YOSSAWAT » building

Artfarm by HHF Architects & Ai Weiwei

Yossawat — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:21:07 +0000

The Artfarm is located near Salt Point in upstate New York (1.5h drive from the City), on the site of an existing private residence, built in the 80ies. The client is an art collector and owner of Chambers Fine Art, a well known gallery located in New York City and Beijing and which is specialized in contemporary chinese art.

The building is designed as a gallery for a professional art collection. On the interior it’s subdivided into different sized showrooms, an office space and spaces designated to store art.

The outer shape is a consequence of the used pre-engineered and easy to assemble type of steel building, which often gets used for agricultural purposes in that area. With ist abstract metallic appearance the structure becomes an equal member of a whole groupe of sculptures which are spread out in the landscape. The three volumes are put on a solid concrete slabs, which follow the existing grade on the site. The different levels are connected through a continues cascading ramp in the middle axis. This middle hallway with its ramp works as access for all spaces, allows an easy way of exchanging big pieces of art between storage and showrooms and works at the same time as a picture gallery.

Approaching the Artfarm building from outside you don’t know what’s expecting you on the inside. Even though there are only three windows existing to the north (and the end of each hall, above the middle ramp, this is the only visual connection to the outside and allows a view into the wood), the building with its pure white interiors is astonishing bright on the inside. The massive concrete floor and the white shiny PVC batt insulation are creating a quiet and cool space. For delicate goods such as paintings etc. consistent indoor temperatures are needed, which is a challenge in an area with such enourmous change in temperatures.

With the concept of an hermetic closed and insulated envelope, the existing heating and cooling needs only to conserve the climate and support it when needed. This seems to work well, during the first summer the cooling had never to be turned on, even on really hot days it was comfortable and cool on the inside.

Source : Arch Daily

Mobile Applications Development Centre & Four Marketing Fashion Company by Eldridge Smerin

Yossawat — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:55:42 +0000

Eldridge Smerin was formed by Nick Eldridge and Piers Smerin in 1998. Their work has built a reputation for producing intelligent and memorable solutions in response to their varied clients’ briefs, creating beautifully detailed buildings and interiors within often tightly constrained budgets. This is Mobile Applications Development Centre and Four Marketing Fashion Company Headquarters in London, some of Eldridge Smerin portfolio.

Four Marketing Fashion Company Headquarters

Mobile Applications Development Centre

Source : Eldridge Smerin

Herald and Weekly Times Loft by CARR Design

Yossawat — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:25:58 +0000

CARR is a multi-skilled firm of Architects and Interior Designers. Long recognized
for a contemporary aesthetic and sharp focus on detail, CARR is one of the most
respected design firms in Australia. This is interior design in Herald and
Weekly Time building, some portfolio of CARR.

The brief was to customise this Melbourne apartment – within the historic Herald and
Weekly Time building – to meet the client’s specific needs for loft volumes, a canvas on
which to highlight an extensive collection of artwork and increased storage space.

An original scheme put forward by base building architects rendered the mezzanine
suitable for storage only. Through considered planning and intelligent redesign of
mechanical and hydraulic services, the design team was able to sigificantly
increase the value of the mezzanine level to accommodate a guest bedroom, guest
bathroom, media room, library and art store.

Despite the client’s practical requirements, of which there were many, the apartment
has maintained the lofty, inspired feel of a New York style studio. Spaces have been
maximized without the apartment feeling at all crowded. If anything, the overall ambiance
is one of spaciousness.

The result is a modern, contemporary interior contrasted with glimpsed views of the
historic architecture and awe-inspiring outlook over inner Melbourne. The double
height living spaces and refined color palette provide texture and depth reflecting a
clear sensitivity to the space, the client’s needs and to the location.

Source : Carr Design

NYU Department of Philosophy by Steven Holl Architects

Yossawat — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:33:36 +0000

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences and a committee of Philosophy Professors collaborated in the selection of Steven Holl Architects to design the complete interior renovation of a 1890 corner building at 5 Washington Place for the consolidation of the NYU Department or Philosophy within a concept which organizes the new spaces around light and phenomenal properties of materials. A new stair shaft below a new skylight joins the 6-level building vertically with a shifting porosity of light and shadow that change seasonally. The Ground level, utilized by the entire University, contains a new curvilinear wooden auditorium on a cork floor. The upper level floors contain Faculty Offices and Seminar Rooms which are done in different shades and textures of black & white, according to the texts in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s book “Remarks on Colour”.

