2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Klein Bottle House by Mc Bride Charles Ryan at Rye, Australia

This holiday home is situated in sand dunes full of trees, directly behind 16th beach at Rye on the Mornington Peninsula, only two hours from Melbourne. There was in this home to be the sense of arriving at a natural and built environment which was unique and in complete contrast to the owner’s city home.

The architects, Mc Bride Charles Ryan practice in Melbourne, began with the idea of the spiral, an acknowledgement of the end of the weekend journey to the beach. An Australian icon, McIntyre’s 1950’s Snellman House came to mind. As the project developed they carefully considered where the building should be located, its relationship to the prevailing winds, and possible points of entry, topography and vegetation. Subjected to numerous distortions, the topology of the spiral gave way to the topological classic The Klein Bottle.

The architects were keen to remain topologically pure, to distort the shape as need dictates but not to appear to sever this form. The idea of the origami version of the Klein bottle was attractive to them, not just because it was able to be approximated in cement sheet (the resonance with the ubiquitous 1950s fibre shack was compelling) but both because of its beauty and the perversity of an origami Klein Bottle. To accommodate ‘rooms’ within the bottle they thought of them like objects inserted (the ship) within the bottle.

The mathematician’s complex topological surfaces like the Klein bottle are appealing to many architects. They look like the new architecture of the computer age, and hold the promise of new form and spatial sequence. Radically they merge the floor, wall and ceiling, inside and outside. The fact that there are so few examples is evidence that they are actually almost impossible to achieve in reality. In this project, the Klein bottle was the perfect fit to the constraints of the site. Once adopted, the shape of this building had something of a life of its own, the genie was out and she was difficult to temper. The development was intense, the serious pursuit of joyful nonsense.

The result is a unique shape and internal space, an unexpected entry sequence and series of new relationships between the traditional components of the home. The process was also a reminder that architecture does not spring naturally from place, and yet it is the beautiful abstract idea, that when carefully selected and developed can suddenly seem as natural as the tee tree that surrounds it. The building required extensive use of 3d software for both its development and eventual execution.

The building is largely steel framed, the complexity of which required the architects to develop representations for use in the shop drawing and production process. It is a lightweight structure largely clad in cement and metal sheet; incombustible and lightweight, these materials meet stringent fire overlays. It harvests water, is double glazed and the large cavities between the external and internal cladding allow packing with bulk insulation. The central courtyard adds cooling and cross ventilation, Windows are hardwood, the flooring is bamboo and the artificial lighting was selected with efficiency as a primary concern. The project was awarded first prize in the House category at the World Architecture Festival Awards 2009.

Green Materials and Design

One of the big changes that has gone on in architecture and the greater design world in the last 6 to8 years is the growing interest in sustainability and green design.  Early on, green design was primarily part of the institutional architecture market because the schools and universities were the ones that would accept the additional project costs and design changes associated with a green project.   The LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) building standard, the current green standard in building, is now used in all parts of the building market and has come to define premium office space in Boston and most large cities around the country.  It’s what people are coming to expect from their homes and offices.

 

California Academy of Sciences re-design (San Francisco, CA)- Renzo Piano

Because of LEED we now have a lot of exciting new products that never existed before, using base-materials that we would have never considered using.  Many of the new materials that contribute to the LEED standard are different than traditional materials and… just plain cool!  Whether it's the choice of a base material- recycled plastic, bamboo, shredded tires, re-purposed wood, a new technology- or the design that results from thought and intent that goes into sustainability, many of the new products and the designs that have been developed are exciting and unique. 

 

Renzo Piano’s re-design of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco is a project shaped by some of these new choices in materials and ideas about our environment.

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre by Peter Rich Architects, South Africa

I am very happy that this particular project won this year's Building of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival. It embodies so many values that big building projects should in the world today: ecology, economy, aesthetics, consideration of the human and the environment together. The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre is sited at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers. The Mapungubwe National Park celebrates the site of an ancient civilization linked to the Great Zimbabwe trading culture in the context of a natural setting that re-establishes the indigenous fauna and flora of this region. The Interpretation Centre is set on the side of a mesa, formed from the dramatic geological events that resulted in the Limpopo River changing its course from flowing into the Atlantic Ocean to discharging into the Indian Ocean. The ceremonial centre of this civilization ilocated on a sister mesa, one kilometre away from the site, is the visual climax of the architectural experience orchestrated in the design of the Centre. This is a poverty relief project using ecological methods and materials.

