Renovation of a Historical Building
The historical building contains many strong characteristics of space and living and it expresses the significance of the certain age. While facing the renovation of a historical building, our first intention is to “re-specify” the initial gestures of the space in order to remain the condition for the traces of time could be experienced. Therefore, carefully but distinctive inserting an element to shape new spaces become the key issue of this project.
Structure as furniture
Minimal utilizing the historic space and re-using original materials are our main concept of the design. The main timber truss for the retail shop at the front room introduces the idea of “Structure as furniture”, a free-standing individual component that is detached with the existing wall. The idea of moderate intervention with minimal attaches and less anchoring that will undermine the existing building is taking place in this project.
The timber truss is a structure designed to support the display shelf and to integrate the wiring of lighting and air-conditioning units. The truss appeared as an inverted frame is a modest response to a new insertion to an old building.
Yeh family is one of the many grain stores locate in Dihua street, where it is the central commercial area of Taipei during the time. We remain considerable amount of existing furniture and grain equipment replaced back to the space to give its presence of the historic context. The timber used for the truss is made from Japanese cypress that is also used to make gain utensils at the time as well. Besides the gentle explicit response of the form, the implicit connection of materials and textures is also our design thinking towards a historic building.
From the architect. It reflects the client’s personality in a frank manner. Considering that the client, who had dreamt all kinds of mysterious dreams only to overcome them while living in a house built on a rock of mystical forces at a high area of Gangbuk, Seoul, purchased the plot of a fortuneteller and a shaman beside a tall wall in Gangnam, this is a world that must be full of many unexplainable things. In contemporary terms, this building would be considered a mixed-use narrow house, combining a basement studio for the client’s son, a photographer, a reception area, as well as a residence for mother and son that has been equipped with a compact elevator to account for the weakened joints of the elderly.
I feel uncomfortable whenever I see contemporary buildings with large openings. Such an entrance could be even worse if it is for a residence because personally I think it is often feared that it would only allow too much light inside and violate my privacy. Of course, it can be controlled with a variety of devices, such as curtains or louvers, but they can’t be used as the fundamental solution. Thus, I proposed small and unique windows to my client for this project. At first, they were concerned that it would be too dark inside but it has resulted in a space that has both sufficiently bright spots and dark ones.
While I was blithely dancing along with the imaginary building line, in addition to my habit of desiring ‘to connect things that seem irrelevant with lines’, I also established the order of randomness and this became the basis for designing external appearance of buildings. Virtually projected on the building, the lines were left as decorative marks on the interior walls. The biggest reason for taking on an uncontrollable situation as a designer or handing over the role of designer to random events and chance is not because I am indifferent but because they often present better solutions than I.
Yin Ma Chuan of the Great Wall – The Seeking the Happiness of Mother Earth Area is the first cultural resort at the foot of the Great Wall of China. IAPA partnered with The Mother Earth Happiness Group to design works from planning, architecture, landscape, interior, to construction documentation. The design of the resort has a unique emphasis on environmental protection and art culture. Zhao Hua Xi Shi Living Museum is now complete and in use.
The Zhao Hua Xi Shi Living Museum has a modular container as the main body of its structure, which incorporates exhibition, catering, leisure and office spaces. The modular container is connected with galleries, bridges and platforms to create an enjoyable space using the style of the Courtyard House. The design embraces the scenic nature of the Great Wall, offering visitors a magnificent landscape view.
Zhao Hua Xi Shi Living Museum is a representation of the continuity of traditional cultural heritage. The structural form, the indoor and outdoor spaces, the contrast of stone and steel, the timber and hemp, the interaction of corridors, bridges, and viewing platforms, provide a pleasing environment to enjoy the enchanting, unique experience of Seeking the Happiness of Mother Earth.
Product Description. The project is located within the historic site of the Great Wall. The modular containers were chosen to form the main structure body. Locally sourced woven reeds, used for the outdoor corridor ceilings, and recycled timber decking create a natural aesthetic that represents the traditional cultural heritage of the site.
Two spectacular western landscapes are now permanently protected as our nation’s newest national monuments – Bears Ears in Utah and Gold Butte in Nevada. Today, President Obama designated these monuments that preserve sacred land for Native American tribes, gorgeous red rock scenery, and important cultural sites such as rock art and ancient cliff dwellings. Bears Ears National Monument protects the history of hundreds of generations of native peoples who have lived in the surrounding sandstone canyons, desert mesas and meadow mountaintops – it’s also one of the densest and most significant cultural landscapes in the U.S. Gold Butte National Monument – a rugged desert adorned with dramatic red sandstone and twisting canyons – protects significant cultural resources, important geological formations, rare fossils and vital plant and wildlife habitat. https://on.doi.gov/monuments
Photos by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management.
From the architect. After a successful teaming for the design of their Boston headquarters, MullenLowe engaged TPG Architecture to design its new office in Winston-Salem, NC: a 37,500 square foot space in the city’s newly developed Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. The office design was an opportunity to create a strong communications touchpoint expressing MullenLowe’s identity as a “challenger” in the advertising industry, a scrappy do-everything ad firm with a global reach.
MullenLowe’s staff work in multiple disciplines for diverse clientele, so their space had to be flexible and inspirational. The space itself was breathtaking when the design team first walked through. Built in the 1930’s, the building was originally a tobacco factory. A large, deep floorplate, 14’ ceilings and metal-frame windows were the raw materials that provided the framework for MullenLowe’s new offices.
The design concept was to respect and celebrate the existing structure, leaving the walls and ceiling untouched by using floating free forms – rectangular boxes built between the columns – to create space within the space.
The L-shaped floor plate naturally split the space in two distinct wings. The reception area is logically situated at the vertex of the wings, in an existing open atrium with stairs to the lobby. By placing reception there and using the free form boxes to subdivide the space, the design team was able to bring focus and continuity to the plan, dividing the raw space into functional neighborhoods and providing myriad open and inspiring creative environments. The program required an assortment of collaborative spaces including conference rooms, huddle booths, photo and recording studios, and a media screening room with stadium seating.
Structural columns and beams were left exposed, still coated with nearly a century of layered paint, which was minimally sandblasted to prevent peeling. Finishes and furniture were inspired by the raw space; the free form boxes are clad in plywood and dark-gray painted sheetrock, while the chair colors were sampled from the peeling paint on the concrete walls. The designers devised a system of perforated metal screens to allow for magnetic pin-up space throughout the office without interrupting the openness and fluidity of the floor.
Today, MullenLowe’s space is more conducive for hosting events for local groups such as the Arts Council, as well as outside vendors, such as the local coffee house who provide the staff with on-site barista. Internally, the open work environment and common areas allow for more accidental collisions and natural collaborations, all of which are selling points when hiring new talent and pitching clients.
Cleveland – Ohio – USA (by David Grant)
When the Crystal Cathedral was constructed near Los Angeles in 1980, its design was pure Hollywood: designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee for televangelist star Robert Schuller, the design combined traditional elements of church design with features that made it suitable for television broadcasts. However, when Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy in 2010, the building was passed to a very different tenant, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, who then commissioned Los Angeles-based firm Johnson Fain to adapt the building to be a better fit for the Catholic Church.
A recent article by Mimi Zeiger for Architect Magazine investigates how Johnson Fain are converting the 1980 classic into something more suitable for its new life out of the spotlight—including modulating the light within the vast all-glass structure and rearranging the seating.
Visit Architect Magazine here to find out more about the renovation by Johnson Fain—including a set of renders—or find out more about Philip Johnson’s original design for the cathedral via the link below.
AD Classics: The Crystal Cathedral / Philip Johnson//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js
Sig Nordal 