Under the Tree of Totoro, by Atsushi and Muyami Kawamoto (mA-style).





 

A new but nostalgic look for the house the group of architects designed in the village of Shizouka, Japan.


-Photographs: spoon-tamago.com.

White Temple by Takashi Yamaguchi (Kyōto, 2000).

Cube-shaped, white and surrounded by a wonderful forest in the outskirts of Kyōto.

-Photographs: archrecord.construction.com

Casa Camper Berlin, new hotel by Fernando Amat and Jordi Tio.

Camper is a Spanish brand that has always made the best design in footwear.

The company has just opened this new hotel in Berlin, near to the Hackescher Market, and moved their comfortable and aesthetic design into this building.

Designers Rowan and Erwan Bouroullec were asked to make this space called Dos Palillos, that mixes Asian and Spanish food by a former chef from el Bulli.

Home away from home.

-Photographs: casacamper.com

Houses: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa/ SANAA.

-Photographs: used a Samsung Digimax S600.

These are three of the latest buildings by Japanese architect Junichi Sampei, minimal architecture:

On the Cherry Blossom (2009)

When client Takashi Watanabe saw the place, he instantly liked it because of the cherry blossom trees, and decided to buy a plot across the street.

For Junichi Sampei the height above had more potencial, so it would provide his children an excellent view, so he maximized the volume of the second floor to place the main spaces of the house, and minimized the first floor, so it gave to the house a tree-like shape.

Though blossom trees only bloom a few days a year, the house isn't less atractive, it looks like another tree.

Dancing Living House (2008):

This house was designed as a family residence combined with a dance studio. Dancing Living House is located in Yokohama, Japan. The building has a glass corner that brings the sunlight in, and a white minimal styled exterior.

House in Myorenji (2004):

House in Myorenji is also located in Yokohama and designed as a family residence, and built on a wedge-shaped site at a lenght of about 60 feet. It has adopted the structure of the typical Japanese house.

Personally, I like the way the building looks on the second photograph with the lights that go through the windows mixed with the concrete wall.

-Photographs: xain.jp

This is a three meter cube house made by japanese architects Jo Nagasaka and Schemata. Its name is Paco.

"The house has a hammock, desk, sink and shower. It has the minimum equipments to live in spite of all its size. The cube can be used as as self-contained living unit or as an annexe to a house.

The bathroom unit is nothing more than an improvised shower cubicle containing a sunken toilet.

We produced it as a conceptual model to imagine a new life style."

"The conceptual house opens like a jewellery box", says Jo Nagasaka for Mark Magazine.

Photographs: by Takumi Ota, via dazeen.com

Yesterday, when reading some old books, I found "Houses", that presents SANAA's Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa's work in Japanese architecture. So today, I've decided to write a post about these two essential architects for minimal design and architecture.

Both architects have been awarded a lot of times because of their unique designs, they have built for known fashion brands like the Prada and Dior stores in Tokyo, and also private apartaments and offices around the world.

Today I'm talking about two of their most known buildings:

-Flower House (2006):

This is a proyect for a little house in a little european city. It was built with apple trees around it. The client was a family with children, they were looking for a house full of light in a garden. They insisted in having a garden with a house, nor a house with a garden, so they decided to design a house completely transparent with a green garden around it. The house has two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, an office and a gym.

It's great what they have created, with a flower/wave-like shape, you're able to see throughout the house with a deformed or different view.

-Moriyama House (2002-2005):

Moriyama House is located in one of Tokyo's tradicional neighbourhoods, and it is developed in a typical urban structure. The house is divided in more than ten independent apartments, all of them in the same site, and creates connected individual gardens.

Now, some of the buldings are rented and used as a community of little housing that creates an independent landscape and an unique atmosphere.

I like that they're able to mix the tradicional and old japanese buildings with these minimal houses, making the houses feel totally adapted with Tokyo's landscape, and at the same time the way they mix the houses with the nature by using gardens and trees.

I wanted to name at least one of their works in furniture design, so here is the Rabbit Chair. They're really fun chairs, but still keeping the minimal and elegant style of both designers. Also, they remind me to Arne Jacobsen's 3107 Chair, because of their scandinavian style.

Also, I'd like to advertise the Serpentine Pavilion 2009 designed by the SANAA group in London, their first building in the United Kingdom.

Describing their structure, the architects say: ‘The Pavilion is floating aluminium, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings. It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing uninterrupted view across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.’

Now, Ryue and Kazuyo have decided to create a cloud with a reflective material.

I'm planning a visit to the Serpentine Gallery this month, so I'll try to post about it with more info about the building and the exhibitions.

-Photographs: flickr.com, Google Images and serpentinegallery.org

-Interview: serpentinegallery.org