The complex landscape was both the inspiration for the design by Peter Rich Architects of South Africa and the source of most of the materials for its construction. This resulted in a composition of structures that are authentically rooted to their location. The equilateral triangle provides the primary layout, set out from a line running parallel to the contours. Secondary elements are fixed in position by this geometrical system, significant because of its reference to triangular motifs etched on stones uncovered on Mapungubwe Hill. The heart of the Interpretation centre is visually contained by two hollow cairns that evoke the route-markers found in Southern African cultures. Timbre vaulting is used to construct the billowing forms that expose the arched edges of their thin shells, an analogy of the archaeological revelation of past cultures.

The structural language is contrasted by the delicate walkways that create a zigzagging ramped route through the complex. The visitor’s first view, across a seasonal stream, is of the principal vaults springing directly from the land on robust buttresses. Volumes are linked by terraced seating, contrasting the structured horizontal contours with the diaphanous domes and arches. The surfacing of all of the masonry in local rubble stone creates a timeless quality. It is as if they had erupted from the earth in a geological event similar to that which created the mesas of the site and Mapungubwe Hill.

The route provides the visitor with a multiplicity of experiences, evoking the complex social interactions of the many cultures that have traversed the site. The strong southern light is tempered by rusted steel screens that echo the network of branches of indigenous trees; horizontally slatted natural timber evokes traditional shade structures. The arrival point is marked by the first of the hollow cairns, lit by an oculus that tracks the path of the sun. The experience of the internal exhibition space is cavernous, articulated by the exposed tiles made from the local soil. Light is filtered through fused coloured glass, with dappled patterns reflected from the ponds that cool the air that naturally ventilates the buildings. The termination of this central space is a second cairn, representing the sunset and housing the golden rhinoceros that has become a Southern African icon.

Visitors have a choice of route: ramp and stair, internal and external, to move into the upper parts of the vaults and appreciate the privileged view of the lower volume, as did the ancestors from their elevated position on the plateau of the Hill. The route continues outside the covered spaces, leading to the highest part of the site and affording a view across a flat expanse to Mapungubwe Hill in the distance, with its backdrop of the Limpopo.

The project’s agenda extends beyond the presentation of ancient and more recent history of the area to awaken an understanding of the vulnerability of the local ecology. These objectives are manifested in the construction process of the Centre in which unemployed local people were trained in the manufacture of stabilised earth tiles and in building the timbrel vaults. This knowledge has been accepted into the culture of the region, with the masons continuing the skills they have learned by using the remaining tiles for their houses in nearby villages. Thus, the Centre not only tells a story, but has become part of a story that is still unfolding, of culture developing in symbiosis with its natural legacy.

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre was selected from a total of 15 finalists, by a ‘super-jury’ chaired by Raphael Viñoly of Rafael Viñoly Architects PC, which included Kengo Kuma, Farshid Moussavi, Suha Ozkan and Matthias Sauerbruch. The finalists were whittled down from a shortlist of over 270 projects.

Design with CNC

Digitally designed- digitally produced.  In the design of BanQ, a South Boston restaurant, Office da has incorporated a system of digital fabrication (CNC) into the design process.  The CNC fabrication process adapts to a certain body of materials, encourages ways of interpreting a design and allows for certain possibilities in a design.  The restaurant design leverages the  capabilities of the CNC technology to develop a carved out interior space within the plywood ribs.

BanQ, South Boston restaurant by Office da

Down With the Berlin Wall, Up With an Open Air Library

East Germany has seen some stunning architecture sprout in post-industrial spaces, and this open air library is no exception. Designed by Karo Architekten is both a cultural center and pop-up library where books are available for the taking (and giving) 24 hours a day. Get more information here.

Bits and Pieces

Bits ‘n Pieces is a traveling exhibition of work by international designers, architects, computer scientists, and material and technology researchers. It will showcase projects still in their development stage, as well as furniture, architecture, jewelry, graphic design and products that anticipate the next phase of the digital revolution, focusing on how society is imbued with, shaped by and shapes technology. This new era will be marked by increased awareness about, and accessibility of, continuously advancing technologies and materials and the changes that we will be making in our lives through them will be not just formal but structural, not merely aesthetic but substantive, changing how we actually think about, design and build our objects and space. What will life look like based on changes that are sometimes visible to the public and sometimes invisible? 