Source : dezeen, myninjaplease, Steven Holl Architects

Grouf House by Lundberg Design

Yossawat — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:07:24 +0000

To understand the Grouf House you need to understand the budget; for almost every design decision made was driven by budgetary considerations. Northern California is one of the most expensive places to build in the world. Most of the houses we design tend to cost in the range of $800 per square foot. We built the Grouf House for slightly over $200 per square foot.

The only way to accomplish that is to use building systems that dramatically reduce labor; in this case we employed metal building technology that is more typical of industrial/commercial buildings. The steel structure and metal panel exterior of this building went up in about 3 weeks, as opposed to probably 4 months for stick framing. The metal panels were prefinished on the interior and we left them exposed, eliminating the need for interior finishes on the exterior walls, such as drywall and paint. The concrete slab foundation was left exposed as the lower level finish floor. And the structural steel framework was painted but otherwise left exposed as an architectural expression of the design. Wherever possible we eliminated the need for finishes.

The site was an already level graded pad with extraordinary views of Sonoma County. The center of the building is almost totally glass in response to that view, but all of the rooms in the house have beautiful views out to the varied valley landscape. In many of the rooms we used sliding glass doors (with the lockset height modified) as the windows, in response to the scale of the building.

Source : Lundberg Design

PENTHOUSE, OLD CITY, PHILADELPHIA by August Interiors

Yossawat — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:10:33 +0000

An urban dwelling for a young entrepreneurial couple in a new high-rise in Old City Philadelphia becomes a soothing retreat for living and working.

The uninterrupted sprawling views of Center City were taken into consideration while planning the finish and color palette of this space. The reflective hues of city buildings at dusk were used to create the smooth palette you see.

Source : August Interiors

Brooklyn Brownstone by 1100 Architect

Yossawat — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:24:53 +0000

This project encompasses the 7,200 square-foot renovation of a 5-story residence in Brooklyn.

The aim of this renovation was to create a family home that fully integrates the site’s rear garden into the plan of the house, while creating both familial and private spaces. Occupying the existing footprint, the new building employs glass and aluminum to create a more open and continuous feeling in the back of the house.

These materials, in addition to a new staircase connecting the garden and the second floor, firmly establish the garden as an extension of the house and as a communal location.

Using green roof technology, a private garden accessible from the master bedroom creates a small, personal outdoor space. Inside, the house is designed to fit the needs of the family. Home office space, rooms for two children, and a fifth-floor playroom are all elements of this functional, comfortable, and stylish space.

Source : 1100 Architect

TREGUNTER ROAD HOUSE by Voon Wong and Benson Saw

Yossawat — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:29:02 +0000

This is the largest project completed to date by the practice with an overall construction budget of $3 million, with a complete interior rebuild behind the existing façade. The building had a typical layout for a London Victorian town house. Their remodelling emphasised the division between the front of the house (the public side) and the back of the house (the private side) with the garden at the back of the house acting as a focal point for the private rooms. This involved changing the layout and location of the principal staircase and the subsequent spaces that lead off it. This change resulted in wider well proportioned spaces that are lit by the windows along the full width of the house. Space, light and the use of beautiful and luxurious materials were the tools to create the sequence of interesting and liveable spaces.

The house was totally demolished internally and now comprises: a family room within a new extension in the basement, as well as a kitchen and formal dining room; a drawing room and study on the ground floor; a master bedroom suite on the first floor; the second floor with three additional bedrooms; the top floor containing a guest suite and the plant room. The five floors are all linked by a central staircase that is lit overhead by a skylight.

This is the third project that the practice has completed for this client, an interior designer and art collector. The client’s aim was to create a theme of restrained luxury and eclecticism. Although the scale of the project was large for the practice, the understanding of detailing and use of materials that comes from a multidisciplinary approach was very beneficial. The client along with the architect and designer were keen to explore new materials as well as rediscover traditional ones. Voon Wong and Benson Saw have an excellent network of contacts from their product design experience to draw upon.

Venetian plaster was used extensively for the accent walls to provide a beautiful surface sheen. Custom balustrades and light fittings were cast in bronze. Acrylic panels, shelving and handrails concealed LED light fittings. This combination of new materials alongside the traditional was the key to creating a sense of understated luxury in a contemporary but enduring set of spaces.

The client chose fabrics and furniture and art pieces to emphasise this theme: rugs in silk, cashmere curtains, Swarovski crystal chandeliers and upholstery fabrics in silk velvets. Furniture ranges from Mies van der Rohe day beds, Jean Michel Frank sofas, Yves Klein coffee tables alongside many custom designed pieces by the client herself and the architect.

