PAM LECTURE with Erik G. L'Heureux

Based on the talk, Erik L'Heureax had a principle to practice toward reduction and simplicity.The justification of the hot and wet theme really inspired me toward the tropical country design.The approach of design is more toward the on expectation , cost and liabilities. The way he design inspired a lot for us to train with own architecture thinking. His justification on style in designing with tropical country is related well with theme. According to the talk, I can identify the theme and the approach of veil architecture respond toward site context with different thickness and translucent.

Most of the case study that presented are focus on the atmosphere , natural illumination and ventilation through facade and material. These envelope design really respond well toward the tropical country with hot weather like Singapore and Malaysia. Basically the combination of veils , envelopes and atmosphere is main feature in Erik L'Heureax design. Its a inspiration method of designing in hot and wet country.

The Stereoscopic house in Singapore

A design of resort house with various of sustainable

approach toward it. The project emphasize of efficiency

of passive design with luxury amentities in the house.

The major issue is the tremendous tropical environment

of Singapore. The design had to be able to manipulates

to archive thermal comfort and view advantages. By the

openable veiled panel as facade , its allow nature

illumination ,ventilation and restriction of view into the

Stereoscopic house.

Hut house in Singapore

A project for a single- family with facede design of continuous aluminium thermal veil. The opaque and transparency of facade rendered the design as almost toylike building.The facade are stretched and pulled.The facade emphasize on simplicity and reduction of material usage with a volumetric complexity to outstands the envelope of the veils.

The simple factory in Singapore

A project designed to respond the tropical weather and

geography. 3 major subject to respond design is the solar

radiation , openness , views and transparency with basic

industrial requirement.The project completed in 2012,

which located at the industrial part of Singapore. A deep

prole veil envelope as the facade of the project which

produces a signicant shading amount with delfects rain

from the building propoers. The pattern of the veils

minimize the views onto the activities inside the factory

from street. A covered entry leads to an open cross-

ventilated ground oor which operate as an atmospheric

funnel to bring ventilate the odour and sound from the

surrounding context into the vertical courtyard at the

building core.

LAI HONG JING

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Based on my own view, Professor Erik L'heureux strives on the principle of to reduce and simplify. He starts to learn once he inspires someone with an interesting ambition for architectural thinking. This is how he strives towards success today. The way he find his own inspiration is good to train himself to be conservative. I agree with his justification on style in relation to themes. According to him, style is an easy way to identify with themes, like how he comes up with the theme or idea of veil in architecture as well as playing with thickness and configuration.

In my point of view, Erik is more regular rather than flexible or chaos. His design has strong regularity especially on the Simple factory building veils design. However, he design building in relation to atmosphere, natural light, and ventilation, which makes his design won the Wheelwright Prize. The Stereoscopic house in Singapore Straits actually is one of his masterpiece that strongly bring in natural lighting, ventilation through air wells and courtyards. Exterior timber cladding that would actively help reflect light and reduce heat gain. Basically, he emphasizes on veils, envelopes and atmospheres which works well in hot and wet climate country especially Singapore or even Malaysia.

Striking verandas on upper floors isolate the space from adjacent neighbors, as well as framing dramatic views to ocean and gold course. Roof-pitch deforms tube shape, it eventually creates another way of deep angular overhangs approach.

Screens attached to angular skylights on roof let sunlight diffused and reflected into interior spaces. Occupants can experience light and shadow with architectural language, unique to the home.

Concept of colonial veranda, Singapore shop-house courtyard,
Malay house form and function are interpreted into this stereoscopic
house. Low-E glazing, solar
hot-water heating, cross ventilation, rain and harvesting systems are
taken into consideration.

5. A waterfront villa,so-called stereoscopic house located on the Singapore Straits, specifically Sentosa Island. However, he manipulates atmosphere, water, landscape and views through
four levels of view and thermal control. The facade has operable veiled panels with pattern designed to allow light, ventilation and optimum view restriction. Veranda on the west and
east elevations is enclosed by the veil panels. Exterior timber cladding reflects heat and reduces heat gain. Air well inside response positively to atmosphere by bringing in light and ventilation to the core of house.

3. This single-family home was designed with a continuous aluminium thermal veil folded in relief. Its opaque and transparent surfaces render architecture as almost toylike
building. The veil is being stretched and pulled. The simplicity through reduction of materials, tones but with volumetric complexity help outstands the enveloping of the veil.

2. Professor designed a model of Compact City, 35-meter-long tube frabricated with lightweight EIFS ventilation blocks. It is designed to ventilate smells and sound through canal towards inner courtyard. Its profile tapers from a rectangle to a pitched-roof house at the opposite end, which faces the Venice Canal. Strong linearity can be emphasized on this design.

1. This Simple Factory building is designed in response to tropical solar radiation, and the openness, views and transparency with basic industrial typology concept. It is completed in 2012, locates within industrial part of Singapore with 10,742-square-foot. He designed the factory with veils made of lightweight exterior insulation and finishing system (EIFS) to modulate warm climate. Through the profile of veils, it produces significant shading as well as deflects rain. Lower levels is designed to have high view restrictions by minimizing the spacing of patterns. Getting inspiration from stack effect generated from a typical Malay house, an open cross-ventilated ground floor is designed after the entrance. The open space support ventilation as well as filter smells and sounds from the street.