There are some pretty cool projects showcased in the exhibit, I like the concept of the Brain Waive Sofa.

Brainwave Sofa is a collaboration between Lucas Maassen and Dries Verbruggen from Unfold

The shape of the Brainwave Sofa is entirely determined by recording 3 seconds of Maassen’s neural 'alpha' activity the very moment he closed his eyes. The resulting 3 second computerfile is sent to a CNC milling machine that mills out the Brainwave sofa in soft foam. It is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a futuristic production workflow in which the designer only has to close his eyes and a computer 'prints' the result out as a functional form. A warm grey felt with buttons in the valleys is applied by hand to the foam honoring the traditional codes of a sofa.

 

 

 

The exhibit is running till Dec 4th

Material ConneXion 60 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10010 

God's Architects: A Film

 

 

 
 
Filmmaker Zack Godshall traveled the country to document five self-taught builders creating structures divinely inspired. Read more information about the film, an interview with Godshall himself, and see more photos here.
 
 

Brazilian fun: Havaianas flagship store by Isay Weinfeld, São Paulo, Brazil

Havaianas Sandals, created in 1962, drew their inspiration from the “zori”, traditional Japanese slippers made of rice straw. A product of extremely low cost, for many years they were just rubber flip-flops, a long way from the fashion icon they are today.


To design a store at one of the world's most expensive addresses (Rua Oscar Freire, in São Paulo) to sell products that cost from € 2.30 to € 10.00 – and not more than that - was, at one time, the excitement and the joy of the work. This is Havaianas' first store in Brazil.


The greatest challenge for architect Isay Weinfeld and his team was to cast onto the architecture the climate the brand inspires: freshness, casualness, comfort, ease, well-being, Brazilianness. It seems though that he achieved more than this: the store was awarded 1st prize in the Shopping category at the World Architecture Festival Awards in Barcelona this year.

 
The shop has a very informal atmosphere and the outcome is nearly a square - a space fully opened onto the street, practically an extension of the sidewalk, without doors or window displays, with lush greenery and intense natural lighting, only covered by a metal grid alternating glass/wooden closures and openings for ventilation and irrigation.

The building develops in descending levels. At street level, just a small lounge area, a mezzanine overlooking the whole store; the store per se, one level below, occupies an ample clear span featuring double-height ceilings, marked by independent elements: a street market stand reminds of the origin of the sandals, initially sold at the city's free markets.

A container displays the " export" models, so far unseen in Brazil; a transparent cylinder features the so-called "new products" (bags, socks, towels, etc.); and a high-tech cube tells the story of Havaianas. Amidst all that, a lowered area for customization services and featuring displays for the children's product line. At the back of the store, on a half-raised level, there is a small garden for exclusive use by staff; the underground houses offices and storage areas.

Light Transmitting Concrete

Concrete you can see through?  As light streams through concrete who would have thought it could be done.  Is it paper thin or an illusion? Invented by Hungarian architect  Áron LOSONCZI in 2001,  LitraCon is a combination of optical fibers and fine concrete and glass.  It can be produced as prefabricated building blocks and panels.  Due to the small size of the fibers, they blend into concrete becoming a component of the material like small pieces of aggregate.    The material can also come in different thicknesses with load bearing strength.

Beautiful as a room divider or as an architectural feature. 

During the day a concrete wall….at night it adds ambiance while acting as a light when backlit. 

Phenomenal!

Wish I knew about this before I built my loft. 

For more information visit    www.litracon.hu

Have an infinitely modern day!

Between the Sheets

My inner archi-geek is compelling me to share these beautiful images with you. Just the first step in a deliciously elaborate project by Bartlett School of Architecture student Thomas Hillier, these illustrations and collages are inspired by the work of renowned Japanese printmaker, Ando Hiroshige.

Entitled The Emperor's Castle, the project goes on to translate an imagined mythology into urban form with awe-inspiring results, even if just for the purely aesthetic appreciation for the complexity of the models.

More images and information HERE.