Built in the 80’s, this apartment was in dire need of refurbishment. Both its infrastructures and organization were dated, so the intention was to make the most of its potentialities while bringing its living experience to contemporary standards.
Sketch
Sketch
With just over 400 ft2 (40 m2) of surface, this small apartment by the sea was unwelcoming due to a choice of darker materials, 30 years of intense use and a not particularly qualified compartmentation (though in tune with its time).
The client required a functional and infrastructural update while maintaining the original organization (with an independent bedroom) and keeping the costs down.
The practice’s strategy was to enhance the perception of the apartment’s light and space by utilizing both a very minimal approach and the repetition of the white color.
The central piece of this project, though, is a blue volume that solves simultaneously the apartment’s doors and the kitchen cabinets, an integral gesture that brings color but specially a playful, unpretentious tone to the whole apartment. With its blue hue and integrated hooks for the beach accessories, it brings the summer inside.
Half of the dividing wall between bedroom and living room was turned into a sliding panel, while still maintaining the original door placement on the bedroom. This allows for both an open space experience -which quite suits the diminute area of the apartment- or a more conventional one at the clients’ discretion.
While this design is clearly contemporary there was always a willingness to keep textured surfaces and detailing that would still give a humanized scale to the spaces. The project achieved that with a wink to the 80’s of the original construction, maintaining the ceiling moldings and introducing a surface of patterned tiles on the kitchen area.
George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, and critic. Known for his sharp political commentaries, and outspoken views on democratic socialism, he led a very interesting life.
Orwell’s most popular works, 1984 and Animal Farm, still continue to move readers all over the world, even though over 60 years have passed since their release.
His ideas and words seem increasingly relevant, as we reflect on them at a point in there are pressing concerns facing the future of the world.
In the coming decades we will be forced to consider important questions about government, technology, and ethics – and ideas like those presented by Orwell can help inspire us and move us towards more personal and cultural freedom.
Here are 19 powerful George Orwell quotes to inspire change.
Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood
In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act
Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
Never use a metaphor, a simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing printed.
But if thought can corrupt language, language can also corrupt thought.
In the face of pain, there are no heroes.
To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others.
People sleep peacefully at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
It´s not much staying alive, it´s staying human that´s important.
They can make you say anything, but they can´t make you believe it.
Mankind must put an en to war, or war will put an end to mankind.
Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first one is that if you disagree with someone´s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don´t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.
Apologizing does not always mean you are wrong, it just means you value your relationships more than your ego.
Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one.
Power is tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choice.
For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable…what then?
We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right.
To see what is in front of one´s nose needs a constant struggle.
It was possible, no doubt, to imagine a society in which wealth, in the sense of personal possessions and luxuries, should be evenly distributed, while power remained in the hands of a small privileged caste. But in practice such a society could not long remain stable. For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realise that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance.
Ben is a freelance writer, and the co-creator of Project Monkey Mind—a new blog for the 21st century solopreneur and young professional who wants to take control of their minds, smash through their limitations, and lead a life worth living.
Photographs: Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
Structure Design : Matoh Structural Design Office
Construction : Koushou Koumuten
Site Area: 193.50 m2
Building Area: 107.84 m2
Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
House with 30,000 Books is a residence for two families, which has a large library between those two dwelling parts. As the name suggests, the number of books the library can store is about 30,000, which almost equals to the number of books that one small public library can store. The library space, sometimes works for bonding two families, sometimes works as a buffer space, is the common property for them and the most spacious place of this house.
Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
When we design a house for two families, independence of the two dwellings is always a big problem. In the case like this house, using library space to draw two dwellings apart is very effective way for keeping privacy of both families, so naturally the library was inserted between the two dwellings. The unusual point is that the library’s layout was rotated 45 degrees from the main axis, because the surroundings around the house happened to have empty space in northeast and southwest directions, so in order to evade crowded views, both ends of the library with windows are facing to those orientations.
Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
Floor Plans
Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
And to widen the views from the library more, two parts of the building mass were cut away in triangle shapes like two wedges of cheese, and two sunken gardens for the library were made instead. Each of these open-air spaces is facing to a dwelling part at the same time, and works as a small private garden for it. These sunken gardens are buffer spaces between two dwellings, but through those spaces the families can feel the situation inside the library and the other dwelling indirectly. Those open-air spaces are connecting two dwellings while they are also separating them mildly.
Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
Of course, the library is not just for book stock. Having wide views and natural sunlight with high ceilings, this is the most attractive space of the residence. Usually the windows are closed for blocking out ultraviolet light and humidity in order to preserve the books, but they can be widely opened if needed, and thanks to the rotated layout and two open-air spaces, the library can show great transparency though it has complete ability for storage.
Courtesy of Takuro Yamamoto Architects
On sunny days, they can fully open windows for ventilation, and enjoy bright views with 30,000 Books, both families together. I believe that is the greatest pleasure for book collectors, and this is the scene we tried to be realized through this project.
Architects: Jacques Ferrier and Pauline Marchetti (Jacques Ferrier Architecture with Sensual City Studio)
Architect In Charge: Aurélien Pasquier
Landscape: Michel Hoessler, Agence TER
Client: The Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE, Paris) with the French International School of Beijing (LFIP) Project Manager: Design Institute CAG
From the architect. The French School of Beijing, designed by Jacques Ferrier Architecture, has been imagined as a built landscape. It is being developed on a site in the “Orchard” neighbourhood, which takes its name from the old orchards which, until recently, were a defining feature of this stretch of land alongside the road to the airport. Since then, the development of high-end residential blocks and international schools has introduced a new urban character with collections of low rise buildings alongside generous green spaces.
The building creates a continuous and unified space on the site, defining the various walkways and in line with the roads. It offers students and teachers a combination of protected and open spaces, with the landscape always present as a backdrop. The ground floor is home to shared spaces and functions: underneath an awning, the communal spaces for the various schools alternate with covered playgrounds. All of the outdoor spaces open towards the canteen’s orchard and the sports facilities.
The entrances to the primary school and the secondary school and college are clearly separated, as are the flows of different students. There are, however, connections between the different sections of the school for the staff and teachers. The organization of the space is unambiguous and easy to read: the school hall and library are recognizable as soon as you enter.
From the second floor up, the classrooms are organized in a rational and flexible way. They are clad in a wooden lattice which seems to float above the organic surroundings formed by the lines of fruit trees. From the inside, this lattice is porous enough to let through light and not obscure views of the outside. It plays a major role in shading the building from the sunlight and protecting the school’s activities from outside eyes. Finally, the lattice creates a serene, innovative and identifiable architectural look, drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese architectural.
The canteen and the gym hall have been designed as pavilions in the orchard. Alongside the stadium, they add the finishing touches to a project which combines architecture and landscaping to create a remarkable, environmentally- friendly place of learning. The metals used in the façades of these two buildings set up a game of reflections between landscaped and built environments.
With a contemporary character which avoids modish excesses, the French school takes a long-term view of design, leaving open various possibilities for development and new uses.
Amazing Cross Fox in Churchill, Manitoba, enjoying….her meal ! Thanks 📸 @joedesjardins.ca
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#canada #explorecanada #manitoba #exploremanitoba #churchill #fox #crossfox #wildlifephotography #wild #wildlife #wilderness #adventure #wanderlust #nature #snow #destination #photography #photographer #viewsaddict #camerasniper (à Churchill, Manitoba)
Young married couple building a house in the city area.
As the number of working people in metropolitan area increases, their residential areas are expanded to the suburbs. Commuting takes more than one hour and this is rare compared to other countries. People prefer to live in the convenient area ; close to the station and with good train access to the office yet those land price tends to be higher i.e. the inheritance tax also higher. So when people cannot afford the high inheritance tax, they sell at the timing of inheritance or split the land and sell.
Sketch
This is about the young married couple with limited budget seeking for the convenience and habitability of the house confronting the needs of housing in this society.
Site is near by lively shopping street which is called ‘Blemen street’. Originally site was split into three sites, and one of them is our planning site which is narrow grounds about 42㎡. Generally, the houses for this kind of site are designed to achieve a large floor area ratio. As a result, there are a lot of same facade house like a box built by housing manufacturers. And the skyline made by boring house is uniformed. Therefore we started to plan our small house to change the skyline and habitability. The roof was folded in three dimensions to get the afternoon sun. With that, we succeeded in removing the feeling of pressure from facade and decreasing the heat load for the house. The balcony was plan to overhang which blur boundaries between house and town. So this house got not only harmony for the town but also positiveness for the region.
One room which summarized kitchen, living room, dining room and bed room surrounded by natural light coming into the room.
