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The project has 145 square meters on two floors and a terrace. The building location is an important factor because it is on the lower side of Turi, a natural viewpoint of the city of Cuenca-Ecuador where there were some retaining stone walls from a destroyed and abandoned construction. These walls were originally raised to stop the gradient of over 30% of the natural slope, which is why they are included as part of the formal and structural design.
The purpose was for building a small detached house, with basic functional spaces for everyday life, with a local and contemporary language.
The design refers to vernacular materials; we have used dry stone walls, located where the original walls of the previous construction were, the roof structure made entirely of exposed wood clad in unglazed handmade tile and carrizo pambil on the ceiling, adobe prepared in blocks to clad some walls and as mud plastering for others. This sort of traditional materials incorporated into the architecture confer the popular warmth of local buildings and simultaneously engage a project of contemporary features with large glass surfaces that dominate the north facade, with a complete view of the city.
Other more contemporary materials have been added, such as ceramic floors with traditional motifs of hydraulic tiles to accentuate the style, the glass in the interior wooden staircase that contrasts due to its modern appearance, natural wood doors with decorative rivets in iron, raw iron railings and of course the decorative pieces of furniture that have been carefully selected to emphasize the dialectical style between the traditional and the contemporary.
The spatial distribution is quite simple. Due to the topography, the main entrance is located on the top floor and can be reached by a grand stone staircase that externally connects the two levels of the project. Before entering there is a pergola terrace to enjoy the view and with it the wooden door that leads into a hallway that connects to the bedroom hall on the same level and the glass staircase that leads to the social area on the lower floor.
The upper floor has two bedrooms facing north, with wood floors, and an adjacent full bathroom. The bedrooms are separated through a closet cabinet with two fronts; the city view is not the only attraction of these spaces, if we look up we see the craft construction of the roof and its wood assemblies; all these areas are accessed through an exhibition hall that is lit and ventilated through a window that looks directly into one of the retaining walls. This view may seem unattractive, however it is totally entertaining to see the moss between the rocks and on rainy days the drops falling like a waterfall filtering through the vegetation. The exhibition displayed is a very special collection of old radios belonging to the owners of the house. On the ground floor is the living and dining in a single room, a guest bathroom and kitchen, all communicated through a corridor that runs parallel to the facade and thus enjoys the visual spectacle of the entire city at its feet. The entire floor of this level is ceramic.
As for the exterior spaces, we have maintained the landscape of the mountain, preserving all species of trees and adding others belonging to the area.
A+Awards: next up in our series on winning projects from Architizer‘s 2016 A+Awards is a small chapel by Japanese architect Hiroshi Nakamura, which features extreme gables and a roof covered in 21,000 aluminium shingles (+ slideshow). (more…)
Stretching from the Maine coast to inland forests and dotted with lakes and marshes, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge welcomes 300,000 nature enthusiasts a year. Exploring miles of trails from dawn to dusk, visitors can observe wildlife and take in the beauty of nature all while honoring the memory of world-renowned marine biologist, author and environmentalist Rachel Carson. Photo by Judy Grabowicz (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
Vo Trong Nghia Architects has released plans for The Signature Spa on Phu Quoc, one of the major islands of Vietnam. Nestled into surroundings of vast forests and pristine beaches, the spa will serve as an addition to its neighboring 5-star hotel. The project has been tucked into the corner of the site to provide a serene atmosphere aimed at establishing “a compact and autonomous place of solace, wherein one can immerse themselves within the lush mangrove reservoir whilst nestled inside the bamboo [structure].”
The project plan consists of an organic layout of three distinct areas: the main building, the treatment rooms and the back of house, connected to the complex by a floating bridge. Sweeping stone walls guide visitors to the entrance, providing a momentary sense of enclosure before releasing into the open spa compound. The buildings, constructed of bamboo, hover over the water, leaving room for giant mangrove trees and an entire ecosystem of flora and fauna.
Twelve bamboo bays positioned along an arc create the space of the main building, which houses reception space, waiting areas and consultation rooms for foot treatments and pedicures. The curved bamboo framing is on display from the interior, bending toward the skylight openings that shower the space in natural light. Conditioned and open-air spaces are separated by glass panels shielded with bamboo louvres, blurring the line between indoors and outdoors.
Treatment rooms are accessed via a stone pathway that sits just above the level of the water. Large windows in each room offering views out the mangrove forest and a stone buffer separating the private wing from the public areas both help to create an uninterrupted, immersive environment for visitors.
