ENABLING SKILLS & RESEARCH PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT 2 BENV1080 2012
Tokyo Apartment Sou Fujimoto
Tokyo, 2010
Vitra House
Herzog & de Meuron Weil Am Rhein, 2010
z3384646 Ying Wai Johnathon, Yip jonathan.yip8@hotmail.com
TABLE OF CONTENT
ENDNOTE IMAGE CREDIT
36 38
INTRODUCTION CONCEPT SPACE STRUCTURE MATERIALITY
VITRA HOUSE INTRODUCTION CONCEPT SPACE MATERIALITY STRUCTURE
COMPARISON SIMILARITY DIFFERENCE
TOKYO APARTMENT
28 32
15 17 19 22 24
3 5 7 9 12
TOKYO
APARTMENT SOU FUJIMOTO ITABASHI-KU, TOKYO 2009
TOKYO APARTMENT
INTRODUCTION Sosuke Fujimoto is one of the highestprofile architects in Japan with his most recent project of a small scale apartment complex completed in 2010. The complex is known as Tokyo Apartment and is built in a residential area of Tokyo. Among many of his previous works that deal with playful manipulation of architectural construction, the apartment aims to offer a strange spatial experience that blurs the boundaries between the interior and exterior1.
OPPOSITE External view of facade PREVIOUS PAGE
OPPOSITE External View of Tokyo Apartment
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TOKYO APARTMENT
CONCEPT Fujimoto had spent most of his college years in the densely populated city of Tokyo which contrasted with his Hokkaido upbringing. The unclear separation between nature and man-made in Tokyo has lead Fujimoto to enjoy the novel sensation of being unable to differentiate among the interior and exterior. In addition, architectures in Tokyo contrasted with the architecture in Hokkaido characterized for distinguishable spaces between the inside tranquillity and the outside wilderness.2 As a result, the Tokyo Apartment project had stemmed from his idea to produce housing that could represent the metropolis of Tokyo in the way he experienced it.
ABOVE Miniature model of Tokyo Apartment
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TOKYO APARTMENT
OPPOSITE Interior room
SPACE Representing precise geometries being amassed in a ‘dynamic reconstruction of architectural ensemble3,’ the building generates diverse spatial conditions from within. The overlaying of multiple interconnected units offer changing views as one travels to the summit of the building. The transition from the internal spaces to the external staircases is an indication of Fujimoto’s approach to experimental process of reconstruction.
LEFT & RIGHT Nocturnal and diurnal view
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TOKYO APARTMENT
“Collective agglomeration of Architecture equates to giving form to formless things” 4 Sou Fujimoto
STRUCTURE Fujimoto’s approach torwards the structure was taking the classic western form of a house and combining it several times to create a one basement and threestoreyed apartment. Consisting of five dwelling units with 13 pitched-roof house forms stacked in a spiral5, the building is seemingly intriguing and intertwining as a whole that attempts to imitate the cityscape of Tokyo. Its disconnectedness is especially noticeable when contrasted so strikingly with the traditional nature of the surrounding context. The use of external stairs and the disordered placement of the units are to recall Fujimoto’s perceived notion of ‘unsystematic qualities of nature’.6 The form of the building is not only a scaled-down, three dimensional version of Tokyo’s structure but also a symbol of it.
OPPOSITE Detailed Section of Tokyo Apartment 1: 200
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TOKYO APARTMENT
OPPOSITE External view of facade
MATERIALITY The material used for Tokyo Apartment is timber frame construction and partly reinforced concrete.7
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HERZOG & DE MEURON
VITRA
HOUSE
WEIL AM RHEIN GERMANY 2010
VITRA HOUSE
INTRODUCTION The VitraHaus also known as the Vitra House is designed by Basel-based architects Herzog & de Meuron and completed within the Vitra Campus of Weil am Rhein, Germany in 2010. The Vitra Campus, well known for its diverse ensemble of contemporary architecture, accommodates many of the world’s greatest buildings designed by the most influential architects in the world and amongst those architectures situates the Vitra House. The Vitra House, representing with immediacy the design culture of German companies, serve as both an indoor showroom and museum to publicly exhibit local innovations and collections of various types of furniture for homes and residential.8 Although it is located on the edge of the Vitra Campus and almost detached from the other famous works, it is placed in a visually expressive relationship with Gehry’s Design Museum that projects toward the road to be viewed as a lively architectural “Jenga.”9 Their project with striking appearance not only adds diversity to the encompassing set of existing landmark buildings but also marks as an icon for the entrance to the Vitra Campus.
