Blog #3:

A Galaxy of Space

Prepared By: Amanda-Marie Thomas

The artifact is “Galaxy” by Honda Syoryu. The artifact expresses fluid order that encourages one to interact with

the piece and explore it from a variety of vantage points.

The key theme is “Space”, studying the relationship between Space Viewed through Space Created.

The architectural pavillion is called the

“Paper Tea House” and was designed by Shigeru Ban. The Space Viewed through the Space Created theme is echoed in this project.

The theoretical field is Structuralism

I selected the theoretical field of Structuralism as a means of exploring the relationship between human interaction with the artifact and

architecture. Structuralism is the study of how built structures are influenced and intertwined within the sociological dynamic of people and institution. As my immediate impression of “Galaxy” by Honda Syoryu was to interact with the object in order to understand its voids and spaces, Structuralism establishes the framework to discuss the dependency of the artifact to be interacted with. Without the presence of the unique individual to approach the artifact, its purpose becomes obsolete, emphasizing the effect that one’s presence is an integral aspect of the design; a catalyst for form and purpose.

Looking at the Iwaki Museum of Picture Books for Children

The Iwaki Museum of Picture Books for Children by Tadao Ando is located in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. Completed in 2005, this privately owned library was built to serve three preschools in the surrounding area. In 2003, Maki Rei conceived the idea for the museum as a way to house her collection of international children’s books and act as a library for children to enjoy her 1300 books at their own leisure. Much like Ando’s other work, this museum and library combines the environmental aspects of the landscape with the mentality of the specific users in mind.

In this project, Ando joins the surrounding site with the building by visually inviting nature into the space. By careful material selection, he is able to enhance natural light and design architecture that follows the natural form of the landscape. By abandoning the idea that museums and libraries need to be center oriented and inward facing, Ando allows users to have an encompassing view across the Pacific Ocean from anywhere in the building. With the use of large glass windows, the interior space is flooded with natural light and provides a warm and welcoming environment for its users.

Based on Ando’s overall sensitivity to the context of his buildings and strive to counter the placelessness and lack of identity of Modern architecture, his work demonstrates the key aspects of critical regionalism.

Moving away from the traditional layout of libraries, Ando designs a space that is targeted towards children. Within the Iwaki Museum, children are encouraged to engage with the books on their outward facing shelves and read together on one of the many mezzanine levels.

Metaphorically relating the museum to Himitsu-Bako

The first impression of his architecture is its materiality. The large and often stark concrete walls tend to set the tone for the interior of the building. However, the exterior of the Iwaki Museum bares a great difference from its interior. Although concrete elements are continued within the museum, the space opens up into a spacious and well-lit area with no resemblance to its concrete casing. Colours are supplied by the bright patterns of the books as they face outward on recessed wood shelving, giving life to the interior of the museum. With Ando’s building materials being concrete, glass, and wood, he allows the books to be the feature of the space.

Similar to Himitsu-Bako, the exterior serves as a disguise to deceive the viewer, giving no indication of its anatomical complexities or the secrets within its undescriptive walls.

By: Bridget, M2

Green Weaving Club House
Nilakshi Roy

The building I chose to use as inspiration andguidance is Green Weaving Club House in Korea by Hyunjoon Yoo Architects.

The building was cut into four segmants- where in between each segment there is a transition into the next and within that transition one gets to look around and see the green spaces. The gap in-between ach section allows the green space to flow through allowing the weaving tectonics to be visible.

This club house was intended to look as if the land was interwoven like bamboo strips interwoven to make bamboo ware. The rooms were designed to look as if they are being inserted in between the fabric made of warp threads and fillings. The walls were covered with Pachysandra terminals and ivy to express the feeling of a lifted land. The ivy covered walls also become an environment-friendly factor that raises energy efficiency of the building

The journey through the building is a straight line: the entrance (where people leave their golf bags) to the lobby, locker, and finally spa room where privacy required. `Through the building is a straight line: entrance (where people leave their golf bags) to the lobby, locker, and finally spa room where privacy required.

Two basic terms are important if someone has the intension of weaving: Warp and Weft. Warp is a set of parallel bamboo stripes providing the foundation on which plane weaving is done. They are positioned lengthwise on the work bench or work area. Wefts are the bamboo stripes that are inserted widthwise under and over the warp in order to make a design. In the Green weaving Club House, it just so happens that the straight journey which includes the people travelling through are the Warp, and the weaving landscape acts as the Wefts.

