House H, Tokyo by Sou Fujimoto Architects
House H is the latest project by Sou Fujimoto Architects in Tokyo.
Fujimoto seized the opportunity to extend his research into the potential of primitive forms to create complex responses to contemporary needs. It’s new experiment was to find a balance between volumes, spaces and light.
Dealing innovatively with Japan’s strict plot ratio regulations, Fujimoto has avoided the conventions of creating a courtyard or of setting a house as an isolated object within the site boundary. Instead it is a hybrid; a series of boxes in boxes that define domestic realm, enclosure and interior.
I ♥ Yu, Naoshima Bathhouse by Shinro Ohtake
The Naoshima Bath house was opened on July 26, 2009 under the name of “I♥湯 (I love you).” Conceived by the artist Shinro Ohtake, this charming name softens the hearts of the customers before using the bathroom.
The project is particularly interesting because it blurs the distinction between art and practical daily life (the bathhouse can be used by locals, who pay just 300 yen rather than the standard 500 yen entrance fee to use it), between private corporations and public works, and between inside and outside.
The bottoms of the baths are lined with stones and collages of found images and shunga erotic prints that come in and out of view with the movement of the water.
Great (Bamboo) Wall by Kengo Kuma & Associates
The Great (Bamboo) Wall House is a handsome and successful exploration of the possibilities that lie ahead for new forms of dwellings on the Chinese mainland. Kengo Kuma chose to leave the original geographical features intact and use locally produced materials as much as possible.
Departing from the 20th century suburban practice of building on flattened land and instead celebrating the site’s “intricate undulation,” the architect decided to build a different kind of wall. This main feature, made of bamboo, serves as a filter for the surroundings. In sharp contrast to the Great Wall’s brick and stone, a material manifestation of severing ties with outside civilizations, bamboo’s charm lies in its weakness. Exploiting this aspect, the wall allows light and wind to pass through. Historically imported to Japan from China, bamboo is also a symbol of cultural exchange, and perfectly suits the work of a Japanese architect in China.
“House 01,” Nagoya by Suppose Design Office
Japanese architects Suppose Design Office have completed a residence in Nagoya, Japan.
Here, these three spaces which are normally separated,break the unseen barriers and integrate with each other. With flowers displayed in the gallery, they become art.
With art in the flower shop, it becomes closer to life. With the living quarters blending with the shop space, the time it takes to arrange flowers becomes richer. With the display space in the art gallery crossing an invisible border line, we even wanted to cross the borders that define ‘home’.
In an effort to blend the first floor art gallery and flower shop with the walkway leading to the school, we created an open space incorporating the walkway as part of the building’s exterior.
Utilizing the height of the ceilings of the first floor,we have framed the walkway to the school yard and procured the views of the cherry blossoms, tender spring leaves, and the autumn foliage. It is almost as though the school yard is an extended part of the flower shop.
Japanese Tree House, Naha Harbor Diner, Okinawa
Naha Harbor Diner sits perfectly on top of a massive Gajumaru, Japan, tree’s huge branches about 20 ft above the ground and looking out over the ocean.
The restaurant which is accessible by both a spiral stairway and an inbuilt tree trunk elevator specializes in locally grown and organically harvested foods brought straightaway from the farms. It dishes out fresh vegetables, juicy chickens and pork and native salts thereby cutting down the expenses of shipping and packaging along with a reduction in carbon and plastic wastes.
“Garden and Sea House” by Takao Siotsukah Atelier
Takao Shiotsuka Atelier in Japan is a 237 sq m two-floors white building with a shape that spreads gently towards the sea.
Windows are oriented to take full advantage of landscape. The architects planned different views for the levels; the first floor that enjoys the yard and the second that offers a view the sea.
House N by Sou Fujimoto Architects
This minimalist residence in Oita Japan by Sou Fujimoto Architects is composed of a smaller residence-scaled volume encased in a larger, more urban scale volume.
The larger volume is subtracted asymmetrically, creating a range of experiential moments in the interstitial space around the enclosed dwelling. These subtractions also create a variety of experiences in the more controlled, glassed in volume.
Louis Vuitton Store in Tokyo
This impressive and futuristic building designed by dutch architects UNStudio will soon become the new flagship store for Louis Vuitton in Japan. There will be 10 floors in this 54 meter tall building which aims at establishing an architectural equivalent of the identity of Louis Vuitton. Blending classical and modern conception, it will inspire the qualities that make up the essence of the Louis Vuitton and its products.
Guerilla Gardening In Tokyo
Here are some great photos of guerilla gardening in Tokyo. Kikrainet says:
Look at the girl in the picture, she is planting some tomatoes in little corner between two roads in the middle of Tokyo. Isn’t it amazing? She cares about that little place of land lost in Tokyo’s immensity, and what is more amazing is that she doesn’t seem worried about people or dogs destroying her tomatoes and her lavender.
As industries and landscape continue to expand, I’m sure this will soon become a necessity, not only in Japan, but all over the industrialized world. Let’s hope that the vehicle fumes, asbestos from brakes, and stray lubricant don’t give the tomatoes a bad taste.
Cube Style By Dinos, Japan
Cube Style created by Dinos, Japan is a cube that changes into a dining space. If you don’t have a dining room, this might be small enough to afford us a dedicated dining space with the option to minimize its footprint when not in use.
Link Via [Apartment Therapy]
Bonsai Gear Clock
The Bonsai Gear Clock is a cool new bonsai-shaped clock coming from — you expected it — Japan. The green of the bonsai is gone, only to be replaced by the coldness and the coolness of a clockwork mechanism. But don’t get fooled: the parts are made of plastic, not of metal. Like many cool things, this little time-tree is only available in Japan (9,975 Yens).
Sakura House, Meguro, Tokyo by Mount Fuji Architects
What came to my mind were the two classic ‘Glass Houses’ by Mies and Philip Johnson. The sense of freedom and openness that makes us want to walk naked inside these houses surely owes to the transparency of the glass itself, but it is the fact that the buildings are surrounded by a pleasant environment ‘the forest’ that counts the most.
Since ‘the forest’ itself already provides a comfortable living environment, it is left for the architecture to separate internal to external atmospheres with thin, transparent membranes.They demonstrate that as long as there is an environment suitable for living, a ‘house’ is no more necessary.