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OPPOSITE Glazed windows
VITRA HOUSE
OPPOSITE The architecture is seen as a massive toy-like building blocks PREVIOUS PAGE External view of Vitra House
CONCEPT The concept of Herzog & de Meuron’sVitra House was to create a structure that brings connection “between the figurative and the abstract.”10 Their response to this concept was straightforward in which they incorporated two interesting themes consisting of a typical house shaped design and stacked volumes. The Vitra House is constructed through the process of superimposing and interlocking twelve ‘bars,’ whose profile represents the iconic Northern European house. Not only does the fifteen meter high building appear to be a large toy of stacked blocks, it resembles an oversized end product of a typical industrial process of extrusion. It is apparent that the design is a balancing act between three dimensional orientation and superimposition.
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VITRA HOUSE
“The staircases are integrated in an unrestrained twirling organic volume that symbolically unfolds itself throughout the various levels of the building in a worm-like manner” 11 Herzog & de Meuron
SPACE The Vitra House successfully fulfils two requirements, on one hand displaying and selling products of the company and on the other hand communicating its identity in an immediately recognizable way. The enticing spaces within this showroom are organized in a sequence from top to bottom that follows the technique of “commercial persuasion.”12 In other words, each space is determined by the architects’ creative articulation of the rooms and by the care taken over every detail of the Vitra furniture to harmoniously resonate with the interior space. Hence these spaces form a sensual and playful architectural experience throughout the building, especially at the points of “collision.”13 The overall design celebrates the architects’ skilful manipulation of solid and voided spaces at intersections that differs from what the exterior would suggest to viewers.
OPPOSITE Revealing the internal junctions, the interior includes surprising transition between levels.
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VITRA HOUSE
OPPOSITE Glazed windows displaying the domestic setting within
MATERIALITY The building consists of materials such as white paint, concrete, untreated oak floors and charcoal stucco skin. The external building’s visible surface is coated with a charcoal colour stucco that unifies the structure and merges with the surrounding landscape.14 It is evident that Herzog & de Meuron have avoided distracting surfaces for the interior so that it is left with the objects and furnishings themselves to set the mood and invite the viewers. On the other hand, acting as a display feature that sharply reveals the domestic atmosphere inside, the glass ends of the tubes transform the furniture into its vulnerable and fragile state whilst enhancing the feeling of security and protection. The wooden decking on the outside and the hard floors on the inside is an indication that the architects have explored the idea of reversal in material for internal and external spaces. Similarly, they have created a sense of enclosure and exposure through neutral colour and light wooden flooring. Their engagement with minimal expression through materiality is a characteristic that can be seen and admired in this building.
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VITRA HOUSE
PREVIOUS PAGE An outdoor courtyard located at the heart of the building
STRUCTURE The structure of the building is an interesting composition of extruded long bars with glazed windows alongside that create a tension between the familiar and the irregular. The bars are seemingly stacked on top of one another at random that cuts each other yet simultaneously fusing at their junctions. As a result, the five-storey high stacking leads to a series of intriguing spaces with framings of the sky, the view and of glimpses into the inner life of the building. At the building’s innermost centre locates an asymmetrical outdoor court, darkened by the compiling of competing beams from above and around, that directs toward the main luminous glass entrance. The structural agglomeration intends to seduce, entice, charm and advertise the Vitra furniture in a lively manner rather than to offer a place that directly sells the products.15
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COMPARISON
COMPARISON
SIMILARITY
Reversed Perspective The Vitra House and Tokyo Apartment both share a common external appeal with a disturbingly similar agglomeration approach despite the difference in location and functionality. Their similarity is most evident at night in which both structures offer glimpses into the building’s interior life. An interesting element that both architects have applied is the reversed perspective.16 By day, one can gaze outward as the outdoor view is subliminally captured through glazed framings and by night fall the illuminated interior allows uninterrupted views from the exterior to the interior.