O-YOROI SAMURAI ARMOR - BLOG III

NICHOLAS LEBLANC

ORNAMENT IS DESCRIBED AS A THING USED TO ADORN SOMETHING BUT USUALLY HAVING NO PRACTICAL PURPOSE: DECORATION ADDED TO EMBELLISH. IN ARCHITECTURE, ORNAMENT CAN TAKE ON MANY FORMS AND LANGUAGES. WHERE CAN ONE DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN AN ORNAMENTED MOVE AND A CALCULATED FUNCTIONAL MOVE IN ARCHITECTURE?

TADOA ANDO IS THE ARCHITECT THAT I HAVE CHOSEN TO ACCOMPANY MY VIEWS ABOUT ORNAMENTATION. ANDO IS A PRACTICING ARCHITECT FROM OSAKA JAPAN. HIS STRICT UPBRINGING BY HIS GRANDMOTHER HELPED MOLD HIM INTO A RESPONSIBLE AND CONSCIOUS DESIGNER. HE HAS STRONG BELIEFS ABOUT UN-NECESSARY AESTHETIC ELEMENTS. HE BELIEVES ARCHITECTURE IS NOT PURE AESTHETICS BUT IS CALCULATED AND INFORMED MOVES THAT EXPRESS WISDOM.

THE CHICHU ART MUSEUM BY TADAO ANDO IS LOCATED ON NAOSHIMA ISLAND IN THE INLAND SEA OF JAPAN. IT IS DEDICATED TO A PERMANENT EXHIBITION SPACE FOR 9 WORKS OF ART BY ONLY THREE ARTISTS, CLAUDE MONET, WALTER DE MARIA AND JAMES TURRELL. THE TRADITIONAL FUNCTION OF AN ART MUSEUM IS TO DISPLAY AN OBJECT FOR WHAT THE OBJECT IS AND THE MESSAGE THAT IT CONVEYS TO THE VIEWER. THE SPACE MUST BE NEUTRAL IN ODER TO ALLOW THE ARTWORK TO BE MORE EFFICIENT. IN SHARP CONTRAST, THE FUNCTION OF THE CHICHU ART MUSEUM IS TO HOUSE WORKS OF ART. THE VIEWER MUST BE CONVINCED THAT THE ARTWORK IS APPART OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHITECTURE APPART OF THE ARTWORK. THE ARCHITECTURE AND ARTWORKS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AND THEREFORE THE CONNECTION CANNOT BE BROKEN.

EACH PIECE OF ART HAS THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL GALLERY SPACE. THESE SPACES ARE TAILORED AND CONFORM TO THE NEEDS OF THE ART PIECE THAT INHABITS THE SPACE. CALCULATED MOVES ARE MADE BY ANDO IN EACH GALERY TO CREATE A UNIQUE SPACE - A UNIQUE HOME.

THE O-YOROI SAMURAI ARMOR AND THE CHICHU ART MUSEUM ARE BOTH FREE FROM ORNAMENTATION BECAUSE OF EVOLVED KNOWLEDGE OF FUNCTION. 15TH CENTURY ARTISANS HAVE MASTERED THE CRAFT OF AN EFFECTIVE DEFENSE DURING WAR. IN TURN, THE SHAPE, MATERIALITY AND CONSTRUCTION OF SAMURAI ARMOR BECOME CALCULATED MOVES TOWARDS THE FUNCTION. TADAO ANDO HAS GAINED KNOWLEDGE FROM PAST EXPERIENCE TO DESIGN SPACE THAT FOLLOWS THE FUNCTION OF A HOME - A PLACE WHERE SOMETHING BELONGS.

Vertical housing project in Johor, Malaysia

This vertical city housing project was designed by Malaysian architect Tay Yee Wei. The fast growing urban population is a great issue in Asia. Inspired by Le Corbusier’s theory “a house is a machine for living”, Wei proposed this vertical modular housing idea, in respond to speed and flexibility the cities need.

Tey Yee Wei proposed a vertical city populated with hexagonal housing units. His intent was to design an architecture that can be constructed quickly and can grow or shrink in the 3^rd dimension as needs arise, hence Wei designed a “frame & plug-in” system, using prefabricated building elements.

Like the Capsule tower in Japan, a primary structure is to be constructed first, housing unites are to be made separately and plugged in only when needed. However, unlike the Capsule tower, these new hexagonal units allows varies combinations, creating unique and dynamic homes based on the size and needs of the family. The city builds and owns the primary structure, then residents may purchase a “lot”, and customize their own homes to be “plugged” into the primary structure. Many open “lots” can be dedicated to shared spaces, such as green space, recreational area, or research facilities.

The using of prefabricated elements effectively shortens the time for construction. Since the housing units are constructed separately, they could be built simultaneously as the primary structure, and residents can move-in as soon as the structure is finished. Besides the fast construction, the design also wins in its adaptability. Not only the homes can be easily added or removed, the concrete structure could also be dismantled and transported to other cities if no longer needed, depending on the fluctuations in population and economy.

