Asia | Eco Magnificent

department of architecture: hilton pattaya hotel

16/05/2011 Comments off

‘hilton pattaya hotel’ by department of architecture
images courtesy of department of architecture

‘hilton pattaya hotel’ by bangkok studio, department of architecture is a
luxury hotel located in pattaya, thailand. designed around abstract notions
of the sea, the hotel features a series of site specific installations that mimic
movements and patterns of the beach and underwater landscapes.

corridors and transition areas are given special focus with sculptural and
rich treatments that looks to engage visitors in the otherwise leftover spaces. Read more…

Categories: Eco Architecture, Sustainable Building Tags: Asia, Floor plan, hotel, Medal bar, Pattaya, restaurant, Thailand, Types of restaurants

Primitive Living in Saijo, Hiroshima

11/05/2011 Comments off

exterior view /// photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

Design: Suppose Design Office, Japan
Lead Architect: Makoto Tanijiri
Site area: 246 m2
Building area: 50.41 m2
Total floor area: 115.51m2

“When I always create, I think that I want to find the charm of the plan,” claims 35 year old talented architect Makoto Tanijiri, chief architect of Suppose Design Office. In the nine year existence of Suppose Design Office they have built more than 50 works of architecture, almost all single-family homes, among other projects. The impressive number of works completed topped up in 2007 with the modern pit dwelling in Saijo, Hiroshima. In Saijo, a town known for it sake, a jet black pyramid unexpectedly stands out; when first seen it seems as if it’s a house from the future. On the contrast, it’s actually inspired by the earliest house in Japanese architecture; the pit dwelling or the “tateana jukyo”. Constructed during the Yayoi era (200 B.C. – 250 A.D.), pit dwellings were built by digging a circular pit (or rectangular one with rounded edges) fifty or sixty centimeters deep and five to seven meters in diameter, then covering it with a steep thatched roof. Not very different from talented young architects Makoto Tanijiri’s modern day pit dwelling! Read more…

Categories: Eco Architecture Tags: Asia, Business, Construction and Maintenance, Japan, Japanese architecture, Single-family detached home, Storey, Suppose Design Office

Zen Contemporary Japanese Residence, The T house by Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio

11/04/2011 Comments off

This T House isn’t just being inspired by the former traditional Japanese house. You can see how the floor plan in this modern Japanese contemporary house is very much the same of the traditional Japanese home. All rooms at this Japanese contemporary home floor plan all comes to one point and that’s the dining place. From the Japanese dining room you can access the bedroom, kitchen and living space.

What differentiate them is that on each room doesn’t have boundary or sliding doors like the traditional Japanese house does. This pentagonal house design is located in Tsuhima and designed by by Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio, a small village in the vicinity of Nagoya, Japan.

Japanese Home Design Exterior Decorating

This modern contemporary zen home design has the simplest floor plan form supported with not much wall accessories or furniture that is rich in design. The young couples who will be living here wanted a modern home with comfortable features without leaving their Japanese heritage and still have that Zen feeling or aesthetics. It’s also great to find out that with diagonal floor plan you can have various access of views, like the garden and the street.

Natural light can also come from every angle, thanks to the large windows. It’s a good mix of old and new, and it’s a revolutionary home design that isn’t just have a gorgeous interior design but also fit in well with the surrounding neighborhood.

pentagonal house aerial view

steven holl: the nanjing museum of art and architecture is now complete

06/04/2011 Comments off

‘nanjing museum of art and architecture’ steven holl, nanjing, china
image courtesy of steven holl

nanjing china’s newest cultural facility, the ‘nanjing museum of art and architecture’
by steven holl architects is now complete. regarded as the gateway to a new cultural
development, the museum explores shifting viewpoints and layers of space reminiscent
of spatial compositions seen in traditional chinese paintings.

front facade
image courtesy of bryan chang

Earthquake Relief Fashion

06/04/2011 Comments off

Word Apparel has designed the beautiful Help Japan shirt above; 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross. As time passes and the public begins to focus on different news items, we must continue to remind everyone that we still need to help Japan.

Word Apparel is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina and has been gaining a lot of support for its Help Japan shirt. Each shirt is hand-printed by World Apparel owner Rolandas Hauser on American Apparel tees in both men’s and ladies’ sizes.

For the World Apparel design, Hauser focused on the heritage and culture of Japan. In these difficult times, Hauser wanted to remind people of the beauty and pride that the Japanese culture brings to the world.

North Carolinians pitch in for Japanese relief efforts (charlotte.news14.com)
Bein’ Serious: Love for Japan (unknowntheartist.wordpress.com)
Blinging Crystal Shirts – mastermind Japan x Swarovski Elements Shirt Glimmers with Rebelliousnes (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
Five Free Items at American Apparel With $10 Purchase, Today Only (walletpop.com)

Categories: Eco Gadgets Tags: AmericanApparel, Asia, Charlotte North Carolina, Culture of Japan, Dov Charney, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Japan, Shirt

Villa Vista in Sri Lanka

03/04/2011 Comments off

After working on a number of reconstruction projects post-tsunami in Sri Lanka, renowned architect Shigeru Ban was commissioned to build a private residence on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Built of concrete, local teak and coconut leaves, the home is a cantilevered, open-air beauty with framed views of the surrounding landscape. Shade screens and operable shutters keep out the sun and heat but encourage air to naturally flow through the open spaces.

villa vista, shigeru ban, sri lanka, local materials, coconut leaves, teak, concrete home, green design

The concrete home is located on a hilltop overlooking the ocean in Weligama, Sri Lanka, and is composed of a series of platforms accessed by stairs. A large overhanging roof covers the entire space and is built from light, water-proof, cement boards. The open-air home is further protected from the sun with woven coconut leaf sun shades crafted in a checkerboard pattern. Parts of the shade are operable allowing for increased ventilation into the space. Locally-sourced teak, formed into 80mm wide and 3mm thick strips, is also woven into a wickerwork pattern and installed on the ceiling.

Designed to take in the sights of the ocean, cliffs and jungle, the home uses the intersecting planes of the floors, walls and ceilings to frame in three different views. First is the view of the ocean seen from the jungle in the valley, which is framed by the external corridor from another existing house to this house and the roof. Second is a horizontal view of the ocean framed by the large roof and the floor. Last is the view of a cliff, which glows red at sunset, and is framed by a solid wood square frame in the bedroom.