LEFT Night view of Vitra House RIGHT Night view of Tokyo Apartment PREVIOUS PAGE Small scale models of Vitra House and Tokyo Apartment
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COMPARISON
SIMILARITY
RIGHT (Clockwise) Second floor, First Floor, Third Floor. Tokyo Apartment LEFT (Top, Bottom) Stairway and Showroom of Vitra House
INTERNAL SPACE In comparison, the two piled buildings are almost alike in terms of internal and external appearance, especially in the way how the architects have established a tranquil atmosphere for the buildings’ interior. Giving priority to the displays and serving as a neutral backdrop in both buildings, the white internal walls and untreated oak floors allow the furniture themselves to orchestrate the overall mood around the building rather than through decorative wall patterning that might otherwise distract the structural composition. With views toward the landscape, it is evident that each ‘unit’ for both buildings have been specifically orientated to not only draw the best outdoor views inside but also to have changing views as one travels through the building.
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COMPARISON
DIFFERENCE
0m
5m
LEFT Long Section of Vitra House 1 : 500 RIGHT Section of Tokyo Apartment 1 : 100
10m
1 : 500 0m
5m
1 : 100
LABYRINTH OF SPACES When viewed from the outside, the Vitra House is seen as an accumulation of elongated bars that seeks refuge on top of one another. However, the interior narrates a story that differs from what the exterior would suggest. Unlike the Tokyo Apartment where the internal spaces are designed to offer residence a sense of privacy and confinement, the interior of Vitra House is an interplay of enclosure and exposure arranged in a labyrinth of spaces with surprising transitions. Thus, it is left with the viewer’s own curiosity and interest that dictates the course of travel through the networking rooms of the building. Likewise, the building celebrates the complex configuration in spaces, where the outside and inside merges as a whole.
SPATIAL EXPERIENCE Although the stacking arrangement is identical in appearance to the Vitra House, the interior space of Tokyo Apartment, has a rather dissimilar interior space in comparison. Fujimoto has sought to create a ‘condition for an unusual spatial experience.’ 17 In other words, the interior tries to evoke a sense of ‘ascending’ 18 a small scale city-like building yet giving the sensation of living ‘on the summit of a mountain’ 19 as one reaches the top. In addition, each unit are placed in a spiral manner on top of one another rather than intersecting each other. It is observable that Fujimoto has enganged in dynamic structural composition to produce both “harmonious and incongruous spaces.”20
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COMPARISON
DIFFERENCE COLOUR The most obvious difference is the choice of colour for the external facade of the two buildings. Herzog & de Meuron’s selection of charcoal coloured skin is to achieve a look that is both “uncanny and familiar.”21Their intended purpose was to avoid common or recognizable material such as wooden cladding or raw concrete. On the other hand, a neutral colour is applied to both the interior and exterior of Tokyo Apartment to reveal the amassed geometrics.
STAIRS The creative attitude in designing the staircases has been a defining element for each of the buildings. Both architects have avoided the typical staircases and instead interpreted them as an aesthetic feature to coordinate with the animated objects in the case of Vitra House and to serve as a metaphor of ‘climbing up a mountain’ as with the case of Tokyo Apartment.22 Highlighting Herzog & de Meuron’s style, the interior of Vitra House has an organic approach that differs from Fujimoto’s use of geometric display for Tokyo Apartment.