Cassie Q.

Tatami - Blog 3

Tadao Ando

Church of the Light, Osaka, Japan

Style and Themes

Tadao Ando often uses Zen philosophies when designing his structures and spaces. A common theme he expresses in this work is the dual nature of existence. The space of the chapel is defined by light, the strong contrast between light and solid. In the chapel light enters from behind the altar from a cross 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. At this intersection of light and solid the occupant is meant to become aware of the deep division between the spiritual and the secular within him or herself.

One feature of the Ando’s interior spaces is its profound emptiness. Many who enter the church say they find it disturbing. The distinct void space and absolute silence amounts to a sense of serenity. For Ando the concept of 'emptiness' is very different. To him, emptiness is what transitions one into the spiritual realm.

The walls of Ando

The one element carried through Tadao Ando's structures is his idolization of the reinforced concrete wall. The importance given to walls is a distinct departure from Modernist architecture. These massive solid walls are 15 inches in thickness. It allows complete control in lighting, and face finish.

How this relates to tatami mats:

            In a typical traditional Japanese house, Sunlight gently filters into the interior space through a shoji screens into and on the floor covered with tatami mats. In Japan, proper etiquette insists on removing all footwear when entering a house. Feeling the soft but firm texture of tatami evokes the sensation of walking barefoot on the grass. Traditionally, this is made entirely from rice straw, which offers the perfect degree of firmness, while allowing the air to pass right through it. This allows the air to adopt the natural fragrance of the straw material, and give the sensorial and nostalgic experience of walking through a straw field.

             A simple but sophisticated concept of material selection, and conceptual naturalness. The natures of the materials selected carry a spiritual and nostalgic second meaning, allowing one to engage the material at a personal level.

Tim Stanley

The Layered House

Tectonics in architecture can be seen as combining fundamental elements that affects the whole structure when constructed. The kaidan dansu relates to tectonics in that it serves one of the most essential and functions of life, performed most commonly by light: hiding and revealing space.

The Layered House by Jun Igarashi Architects, is a project located in Hokkaido, Japan, that analogically relates to the kaidan dansu. It is built in an old city along a street where warehouses and farms are located. This house is designed for a family of four and the architects goal was to connect the outer space with the interior, by creating series of rectangular cuts through walls which allow the natural exterior light to project inwards.

This function of hiding and revealing space, is fundamental to all facets of architecture, as light is the canvas upon which a space may be built, however a lack of light will leave the form of a space undefined and hidden. This notion of the absence of light hiding fragments of a space, relates directly to the kaidan dansu's ability to hide the floor of a house. In other words, the kaidan dansu is analogous to a light switch, having the ability to control the extent of one's knowledge of a particular space. The light defines the function of the space and also the negative space, what is empty. The illumination from the skylight shows layers in itself, and it creates the illusion of layering and depth, and defines all the fragments.

Tower of winds

      Toyo Ito is an Japanese architect known for creating architecture that symbolize the physical or virtual world. ToYo was born in Seoul, and graduated from university of Tokyo. In Toyo's eye, Tokyo is a city that changes in every moment, but the changes can not seen in any architecture. The way to represent changes is though lights on the electrical tower, vending machine and commercial show sign. Architecture express is present during daytime but it lost its reality into the changing lights during night time.
      The purpose of the tower of winds is to symbolize the visual complexity of Tokyo in terms of a never-ceasing, ever-changing wind. The tower is built with cylinder shape facade, yet a square inner structure carefully hiding the ventilation systems for the shopping more and subway under the gro
und. The facade is built with highly reflective glass. It reflect the the changes happening in the city during daytime. Because the surrounding environment are reflected by the glasses, it gives an illusion of the structure disappears into the environment. The tower was built with thousands of lights neon light. These light changes its speed and paten when it lights up. This symbolize the the continuity of the changes in the city at night.







Zhaoyu Hunter Chen

I.M. Pei: Moving Awast From Tradition

by Aaron Chow



I.M. Pei is a Chinese American Architect, born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai. At the age of 17 in 1935, Pei moved to the United States of America to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He felt the material and teaching standards were not up to par and instead spent his time studying upcoming architects like Le Corbusier. After graduating, he joined the Harvard Graduate School of Design and became friends with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. In the early 1980's he was the focus of controversy when he designed the glass and steel pyramid to sit in front of the Louvre. Many of his other projects have also stirred up social controversy because of his western ideology of geometry and applying them to projects in Europe and Asia.