Each room is constructed of a bamboo shell, with clearly detailed joints where it means the natural stone, emphasizing the project’s reserved materiality. The structure mimics the expression of clasped hands with interwoven fingers, giving the structure a dynamic, curvilinear appearance.
Realization of The Signature Spa in Phu Quoc Island is currently in progress.
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“Are you playing or practicing?”
When I was growing up and learning to play the piano, we had an old, upright Baldwin sitting in the living room. When I sat down to play, everyone in the house could hear it – and hear every wrong note and mis-timed measure. I hating messing up, and tried to avoid it whenever I could.
My dad probably asked that question, are you playing or practicing, a hundred times when I was a kid. It was a simple question but the message was clear: you can play the piano to play the piano, or you can play the piano to get better.
Years later, at a college ultimate frisbee practice, I heard the idea in a different way. Introducing a drill, my captain said “If you never drop the disc in this drill, you aren’t trying hard enough.”
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I’ll be the first to say – success is awesome, and winning feels great. But striving for success and focusing on winning is ultimately self-defeating.
Take my amateur piano playing as an early example. I sat at the piano and played easy pieces for hours. I cringed at the thought of my mistakes reverberating throughout the house, so I stuck to what I knew I could do flawlessly.
At ultimate frisbee practice, I could slow down to catch every throw in practice. But that wouldn’t help in a game when the body of my defender comes flying past me for the block.
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Professionally, I could sit at my desk for 8 hours a day, slowly switching between completing assignments and checking Facebook. But that won’t help me stand out from the pack.
The problem with striving for success is that it instantly creates pressure to succeed. If your goal is to “be successful,” any moment of weakness is defeat. This wrong note or dropped catch is a reminder that you are not successful.
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The pursuit of success leads us to take easy options. And, unfortunately, becoming truly successful is not always easy.
Instead, strive to fail.
Instead of playing 10 easy pieces for an hour, spend that hour learning a single phrase of a hard piece.
Instead of doing adequate work, do something outstanding. Nine out of 10 efforts might go unnoticed, but it only takes one success to change everything.
In your personal life, take risks. I debated starting online writing for ages. What if I can’t write enough? Why should anyone listen to me? What if people hate what I have to say?
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Not every post has been a hit, but the successes have kept me going and the failures have made me better.
So text him first. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. Dare to be average at new experiences. Worst case scenario, you fail, your life probably doesn’t change that much, and you learn how to do better next time.
Best case scenario, you succeed.
Focusing on success is limiting, and leads to failure. A focus on failure is a focus on self-improvement, and leads to success.
If you are never failing, you are never improving.
Taking risks is important, but you don’t need to make all-or-nothing decisions. There are ways to embrace failure in your everyday life.
1. Do something you suck at
I used to be an absolutely terrible cook. I was terrified of cooking because, well, I didn’t really know how. I was afraid of making bad food.
It turns out, I made a lot of bad food, and forced myself to eat it. But I got better, slowly, over time. I learned which spices go well together. I learned to chop vegetables in 2 minutes instead of 20. Repeated failure took me from Kraft mac n’ cheese to Four cheese fettuccine alfredo.
Embrace the fact that you don’t always need to be good at things, and you may discover new activities you enjoy. As Virgil Thomson said “Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.”
See Also: 3 Ways On How To Turn The Fear Of Failure Into An Asset
2. Make things better
Take a project you worked on recently. In an ideal world, what would have done to make it better?
When I started as a professional writer at a marketing agency, I went through all of our existing content and made notes on how I thought I could make improvements. I didn’t do that because I expected recognition: I did it because I wanted to learn.
It turns out, the project picked up steam and is getting used, but it very easily might not have. The difference between good work and outstanding work is enormous. If outstanding work were easy to achieve, everyone would do it.
Embrace the challenge. Embrace the inevitability that you will fail – sometimes. Learn from your failures, and celebrate the successes that come from them.
3. Embrace a growth environment
If you are constantly punished for failures, you’ll never be able to grow.
An environment that understands the importance of mistakes is critical for growth.
In his famous Nike commercial, Michael Jordan once said “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Jordan embodied striving for failure, but he also gained from those around him – he was still trusted to take 25 game losing shots after missing his first chance.
See Also: 15 Lessons You Can Learn From Jedi Master Yoda
Forget focusing on success. Focus on failure and self-improvement. Ask yourself this: are you playing or practicing?
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Sig Nordal 