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Q4:  What sort of ‘lifestyle’ is the world obsessed with today? Show an example of a project          that best showcases your point.

I would judge that the world is obsessed with simple and frugal lifestyle, specifically the professionals or even working community in the every city throughout the world. Frugal means when you are free and do not simply have chance to spend money, exactly opposing to those people who live in lavish lifestyle. There are one retreat house project that can showcase my point of view.

  • Architects

    John DeSalvo Design

  • Location

    Michigan City, Indiana, USA

  • Architect

    John DeSalvo Design (JDD)

  • Interior Designer

     John DeSalvo Design, Chicago, IL.

  • Landscape Architect

    Dune Landscape, Portage IN.

  • General Contractor

    Patrick Poland, HP Construction Westville, IN

  • Area

    1400.0 ft2

  • Project Year

    2010

  • Photographs

    David Robert Elliot

The architect has designed a compact beach house for a Chicago based robotic gynecological surgeon. The Dr. and I share the same intention to have a retreat away from her hectic city practice where she only wants to do simple gardening and relax as well as entertaining friends. She desire to house her contemporary art sculptures and mid century furniture collection in her retreat house.

The house in the end has turned out in a rectangular volume that maximizes the interior space by extending building footprint up to required setbacks and height allowances. Wood frame and open joist construction is 16 feet wide, 48 feet long and 23 feet high volume with an additional block at the back for bathrooms, laundry and storage. Retaining walls at the top, side and bottom of the site setbacks are first constructed to create a level buildable area. The house was levelled up 14 feet above existing street and as well protected from north with slope. There is one interesting part of house was designed with a double height volume cutting through the second floor, creating a gathering center point for the occupants and visually increases the volumetric space of the house.

Not only considering volumetric of the house with limited space given, the architect wanted to reinforce the transparency and openness of the interior space. The interior and exterior stairs translucent bent plate form sits on a center rectangular tube beam and offers a slip resistant treads. Stainless steel cable balustrade and exposed fastener steel railing supports the stair design completely both inside and out.

 

Kitchen wise was considered with linearity. The base cabinet was designed for the owner around standard appliances. The refrigerator tower houses a counter depth unit that was purchased without front panels so bamboo veneered face panels could be incorporated for a integrated look. Upper cabinets with high cost effectiveness were purchased from Ikea and were glued assembled by the cabinet maker. LED strip lights enhanced ambient illumination to the interior space and create a sculptural effect to objects within. To the architect, a good design is not a matter of cost but of thought.

Building orientation considers sustainable design aspects by placing short elevations to south and north. Less window openings on the south and north can avoid access heat gain. 15 feet tall native grasses were planted around the home to offer shade and stabilize the landscape. Double volume of interior naturally cools the home that acts as a machine like chimney which draws air up and out. The triangular custom fabricated panels made from Mermet exterior mesh shade material are pulled in tension with sail fittings, fastened to steel posts securing to the parapet walls on the roof part.

Exterior of the house is applied with metal roofing material for cooling and high durability. Extreme weather in the Northwest Indiana where can go up to 100F in summer. The vertical standing seamed material has both a heat reflective quality, rust resistant and a raw aesthetic very much relate to part of local vernacular. Going green by using local craftsmen and products so there were not a lot of embodied energy for production or shipping. The idea of utilizing the entire tree for reclaimed and recycled lumber for interior furniture and decking, short board floor planking were much to be appreciated.

Overall, the entire space is contiguous full of light and air. Other than master bedroom loft which is separated by a movable four panel frosted glass partition, the entrie large living volume is a wonderful design to live with comfort lifestyle that most probably city people will obsessed with. I can strongly feel that the couple will definitely put down all their stress and anxiety away by living in such a retreat place. It is so wonderful and peaceful. Every part of the building seem so harmony to you.

ho xin yun  1001541096

ho xin yun  1001541096

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What is the impact of branding and celebrity status to design thought?