The building I have chosen is the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, designed by Pei. It is easily one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in central Hong Kong. The structure is supposed to resemble growing bamboo shoots, which symbolize livelihood and prosperity. The structure is made up of five steel columns, 4 on each corner and one in the center. The facade is made up of curtain walls of steel and glass. There was high controversy involved in this building over that fact that it had bypassed the consulting of Feng Shui masters on matters of design prior to construction.

It has been critisized for it's shard edges, that resemble object meant for harm. Also, the geometry of Feng Shui is very important in a building. Shapes such as squares, circles and rectangles are commonly used to arrange space, while triangles and odd shaped are avoided because of imbalance and non-symmetry.

The square lot of the Bank of China was divided into triangles, and the facade is completely made of triangles. The public has cognitive feelings about the structure because of its accumulation of negative Qi. The building is believed to resemble a metal cleaver that is facing the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation; a rival bank.

Log 2 - Fragments and textiles of the Japanese Kimono

In my previous blog post, I introduced the Japanese kimono, as well as its history and varying styles. I have mentioned that over time, the kimono has become increasingly stylized, while keeping its basic shape of flat, geometric outline. This evolution of the modern day kimono has been greatly influenced by the reconfiguration of textiles. As it is made from a single bolt of fabric cut into seven sections (two body panels, two sleeve sections, two front overlaps, and a collar), the kimono is often subject to fragmentation and reuse, through the process of disassembling and re-stitching.

The reasons for piecing together a new kimono from the remnants of an older one vary greatly; from economical reasons, to sentimental ones, as well as religious:

- Silk garments have always been regarded as a luxurious commodity, but in ancient times, they were used as forms of currency, payment and reward. They were therefore recycled rather than discarded. Although the economical reasons of reusing a garment are apparent, there are some rare instances where a kimono made from different textiles could represent wealth rather than prudence. Ex; a robe once owned by warlord Uesugi Kenshin symbolizes pretentious excess, as it is an assortment of very expensive, highly coveted Chinese brocades.

- The emotional aspect can also be a driving factor in the choice to reuse pieces of textile from an old kimono into a new one. Ex; the military elite of Japan would wear fragments of robes worn by wives as the tight-fitting sleeves of their battle garment, signifying that there may have been an emotional layer of protection and comfort.

- Garments which are made from smaller, reused pieces are generally considered less valuable, and therefore appropriate for religious use in the 16^th century, due to the vow of poverty imposed on Buddhist clerics. This vow requires them to create their own garments by collecting and sewing scraps of discarded or donated fabrics into patched “kesa”. There are, however, several examples of “kesa” which were in fact made from precious and expensive silks, as many of the vestments were actually donated or used as a form of payment to the clerics for services.

During the Heian period (794-1185), the kosode (the kimono’s precedent, with shorter sleeves) was primarily used as a form of undergarment for aristocratic members, used as a layer between the body and the outer garment to absorb perspiration. As the military elite were gained power over the years following the Heian period, the kosode shifted from an inner garment to an outer one, (inside to the outside) making it a more functional and less burdensome form of dress.

Whatever the reason, and more common than not, fragments of outer silk kimono are transfigured into those of the inner garments. When textiles are reused in the inner garment, the combination of shapes and colors distinguishes its design scheme. This greatly differs that of the outer garment, which is more commonly composed of the same silk fabric. From a corporeal view, the kimono’s function has now shifted in relation to the body, as it moves from the outside back to the inside.

Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum

Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum

kengo kuma and associates.

Kochi Prefecture, Japan

09/2011              

Modern Japanese architecture

        The Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum was designed by a firm called Kengo Kuma and associates. In Kochi Preferture, Japan. The firm was established in 1990 by Kengo Kuma. A Japanese Architect. Kuma was born in 1954 in Kanagawa Japan. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1979. And in 1990 Kengo Kuma & Associates was established. Kuma is a famous Asian architect, known for his minimalistic designs. His goal is to “recover the tradition of Japanese buildings and to reinterpret it for the 21st century”. This is evident through the many buildings that this firm has designed. They all have one thing in common and that is simplicity in the designs.

 

The museum was design so that the structure can blend into the landscape. From a top view, it looks as if the interwoven beam structure is floating in the air but it is actually supported by one central pillar with two glass structure at the end. The glass helps give the illusion that it is floating. The interwoven structure was sculpted in a triangular form so it can follow the contours of the adjacent hill and the structure beside it. The image shown at the bottom is a detail of the interwoven beams. The beams overlap each other as well as support each other. The lower beams supports the upper ones, the interlocking of the beams are what make this possible. The overlapping layers continue into the museum as well.  In the main room, as you can see the beams interlock with the central beam that does down the hall. This building is a good example of how Japanese style is still evident in Modern Japanese buildings. The only difference now is it is more minimalistic and simplified. 
                                                                                                                                                                                             Sophia Giang