Deep Veils is descriptive of veils, thickness and envelopes in architecture in consideration of transparency, openness, and clarity to interact with increasingly warming climate in Singapore and Malaysia. Basically, his project responds to skin, surface, atmosphere, and perception. The artistic legacies of Gertrud Arndt to Optical Art, the architectural theories of Gottfried Semper, Adolf Loos, and the work of Le Corbusier, Kahn, and Durell Stone, leads Erik to a new direction for architecture, perception, and thickness.

Erik works as an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore. As a Singapore based American architect, he directs Pencil O.ce, a small firm engaging in tropical speci.c works around Singapore. New York AIA, the World Architecture Festival have recognized his previous work. Professor L'Heureux graduated from Princeton University and Washington University in St Louis, where he got the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award. Harvard Graduate School of Design announced Erik the Winner of 2015 Wheelwright Prize. Deep Veils, his architecture monograph that highlights enclosures.

Q&A session

Group Representative:

How does Singapore function as an environment to practice –particularly for someone who has migrated there? Do you sense you have more objectivity than a local practitioner? Has Singapore changed how you practice?

Erik L'heureux:

I have an inherent distance from Southeast Asia, having not grown up or been educated here. But this distance is empowering as I look at everything with a critical perspective. I am filled with questions that local practitioner’s might deem obviously answered. At the moment I am struggling to reconcile the reductive minimal tendencies that are likely rooted in my New England upbringing with the approaches and concerns found in the region, which are often related to roughness and approximation. Cultural challenges are some of the more particular aspects of practice here, namely language and differences in expectation. This sounds mundane, but it really impacts not only the design and production of architecture but its reception as well.

After I left New York, I really tried to counter the “practice everywhere” approach and integrate as much as possible into where I am based. Generally, I don’t believe in global practice – rather I believe in dedication to where one practices. Claiming numerous offices or temporary teaching positions around the world seems a dubious notion, a tendency of internationalism or globalism at is worst. In many ways Singapore has generally been very receptive to me in this regard. Though it should be said that practice here is so driven by codes, speed, and practicalities, there is little robust discourse or generous feedback on the work being done. As Eisenman once asserted, architects only start reflecting on their work, talking, and writing books when there is no work. In Southeast Asia, generally everyone is too busy practicing. For me, the challenge and support from peers to push the work forward requires that I seek feedback from a more international audience.

PAM Talk 2016 Erik L'Heureux

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A Simple Factory Building

Hut House

A Simple Brick Interior

From the analyse on architect Erik G. L'Heureux, he counters more on the atmosphere of a building the sun, ventilation, natural light and thermal comfort. and noticed he likes to use EIFS (exterior insulation finishing system) over the building as the facade or the feature element of the architecture to counters those problem. An experts and researcher on tackling tropical atmosphere.

As factory and warehouse wrapped with lightweight EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finishing System), that helps to regulate temperature and atmosphere. The complex geometry patterns was produced by 3D generator software and fabricated through CNC milling. The patterns of the facade get denser on the bottom compared to the top to reduce views from the outside to the inside and creates optical disturbance from knowing the actual size and levels of the building. With the deep profile of the veil, it significantly shades the building and deflects the rain water. A vertical courtyard in the centre to allows air flow, bring the exterior sound, smell, natural illumination and atmosphere into the building. The play of the EIFS is something interesting but it also cost a lot, and the building design is a little bit off context because of the levels of the building compare to the surrounding.

Whole building surrounded by only two meter wide tropical like jungle garden. Quietly and peaceful surrounded when view through the window on the house. A modern tropical house.

The house design is wrapped up by thin strip of aluminium thermal veil. A slightly complex form but simple finishes that makes the building looks clean and simple. Although the building is wrapped by the hard materials but the patterns playing of the aluminium strips soften the hard material and the facade. It also blocks the heat directly hits the wall and cools the building. Because of the simplicity of the form detail makes the veil stands out more than the form itself.

This is the my favourite among the others project. The project was design a house for family, which the site is a compound of three houses for multigenerational family.

During night time the building inverts and appears as a glowing lantern, in the historic and preserve building. The patterns of the brick gives a feeling of a movement and subtly blend into the space covers and accommodate the existing column, openings and air conditioning. The material used for other elements is less visual impact to, let the wall stands out more, these type of small detail design has also been considered.

It is a restaurant in Singapore, the place was once and British military outpost. A very simple design with dramatic white bricks wrapped around the whole interior space. The brick laid perpendicular to the bottom and above row, creates a continuous perforated screen. The perforated screen reflects the ventilation screen during the mid-century tropical ventilation architecture style, and also creating a obscure views to the exterior, reflects the war time of how the soldier views.

