Boxing clever: a glacial exterior conceals a tranquil inner realm of minimal materiality animated by light.The only non-Japanese architect in this issue, John Pawson cultivates a formal and material refinement that has obvious Oriental affinities, so this commission for a house in Tokyo is especially intriguing. Having lived in Japan, Pawson has some understanding of its culture, and has designed a couple of retail schemes. This, however, is his first residential project and presented a different sort of challenge in its intimate scale, awkward site conditions and the integration of traditional and modern aspects of Japanese domestic life. The clients are a middle-aged couple with no children who had acquired a small piece of land in Setagaya, a suburban district to the south-east of the sprawling Tokyo metropolis. The couple are keen cooks and had eagerly devoured Living and Eating, Pawson's evangelical paean Paean (pē`ən), Paean was an epithet for Apollo, the healer. The paean, a hymn of praise to Apollo and often to other gods, was sung as a prayer for safety or deliverance at battles and other important occasions. to good food and the minimum lifestyle. Seduced by his architecture, especially his own house in London's Notting Hill (AR May 2000), they simply cold called the office and asked if he could design something for them. The outcome is an elegantly impassive two-storey box that though it turns its back on its surroundings, conceals a tranquil, sensuous inner realm. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Made of concrete which is then lightly rendered and painted, the box has a weighty, casket-like quality, its sides pierced by the barest handful of glazed incisions. Internal organisation aims both to structure and celebrate domestic life while editing out extraneous distractions. Spaces for cooking, dining and relaxing are arranged in distinct yet fluid zones at ground level, with sleeping, washing and dressing quarters above, linked by a single flight of stairs Noun 1. flight of stairs - a stairway (set of steps) between one floor or landing and the next flight of steps, flight staircase, stairway - a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps . A long low wall flanking an adjacent site draws you in to the entrance at the south-west corner. Though currently vacant, the neighbouring site is due to be developed, and Pawson's response to this uncertainty is to turn the house in on itself. A secluded internal courtyard planted with a solitary Japanese maple forms the dwelling's focus and fulcrum fulcrum: see lever. . The main living quarters face on to this courtyard as does a tea ceremony room, with traditional tatami ta·ta·mi n. pl. tatami or ta·ta·mis Straw matting used as a floor covering especially in a Japanese house. [Japanese.] mat floor, that also functions as a guest bedroom. Boundaries between external and internal spaces are consciously blurred through familiar Pawson optical illusions--diaphanous planes of full-height glazing appear to dissolve walls and a stone workbench seamlessly extends the length of the house into the courtyard. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In scale the courtyard is perhaps more Mediterranean than Japanese, but nonetheless its double height helps to filter out nondescript non·de·script adj. Lacking distinctive qualities; having no individual character or form: "This expression gave temporary meaning to a set of features otherwise nondescript" surroundings and the idea of perceiving nature through the meticulous framing of individual elements--an expanse of sky, the branches of a tree--is very particular to Japan. Windows set up and define views, but those on the long south side, which will be hemmed in by as yet unbuilt new houses, are infilled with translucent glass to preserve privacy. As with all Pawson's architecture, the subtle play of light and a limited palette of materials--plaster, concrete, limestone, timber and glass--tempers the formal rigour rig·our n. Chiefly British Variant of rigor. rigour or US rigor Noun 1. . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The challenges of building on such a constricted con·strict v. con·strict·ed, con·strict·ing, con·stricts v.tr. 1. To make smaller or narrower by binding or squeezing. 2. To squeeze or compress. 3. site aptly illustrate the architectural and economic dynamics of the Japanese urban condition. Astronomical land values (in this case the site cost twice as much as the house) and demanding building regulations generate an elaborate gavotte gavotte (gəvŏt`), originally a peasant dance of the Gavots in upper Dauphiné, France. A type of circle dance characterized by lively, skipping steps, it was introduced at the court of Louis XIV and was used by Lully in his ballets and of compromise and deference (both to neighbours and wider authority) that often serves to discourage creative thinking. Clearly inflected in·flect v. in·flect·ed, in·flect·ing, in·flects v.tr. 1. To alter (the voice) in tone or pitch; modulate. 2. Grammar To alter (a word) by inflection. 3. by the more profound nuances of Japanese tradition, Pawson's spirit of sensuous rationalism meets such pragmatic challenges head on. The house has a glacial composure and otherworldly beauty that recalls (if not too much of an Oriental cliche) the poise and grace of a classical geisha geisha Member of a professional class of women in Japan whose traditional occupation is to entertain men. A geisha must be adept at singing, dancing, and playing traditional musical instruments (e.g., the samisen) in addition to being skilled at making conversation. carefully settling herself down between a couple of slightly dissolute dis·so·lute adj. Lacking moral restraint; indulging in sensual pleasures or vices. [Middle English, from Latin dissol salarymen for an evening's chaste entertainment. Though these enigmatic creatures may draw stares, they are never returned; so it is with this house. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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