The practice worked closely with the landscape architects del Buono Gazerwitz to create the rear garden. The south facing garden is the focal point of the rear of the house and is created so that the architectural elements of the basement extension and the external spaces are perceived as a unity. In fine weather the doors of the Family Room can be completely pushed back so that the boundary between the inside and outside is completely removed. The patio seating, water feature, planting and central lawn all contribute to the creation of an outdoor room that is a harmonious extension of the extended basement.

Voon Wong and Benson Saw are a pair of London based designers that have been working together since 2001. Their work has been featured in exhibitions in London, Milan and Singapore. The Loop lamp from 2003 was nominated for the Compasso D’Oro and is now manufactured by Fontana Arte. The ELma vases from the EL light series won the OXO Peugeot Design award. They have completed architecture and interior design projects in Shanghai, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. As well as numerous projects in London and Singapore, their current major project is the master plan of a new factory for a high quality bone china manufacturer outside Beijing. They are also cooperating with this manufacturer to design a new collection of bone china table ware to be launched later this year at an exhibition in London.

Source : Voon Wong and Benson Saw

Archipelago House

Yossawat — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:45:25 +0000

Devid Report presented Archipelago House from Tham & Videgård Hansson website. It’s a nice house. This is “Summer house in Stockholm archipelago” by Devid Report.Stockholm architects Tham & Videgård Hansson has developed a nice light-weight building in wood and glass as a summer house in the Stockholm archipelago. The layout of the plan is generated by the specifics of the site, the house being placed on the flat surface between two mountain rocks and turning simultaneously towards the sun the south and frontally towards the sea in the west. With the small rooms located in the back the rest of the house stand out as an open platform crisscrossed by sliding glass. The house is organised in layers. The big rooms expand in open relationshp to the wooden deck outside of the house. The zig-zagged layout also offers several outside places sheltered from the strong wind.

A light-weight building in wood and glass, a summerhouse in the Stockholm archipelago.

A continuous dissolution of space in three steps. The house is organised in layers, the big rooms expand in open relationship to the wooden deck. A horizontal wooden trellis diffuses daylight and enhances the character of one continuous space, where the distinction of interior/exterior becomes subordinated.

For the interior, the starting point has been the direct relation to the dramatic archipelago landscape, with the objective to offer within a simple frame – a platform – several diverse readings of the relation space – nature.

Multiplicity of readings. As a result of the large glass panes and the prevailing conditions of ligh, reflexions and mirror like effects come up and add aquality where nature, space and horizon interacts.

Tham & Videgård Hansson architects was founded by Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård Hansson back in 1999. The practice works in the wide field of contemporary architecture, planning and interior design, in projects for private, corporate and public clients.

Source : Davide Report, Tham & Videgård Hansson

Villa Näckros : Modern floting home

Yossawat — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:01:01 +0000

Näckros Villa designed by Staffan Strindberg architecture in Sweden. The 12×12 metre Villa has six rooms and a kitchen, 178 sq metres of living area, 125 square metres of terrace and 74 square metres of windows but is crammed with technologies to enhance your lifestyle and create an ambience of tranquillity and harmony with nature.

“The idea of living so close to the water and nature is really thrilling. The design is focused on bringing the surroundings inside, to get the feeling of the water into your living .”

With water comes a special light and the reflections from the water that dance on the ceiling. Strindberg’s experience and fascination with water and light led him to explore far and wide, and he was particularly drawn to the “the beautiful treatment of the light that you can find in the old Turkish villas climbing the slope of the Bosporus around Istanbul where they mainly let the light in from below, reflected from the water.”

In building the site, Strindberg tried to foresee what could happen around the site, and then got more and more interested in the idea of not just one but several water houses and how to arrange the interior of the house for this imaginary pattern.

“On one side you have the dock and on the other side you have the water, one official side and one private. How do you get the most out of the privacy and how do you make a welcoming entrance yet a distinct border for privacy?”

The entrance design takes into account various dock heights and those environments without a tide. The living room is as close to the water as possible and sleeping facilities are positioned so you go to sleep at the same level as the surrounding water. The layout is concentrated on opening the house to the water. The kitchen is close to the entrance and faces the quay but is also a part of the open area that includes the living room and the terrace.

Strindberg also had to address what the feeling and ambience should be based on, such as “what is a floating home, what does it stand for, does it have to look like other kinds of floating things that man uses, like boats?” “Should it even borrow details to associate to other floating vessels?” “What does it express in its design?”

These thoughts led to the decision that it should be a house, not a boat. “A house that takes care of the special qualities of the surroundings,” says Strindberg.

Source : Arkinetia, gismag, Modern Marine Home, Interior Design