An American, Singapore based architect and an assistant professor in National University of Singapore. He also leads his own firm Pencil Office, and have a lot projects throughout the tropical region. On the talk he shared a few of his project, about the design approaches.

Erik G. L'Heureux

A day to Publika just for Erick L’Heureux’s talks which held by PAM.

This is a definitely must go talks when you have this amazing chance which you have no excuses to slip away.

Erick L’Heureux, an American architect based in Singapore as the winner of the GSD’s 2015 Wheelwright Prize.

A Simple Factory Building

One of the inspired building from Erick L’Heureux. He designed this with a brisesoleil made of lightweight which actually is an exterior insulation with wraps on the building and function as to control or moderate the temperature and atmosphere. One of the point which came across my mind during the talks is about how Erick L’Heureux is trying to link the exterior of building to interior, example like the ventilation, the open entry allow the wind flow happen inside the building. As we know that, how important or powerful of a sustainable building nowadays, and this is definitely the way to inspired others people.

Pile Houses

This project or building really really catch my attention cause it was built in our country, Malaysia. You always get excited when it happened in ours mother land. This is one of the example. This house is calibrated to an existing abandoned pile field. “Piles” refers to building foundations as they are created in Malaysia. Erick L’Heureux designed and created a brand new residential without changing the purpose of existing foundation. The upper floor architecture is screened with some malay style architecture panels which to show the relationship between the building and the culture style. The design of the roof is to control the sun light penetrate into the building in order to moderate the temperature as well as the atmosphere surrounding the building, as we know that hot and humid is the characteristic in Malaysia.

Stereoscopic House

Last but not least, one of the features in this building which definitely catch my first sight attention is the perforated panels. The cut perforation panels not only increase and beautify the aesthetic of the building, but also allowing the natural sunlight, ventilation go across the building also view of the viewer from inside. Other than that, the used of material, especially the timber cladding which to increase the reflectivity of the building a well as to reduce the heat gain.

Lastly, it was truly a meaningful and productive day for me and my members. We not only get to receive the new knowledge from Erick L’Heureux, we also get the inspiration from him as well. Will definitely go for a talks like this again.

HWAN CHING SHEONG

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STEREOSCOPIC HOUSE

HUT HOUSE & THE PILES HOUSE

Stereoscopic House located in Singapore Straits. A design that manipulated the relationship between atmosphere, water, landscape and views. The design concepts as the lens to focus views. The facade is from openable panel which are perforated pattern design. Inside the building, the air well spans the four floors, operating as an atmospheric positive, bringing light and ventilation to the core of the house.

In 2013, Erik L’Heureux designed a Hut House in

Singapore. A building that facade are made of the

continuous aluminum thermal viel. The idea

behind the facade is to make the house to look

individually special. Where the material of the

facade the viel make the building look like a toylike.

From my opinion, I would say The Piles Houses is the best. It’s basical a design from an existing field of abandon pile file in Malaysia, Erik is designed

the masterplan to revive the development of this

field. Where the house is designed accordingly to

the existing pile from the past to take full advantages of the of the existing foundation. The upper

volumes of the building are tightly screened with

openable panels with designed to allow sufficient

lighting into the building.s. The tapering roof formsbring filtered light into the interior spaces from

above while operating as thermal chimneys. The

upper part facade are paint with iron filling that will rust to a dark colour overtime while minimizing

the glare into the interior of the building.

In 2013, Erik L’Heureux designed a Hut House in

Singapore. A building that facade are made of the

continuous aluminum thermal viel. The idea

behind the facade is to make the house to look

individually special. Where the material of the

facade the viel make the building look like a toylike.

From my opinion, I would say The Piles Houses is the best. It’s basical a design from an existing field of abandon pile file in Malaysia, Erik is designed

the masterplan to revive the development of this

field. Where the house is designed accordingly to

the existing pile from the past to take full advantages of the of the existing foundation. The upper

volumes of the building are tightly screened with

openable panels with designed to allow sufficient

lighting into the building.s. The tapering roof formsbring filtered light into the interior spaces from

above while operating as thermal chimneys. The

upper part facade are paint with iron filling that will rust to a dark colour overtime while minimizing

the glare into the interior of the building.

HUT HOUSE & THE PILES HOUSE

SIMPLE FACTORY BUILDING

In 2013, Erik L’Heureux designed a Hut House in

Singapore. A building that facade are made of the

continuous aluminum thermal viel. The idea

behind the facade is to make the house to look

individually special. Where the material of the

facade the viel make the building look like a toylike.

From my opinion, I would say The Piles Houses is the best. It’s basical a design from an existing field of abandon pile file in Malaysia, Erik is designed

the masterplan to revive the development of this

field. Where the house is designed accordingly to

the existing pile from the past to take full advantages of the of the existing foundation. The upper

volumes of the building are tightly screened with

openable panels with designed to allow sufficient

lighting into the building.s. The tapering roof formsbring filtered light into the interior spaces from

above while operating as thermal chimneys. The

upper part facade are paint with iron filling that will rust to a dark colour overtime while minimizing

the glare into the interior of the building.