stores designed for them.

The other brands who also showed this kind of intrest were CALVIN KLEIN with claudio silverstrin and minimalistic design master john pawson and ISSEY MIYAKE in shiro kuramata and most recently HERMES with shigeru ban for their pavillion design.

http://www.claudiosilvestrin.eu/mobile/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=10

http://www.claudiosilvestrin.eu/mobile/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54%3Acalvinkleinstore&catid=2&Itemid=11

http://www.designboom.com/design/shigeru-ban-hermes/

            armani store london

 

shiro kuramata for issey miyake

 

 

 

The barcelona pavillion- meis van der rohe

Minimalistic architecture attempts to draw us back to a different way of living and feeling, one that is calmer more serene and worthy and is charecterised by a formal vaccum and expressive silence.

i read the above statement in a book 'minimalistic architecture' by franco bertoni and i think it explains the principle of minimalism in architecture really well.

meis van der rohe said 'we do not need less but more technology.we see in technology the possibility of freeing ourselves..we do not need less science but a science that is more spritual...all that will become possible when man asserts himself in objective nature and relates it to himself'

this statement makes me realize the philosophy of his simple designs with the user in mind. his 'skin and bones architecture' based on synthesis of technique and sprituality overturns the singular.

his use of technology and material and symbolism is clearly seen in the design of brazilian pavillion in 1929.

a solid pedestal as in the greek temple, the cruciform pillars encased in sheaths of chromium plated sheet metal which allude to the gothic pillars and grooves of the doric columns, at the same time acting as indicators of reference in large spaces.
the strong wall panels of onyx amd vert antique marble create an intresting contrast with the lightness of the structure and glass walls, thus affirming the natural purity of the materials used.

reference to human history with the use of materials and the pedestal, innovative technology and new sense of space with the free layout of panels blend together spatial purity.

The trend of usage of low walls which serve as boundaries to function and vision as well as being space forming elements was started in this project which followed in many other minimalistic architecture buildings later on

history and present,myth and modern spirtuality,humanism and technique are blended so well making the stucture unifying opposite materials.