TOP (Left) Vitra House (Right) Tokyo Apartment BOTTOM (Left) Staircase leading to upper floor, Vitra House (Right) Ladder leading to the thrid floor, Tokyo Apartment
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ENDNOTES
Page
Number
Reference
3
1
Mikio Kuranishiu, “Tokyo Apartment: A micro-city of stacked houses imitates Tokyo. Precise geometries amassed in a dynamic dismantling and reconstruction of the architectural ensemble,” Domus no. 939 (2010): 41.
5
2
Ibid.
7
3
Ibid.
9
4
Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto, Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.87 (2010): 94.
9
5
Tim Abrahams, “Through Vitra’s new flagship showroom by Herzog and de Meuron plays on the tension between the familiar and the uncanny, the VitraHaus’ Stack construction has a profound tradition beyond its form,” Blueprint (2010): 27.
9
6
Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto, Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.87 (2010): 94.
12
7
Ibid.
15
8
Herzog & de Meuron, “Herzog & de Meuron: VitraHaus, Weil am Rhein, 2006 - 10,” Lotus International no. 146 (2011): 89.
15
9
Tom Dyckoff, “Weil Am Rhein, Germany - Herzog & de Meuron, Plays architectural jenga with its VitraHaus,” The Architectural Review 227 no.1358 (2010): 18.
17
10
Tim Abrahams, “Through Vitra’s new flagship showroom by Herzog and de Meuron plays on the tension between the familiar and the uncanny, the VitraHaus’ Stack construction has a profound tradition beyond its form,” Blueprint no. 290 (2010): 27.
19
11
Marcia Argyriades, “VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron,” Architecture (2010): 23, accessed May 20, 2012, http://www.yatzer.com/2139_vitrahaus_by_herzog_+_de_meuron
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ENDNOTES
Page
Position
Reference
19
12
Herzog & de Meuron, “Herzog & de Meuron: VitraHaus, Weil am Rhein, 2006 - 10,” Lotus International (2011): 89. Ibid.
19
13
22
14
“Architects Concept,” Vitra, accessed May 17, 2012, http://www.vitra.com/en-gb/campus/vitrahaus/architects-concept/ Rowan Moore, “VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron, Weil Am Rhein, Germany,” Ther Architectural Review 227 no.1358 (2010): 45.
24
15 Marcia Argyriades, “VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron,” Architecture (2010): 23, accessed May 20, 2012, http://www.yatzer.com/2139_vitrahaus_by_herzog_+_de_meuron
28
16 Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto, Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.87 (2010): 94.
32
17
Ibid.
32
18
Ibid.
32
19
Ibid.
32
20
Tim Abrahams, “Through Vitra’s new flagship showroom by Herzog and de Meuron plays on the tension between the familiar and the uncanny, the VitraHaus’ Stack construction has a profound tradition beyond its form,” Blueprint no. 290 (2010): 27.
34
21
Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto, Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.87 (2010): 94.
34
22
Ibid.
38
IMAGE CREDITS
Page
Reference
Front Cover (Top)
Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto: Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.78 (2010): 98.
Front Cover (Bottom)
“Inside Herzog and de Meuron’s VitraHaus, a real look inside an architectural classic,” WeHeart, last modified April 8, 2010, accessed May 16,2012, http://www.weheart.co.uk/2010/04/08/inside-herzog-de-meurons-vitrahaus/.
Content Page
“VitraHaus3,” Jean, accessed May 17, 2012, http://www.flickr.com/photos/extonton/5204728798/.
1
“Sou Fujimoto Architects: Tokyo Apartment” Domus, las modified October 12, 2010, accessed May 21, 2012, http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/sou-fujimoto-architects-tokyo-apartment/.
2
Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto: Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.78 (2010): 97.
4
“Tokyo Apartment,” Flickr, Arhinie, last modified May 17, 2010, accessed May 23, 2012, http://www.flickr.com/photos/kegypt/7215151948/.
6
Sou Fujimoto, “Sou Fujimoto: Tokyo Apartment,” Japan Architect no.78 (2010): 98.
8
“Sou Fujimoto Architects: Tokyo Apartment” Domus, las modified October 12, 2010, accessed May 20, 2012, http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/sou-fujimoto-architects-tokyo-apartment/.