Architects are rarely known or understand by people who doesn't study architecture or interested in buildings. But branding of architecture or be an architecture celebrity like Bjarke Ingels, brings out the shallow idea of how architects design and basic understanding of buildings to people. Creating presentation in a way that allow normal people to understand directly, or literal design of buildings. For example the Arlanda hotel project, he literally took the face of prince and princess as the facade of the building. To me, he perceive architecture as lego or minecraft, most of his building are like blocks combined into creative forms. Presenting and design the way normal people easily get the idea and understanding of his intention, creative but literal idea of design.. These are the pros he has achieved in his style of architecture.

Back to the understanding of architecture design, architects are trained to design by deep thought of problem solving. Forms follow function by Louis Sullivan, architects should design according to the issue of the site, carefully understanding the culture of the site. The outcome of the form will definitely blend and belong to the site if we carefully design through understanding the site. The act branding design even lower or shallow the thought of architecture student by following the style of creating forms or only consider of normal technicality issue, or even by convert existing nature form into buildings form. Because architecture is also part of art, so most of the people hardly understand the design intention of certain architect without the detail explanation. A lot of architects are also using Bjarke's style to present their work and design, because they could get recognition for more projects and creating iconic buildings. Zaha hadid, Daniel Libeskind, or Norman Foster may be architects that create iconic architecture, but they still express them with some art sense. Example the abstract drawing of Zaha and Daniel So branding and celebrity status also lower the art sense of architecture.

So the impact could be good or bad, just like design is something very subjective. Some people may like this design some may not. In some case Bjarke may be destroying the art sense of architecture, but in another hand he could be creating a new market of architecture to the world, and the final example of presenting method of the branding style and abstract kind of style.

TAN YEONG EN

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How have we changed in designing to please God? Compare current religious buildings to past building.

 

I found this question a little bit too subjective.  Based on my study and opinion, I think that the changed in designing which never changed the function or anything of the building, is just to present an iconic and special to the society and the architecture world.

 

I would like to present my case study about the comparison with two current and past religious building.

 

The past building that I found interesting is Monreale Cathedral, Italy. Monreale Cathedral is a Norman architecture style. The sense of scared in the building during the period of time is very strong. The people have a lot of faith in God. Therefore, there are many sort of God ornament inside the church, example the mosaic in apse. During the century, people were strongly believed that with the application of God can please the God in order to pray for a good thing or good lifestyle.

 

The building also supported by 9 monolithic columns on each side. During the period of time, people crave a lot of different kind of ornament on the columns to represent the faith they have to God and also to please their God. Based on my opinion, I believe that every of the ornament have their own stories.

 

The most interesting part is the exterior and façade of the building. In the picture, we can obviously notice that there are no any window applies which natural sunlight and ventilation couldn’t go in easily.

 

For the current religious building that I want to show is Church of Light by Tadao Tndo, Japan.

 

The concept of this church is the framework between nature and architecture through the way in which light can define and create new spatial perceptions equally, if not more so, as that of his concrete structures.  The design of the building is simple, and there are no any ornament applies in this building. Which believe that good architecture, every tiny piece of detail is suffused with God, the beauty of what may be seen in such a place also a please to God.

 

“In all my works, light is an important controlling factor.”

 

Ando’s decision to place the cross on the east façade allows for light to pour into the space throughout the early morning and into the day, which has a dematerializing effect on the interior concrete walls transforming the dark volume into an illuminated box. Which believe that it is one of the factors to please the god by showing good relationship with the nature.

 

Conclusion, form the past until now, the changed of design truly showed a lot of differences; however the aim and objective is still the same, to please the God.

 

“­Successful architecture ultimately leads us to see God and to know God. If we pay attention to the beauty of those places that are suffused with God in each part, then we can conceive of God in a down-to-earth way.”

Exterior of Monreale Cathedral

Mosaic in apse

CHURCH of Light

HWAN CHING SHEONG

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Pick 1 architect that you are most influcnced with by in term of design thought. Show 

 examples of his design thought through his project, Show your own design project to 

 give evidence of the influence 

How i derive my style is from observing the what world needs rather than the world want.

Today we human faces the depletion of natural resources. So one of my most intent objective in architecture is to 

achieve the low energy assumption. It might be the contemporary style or futuristic, it depends on the surrounding context architecture. 

