PET ARCHITECTURE: Asahi Kasei’s Plus-Nyan house

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Japanese always regard cats as their children and a leading house builder in Japan, Asahi Kasei has successfully designed the Plus-Nyan House -A house for both the cats and the owner.

The designer research about cat behaviour and the relationship between the cat and the owner, of course included the client requirements.

When you read this design, follow the alphabet in the floor plan to look at different features so sensitively designed specially for the cats. Materials also become one of the consideration in this design. If you see it carefully, you might observe that there are different level of space quality provided.

A: cat doors in every door

F: different level of playstation

F

F: Climbing steps

F: open air cat walks
G: special fencing to prevent cats from getting awayL: cat compartment toilet/ imagine the situation when the owner and the cat go to toilet at the same time!!

C: special fencing to prevent cats from getting away
I: cat Tunnel / it sound like a personal space

Info and images from link below:

read more here: http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/hebel/product/plus/cat-b.html

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/pets-dogs-cats-snakes-etc/asahi-kaseis-plusnyan-the-most-feline-friendly-house-065928

http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/hebel/product/plus/cat-b.html

Ecomondo by Riccardo Giovanetti

Friday, November 28, 2008

sketches showing the initial idea

Ecomondo is an installation project of seven giant towers made with recycle plastic tiles to create a mysterious and dynamic space.

Different tower will be different installation theme.

Another project by the same designer: Plasticamente Pavilion

Riccardo website

I always interested in architecture installation project with different themes and functions, very crazy and innovative ideas.

Mandala

Recently reading on a book name The temple: Meeting place of Heaven and Earth and come across with the word : MANDALA

Does anyone got any idea of MANDALA and how it is connected with architecture? I remember once Prof Widodo from NUS spoken to us regarding Mandala and Grave when i am in 2nd year. However, frankly speaking I don't understand what it is that time (and until now).

So, kindly leave your comments here.

Introduce Materia website again

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

This is a website where you can look for new innovative materials online

visit here : http://materia.nl/

"a foot in the door" KH Exhibition by Quekraft Architect

the foot in the door: a temporary installation in the vienna kunsthaus (house of art) . our rotating door filled with centrifugal force
car wash brushes: two carwash brushes are fixed to a scaffold post and are activated by an artificial eye on the floor invitation:on stepping up to the door , it stops. an invitation to step throughreaction : by hopping over the artificial eye, the door begins "dancing"

children :this foot-in-the-door-situation was an interpretation based on children's ideas

project data
start of planning:2000
completion: 2000
client:kurator jan tabor

location:A-1010 wien
street:künstlerhaus, karlsplatz 5
construction:ready made
most important materials: waschstrassenbürsten, lichtschranken, st
consultants

Info and images from Querkraft Architect

Refraction House by Amorphe architects

Monday, November 24, 2008

Refraction House
Completion : 12.2000
Site : Aichi, JAPAN
Building type : House
Structural system : Reinforced concrete
Total floor area : 130.80 square meters
Publications : domus 835,DETAIL7,cree300,Diseno Interior117,DETAIL JAPAN,THE PHAIDON ATLAS OF CONTEMPORARY WORLD ARCHITECTURE 2004
Prize : Anjo-city MACHIZUKURI Architectural Prize
This is a house for a man living alone. He once was a designer and now is an owner/chef of a restaurant. This house is planned to be turned into a gallery in the future.

In an ordinary residential district outside Nagoya City, this house appears to be dancing, or perhaps laughing; the main volume contracts and expands, its zinc skin deformed by an irrepressible internal energy.

The profile of the street facade is a slice through this volume, a sheet of rusting steel that is both threshold and mask for the entirely white space within.

This distorted box/gallery building is compositionally balanced by a small rectangular concrete tower at the rear of the site, and linked another only by exterior balconies. The tower contains a tiny Japanese-style guest room at ground level and the house bathroom facilities above.

All info and images from Amorphe Architects

Taiwan Architect

introduce Taiwan Architect

AT semester 4 design presentation

AT semester 4 design (lecturer: Peggy Wong) presentation was held on last Saturday afternoon. Invited guests are Ar Mike Boon, Hendrick Lau, Jimmy Tan, Elin Chong, Tay Sze Yong and Sheounz Leong.
Their task is to revive the Kuching historical precinct covering from the Vegetable market till the Ban Hock Whraf (refer to Studioless blog). It is their first time touching on urban studies, conservation,adaptive reuse, riverfront design,landscape design and inserting different program briefs into the 7 heritage buildings.

The students produce good site models covering the indicated area and also presentation boards.

for more info of the project, refer to studioless blog.

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. (PEL)

Friday, November 21, 2008

Yellow Tree House is designed by Pacific Environment Architects Ltd and the tree house concept is based on reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination.

"The tree-house concept is . It’s inspired through many forms found in nature -the chrysalis/cocoon protecting the emerging butterfly/moth, perhaps an onion/garlic clove form hung out to dry. It is also seen as a lantern, a beacon at night that simply glows yet during the day it might be a semi camouflaged growth, or a tree fort that provides an outlook and that offers refuge.The plan form also has loose similarities to a sea shell with the open ends spiralling to the centre . " (text from PEL)

It sits almost 10m wide and over 12m high, with the split-level floor sitting 10m off the ground.

Others info and elaboration of the project:

PEL
YEllow Tree House

Design and Theory 152 Final Design Presentation

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Architecture Technology Diploma Students in LICT semester 2 have just finished their presentation yesterday. I managed to capture some of their models pictures and post it here. Their projects title is Materialise where they have to insert a site and a suitable function into their prototype models. Some of their final models:

Chong Ken Chung-Overlap Lattice (playground)
Kueh Yew Chiew-Irregular (gallery)
Yap Chin Ho- Enigma (Tea House)

Wong Seng Ming- Crux (park)

Stanley Sim-uncentralized nerve (gallery of plants)
Connie-Well groomed sequence (sculpture park)

Augustine Yung-Homogeneous (park at icewaterfall)

Joyce -Consolidation (club house)
Lee Joon Kien-Relative Direction (gallery)

Jong Si Hong-Magnetic Force (urban park)

Eddy-Beyondthe Abyss ( park at urban dessert)

AT2, good effort in your model, but not in your boards. Do more research online to see the composition of architecture professional boards. Thanks for your continous and consistant hardworks, sharpen your skills during the holidays and always remember to keep your passion thoroughout. Hope you all learn something in this semester.

Welcome any comments here.:)