10
“Tokyo Apartment by Sou Fujimoto,” Dezeen Magazine, last modified October 5, 2010, accessed May 13, 2012, http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/05/tokyo-apartment-by-sou-fujimoto-architects/.
11
“Sou Fujimoto Architects: Tokyo Apartment” Domus, las modified October 12, 2010, accessed May 21, 2012, http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/sou-fujimoto-architects-tokyo-apartment/.
13
“Vitra-Haus,” A.S. Hamann Photos, Last modified June 9, 2010, accessed May 14, 2012, http://ashamannphotos.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/vitra-haus.html#!/2010/06/vitra-haus.html.
14
“Herzog & de Meuron VitraHaus Model,” Flickr, Pindshav2009, last modified March 11, 2008, accessed May 12, 2012, http://www.flickr.com/photos/pindershavanna/3691262080/
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IMAGE CREDITS
Page
Reference
16
“VitraHaus, by Herzog & de Meuron - Vitra Campus,” Flickr, Erblin Bucaliu, last modified March 20, 2010, accessed May 13, 2012, http://www.flickr.com/photos/erblin-bucaliu/5738614438/.
18
“Porta Volta Fondazione Feltrinelli by Herzog & de Meuron,” Herzog & de Meuron Projects, accessed May 15, 2012, http://herzog-de-meuron.mr926.me/page/2/.
20
Ibid.
21
“Vitra Haus by Herzog & de Meuron.” IdesignArch, last modified March 21, 2010, accessed May 22, 2012, http://www.idesignarch.com/vitra-haus-by-herzog-de-meuron/.
23
“The VitraHaus (2007-2010),” Architecture Framed, last modified November 5, 2010, accessed May10, 2012, http://architectureframed.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/vitrahaus-2007-2010.html.
25
“VitraHaus3,” Jean, accessed May 17, 2012, http://www.flickr.com/photos/extonton/5204728798/.
26
“VitraHaus 2010,” accessed May 17, 2012, http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/sou_fujimoto.html.
27
“Vitra Haus by Herzog & de Meuron.” IdesignArch, last modified March 21, 2010, accessed May 22, 2012, http://www.idesignarch.com/vitra-haus-by-herzog-de-meuron/.
28
“Tokyo Apartment by Sou Fujimoto,” Today Tomorrow, Scott Jarret, last modified September 23, 2010, accessed May 22, 2012, http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/2010/09/23/tokyo-apartment-by-sou-fujimoto/.
30
Ibid. “Vitra Haus by Herzog & de Meuron.” IdesignArch, last modified March 21, 2010, accessed May 22, 2012, http://www.idesignarch.com/vitra-haus-by-herzog-de-meuron/. “Tokyo Apartment by Sou Fujimoto,” BVS, last modified June 24, 2012, accessed May 19, 2012, http://www.blueverticalstudio.com/?p=2537.
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IMAGE CREDITS
Page
Reference
31
“VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein, Germany,” last modified March 22, 2010, accessed May 19, 2012, http://arqa.com/index.php/en/architecture/vitrahaus-in-weil-am-rhein-germany.html.
32
“Tokyo Apartment by Sou Fujimoto,” Dezeen Magazine, last modified October 5, 2010, accessed May 13, 2012, http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/05/tokyo-apartment-by-sou-fujimoto-architects/
34
“VitraHaus,” Flickr, last modified June 19, 2010, accessed May 23, 2012 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcmng/4749206385/. “Tokyo Apartment by Sou Fujimoto,” Dezeen Magazine, last modified October 5, 2010, accessed May 13, 2012, http://www.dezeen.com/2010/10/05/tokyo-apartment-by-sou-fujimoto-architects/. “Vitra Haus by Herzog & de Meuron.” IdesignArch, last modified March 21, 2010, accessed May 22, 2012, http://www.idesignarch.com/vitra-haus-by-herzog-de-meuron/.
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