Plan
From Japanese building standards law, the house which can be built in planning site is three story house. There are already three story houses in south site and east site of our site. North site house is two story. And west side of our site, there is three story building across four meter width road. So it was the worst condition for natural lighting plan. But thankfully to our south neighbor, their house planed gable roof because of north side slant line regulation. So we plan the big windows over the hight of their roof, which can capture natural light. Thanks to these windows, the wind flows by the chimney effect in interim period, and the internal space is warmed by natural energy in winter.
We select steel structure which can realize no column space and free placement of windows. One direction is made by brace structure, another direction made by ramen structure. And the floor which is planned additional hight from 2nd floor level made by horizontal brace. Because of that, it can be flexible to use floor. The folded roof made by truss which has three dimensional rigidity, so it can decrease the horizontal deformation of top of the building.
The theme of the house is flexibility. This house has no joinery, petition wall, ceiling and receipt, because they can be changed by yourself as the family grows. If the owner wants to have shelf, they can make it. If a new member joins their family, they can add petition wall. Every time they want to change, they can customize their house. So that owner can feel an emotional attachment to their house, and continue to live in their house.
This project is located at Desierto de los Leones woods, in the west part of Mexico City. The terrain is surrounded by nature within the vast city.
Here we found great amount of trees, allowing a natural visual filter towards the highway and the near constructions. It is a private space, isolated of visual pollution and acoustic disturbance.
The main objective of the project, was to create a space for our clients and friends that could be ready as soon as possible. The haste of inhabit it in so short notice made us think of a constructive system that could be more efficient without raising the cost and handling the balance planned from the beginning.
Also we had to design and build exclusively the spaces that were really needed, letting go of any extras and fitting each measure to their style and way of life. A compact and useful project was the best choice because we agreed that the luxury was on the exterior, the woods.
This project, being in the middle of the woods, full of trees and nature inspired us to create a cabin.
We knew that it could not be an ordinary cabin, and we had the goal of making it a sustainable home, although we had the margin of budget and time.
Diagrams
First thing we did was to analize the program that the client asked for, that stood mainly in the way the space should be organized. We created 3 modules: Private, semi-public and public.
After deciding the main division, hundreds of variations turned into volumetric diagrams that narrowed down into this three space modules. We studied how they could and should relate with each other and the arrangement towards the free space around, taking advantage of the vast land that offered few limits. We also had to merge certain design rules to fully understand this project.This guides were: Orientation. Views. Privacy.
Ground Floor Plan
We concluded that the Private and Public modules had to have the most important views and had priority in the orientation. The Semi-Public would work as a bridge between Private and Public modules, and it could act as a visual barrier as well to produce privacy within the immediate neighbour.
The Cabin is 106 sqm, composed of 3 modules: Private, Semi-Public and Public. The Private module has the main bedroom with a full bathroom and dressing room. In the Semi-Public module is the kitchen, a full bathroom intended for guests and a laundry room. And the Public module has the living room and an exterior terrace.
The house floats 60 cm over the floor to avoid natural cold, save humidity on the floor, and dismiss a direct contact with the water that falls from the mountain top.
The house has also a green roof that acts as a thermal filter with the exterior, maintaining the house cool during daytime and warm through the night. It is also a space that may be used as an extra piece of garden
Time, budget and sustainability were the target, and we had to use precise materials to complete with success these tasks, and to avoid at all cost any work of masonry, excepting the foundation and the retaining wall on the east facade of the house.
The skeleton is a metallic structure in the vertical elements, as well as the horizontals. We believe that in this way we were being sustainable because the metal we can be recycled in the future.
All the house is cladded with natural wood, black pine planks on the exterior walls, and on the floor and ceiling we left the natural color of the material.
Axonometric
For the humid areas of the cabin, such as the bathroom and kitchen, we used basaltic stone to cover the surfaces.Interior walls are covered with gypsum panel painted in white to adjust the cost and give more visual dimension.
The green roof system has plastic membrane that works as an envelope insulating and waterproofing between the wood and the natural soil. Water that comes from rain and falls over the rooftop is directed to the natural terrain giving back the area that we took from the land.
All the materials we used tu built the house can be recycled, the metallic structure,the wood cladding and the plastic membrane for the insulation
Now in it’s 17th year, the competition was founded to offer emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design a temporary, outdoor installation within the walls of the P.S.1 courtyard for MoMA’s annual summer “Warm-Up” series. Architects are challenged to develop creative designs that provide shade, seating and water, while working within guidelines that address environmental issues, including sustainability and recycling.