WOHA - ‘Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell’ a 

singapore based architects. Established in 1994. They mainly practice the combination of breathing architect & contemporary architecture style. Their project 

basically are designed to achieve the low energy consumption.

The high volume, naturally ventilated informal spaces in between the performance spaces are designed around an urban 

shortcut, thereby allowing the public to see the activities of the school. And from the facade solution, the GREEN facades. The nature environmental filters. Cutting down the light edges, cooling down the temperature and act as a sound

barrier too. Most of the WOHAdesign has a very big airwell . A large high volume space where air are designed to ventilate 

into the building.

This is one of the top rated project from their gallery - The School Of Art / WOHA . 

 

From the architect. This project is a specialist high school for the visual and performing arts.

The school is located in the heart of Singapore’s Civic district, at the gateway to the Arts and Entertainment district. 

The school combines a highdensity, inner city school with a professional performing arts venue. The design is a new 

paradigm, a large, dense, perforated urban object that achieves natural light and ventilation to all areas, despite its 

deep dimensions.

 

Their design strategy is to creates two visually connected horizontal strata, a space for public communication below,

and a space for safe, controlled interaction above. The strategy solves the twin objectives of porosity and

communication with the public and wider arts community on the one hand, and a secure and safe learning 

environment on the other. 

Back in my diploma days, 

Comparing my design work, instead of adding green facade. I more intended to focus on natural lightning and ventilation 

into my design work. So i swap out the green facade by adding more louvers to the facade. I wanted to add green plant on the wall but because of the site condition the objective of adding green is not so applicable. Beside adding the green. One of the characteristic i derive from the woha is the large volume of space inside the building. Higher volume can help reduces the heat within the building. Lastly is the large opening that allowing air to ventilates the building. With all these features, it can reduce alot of electrical usage.

 

I was assigned to design a plaza in a very narrow site near the beach in Pantai Cenang. The louvers is designed to reduce the sun glare into the building as the heat was the problem in Pantai Cenang. With the high volume i reduces the heat inside the building. While the facade also create a special effect of skinning to the building which shaped like diamond. As the concept is    

 

                   JEWEL OF CENANG

 

LIM WINN SERN

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HOW THE WORLD TODAY BEEN EFFECTED BY THE DESIGN THOUGHTS OF MODERNISM? COMPARE CURRENT ARCHITECTURE TO ANYONE MODERNISM DESIGN THOUGHT.

Predating modern building designs that use eco-friendly materials and renewable, sustainable energy sources, this is his design philosophy of creating structures that were in harmony with both humanity and the environment

In his philosophy in architecture is a belief that the natural life that exists in a space should blend into, peacefully coexist with and benefit from whatever is constructed there. Compare to todays architecture, due to the negative environment impact , approach of architecture design is more toward the sustainability on ecosystem and environment quality. 

Nowaday architecture mostly build within the urban or sub urban , instead of blending into the nature but more to city streets or land. With the same approach on blending into environment to achieve harmony with humanity and environment.An architecture create low energy comsumption , create nature environment in order to reduce the environment impact is call “Green Building”

Menara Mesiniaga- Ken Yang

The bioclimatic high-rise is a tall building with passive low energy benefits, achieved through design responses to the climate of the place and through optimizing the use of the locality’s ambient energies, to enhance the quality of life and comfort for its occupants. It basically share the same approach with Frank Lloyd Wright but with different method and strategy.


 

Menara Mesiniaga structure consists of a raised green" base, ten circular floors of office space with terraced garden balconies and external louvers for shade, and is crowned by a spectacular sun-roof, arching across the top-floor pool. With these strategy to optimize the comfort and quality of occupants. In Frank Lloyd Wright architecture is just blend and expose to nature as strategy to achieve human comfort and living quality. These case study show the constrast on the modernist thought and our present architecture.

 

In my opinion, architecture evolve along era , context and technology but with the same objective to achieve human satisfaction.

 

Modernist created a trend for us , we evolve the trend by ourself.

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