tom kundig
studio house: hearth and kitchen
Tom Kundig’s studio house is an exploratory combination of an artist’ studio and home. The work reconnoiters the memories of a past and the potential of the present. Kundig plays with light and materials in a unified move where the details are the essential connection of the place, creating his own work of art. The work is focused around an old preexisting wall that sits at a different axis from the rest of the house emphasizing the transition between the old and the new. One of the crucial components of the house is the openness and play of lighting conditions that surround the hearth of the home. “The hearth of the house is a large rectangular volume with a gently vaulted roof, containing the kitchen, living areas, and dining area, all of which can be rearranged and converted into a workspace or photography studio. The large west-facing glass wall flooding the space with natural light can also be covered up with curtains for studio photo shoots.”14 Many of the pieces in the house were costumed made and designed by Kundig himself with the collaboration of other contractors and master craftsmen. The kitchen counter was one of these pieces. The counter is highly operable and multi-functional, there is a uniqueness to the detail of construction and use. As the heavy concrete doors open they have the ability to transform an open space creating a culinary moment where the counter is more than a place for food
Fig: 43. Dining table
preparation. The combination of rawness and refinement seen in the kitchen island is a Chinese puzzle of crafted details, there are at least half a dozen parts and
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14. (Ngo, 2006, p. 9) 15. (Ngo, 2006, p. 50) 16. (Ngo, 2006, p. 9)