Suspending belief: known for bringing timber into the city, Kengo Kuma now takes stone into the wood.Within an hour of Tokyo, the Lotus House sits amid a 2300sqm private woodland, a reclusive re·clu·sive adj. 1. Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation. 2. Providing seclusion: a reclusive hut. haven built solely for its owner to spend time away from his family. The client is a wealthy businessman who 'collects' architecture; he has already transported a traditional sukiya-style teahouse, designed by the master Japanese architect Togo Murano, and a 500-year-old meditation hall. Meticulously restored and cared for, these buildings are not simply museum pieces but are used as spaces to indulge his other typically Japanese hobbies: tea ceremonies, calligraphy calligraphy (kəlĭg`rəfē) [Gr.,=beautiful writing], skilled penmanship practiced as a fine art. See also inscription; paleography. European Calligraphy In Europe two sorts of handwriting came into being very early. and meditation. Helping him with these arts of concentration, detail and repose, a Buddhist monk lives on the premises full time offering private tuition in the art of meditation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Lotus House was designed by Kengo Kuma Kengo Kuma (隈 研吾 Kuma Kengo , who was given a completely open brief. Despite the opportunity, the Lotus House does not veer away from Kuma's formal preoccupations. An abundant use of water and glass define fluidity and transparency, while a distinctive checkerboard checkerboard the pattern of a chess or draft board; used in many circumstances to display the results of mixing a specific number of variables. The variables are listed in columns designated along the horizontal border and the same or different variables in lines along the vertical facade produces intrigue and mystery as thinly cut blocks of travertine travertine (trăv`ərtĭn, –tēn), form of massive calcium carbonate, CaCO3, resulting from deposition by springs or rivers. stone are suspended by flexible stainless-steel flat bars. In Kuma's architectural vision, nothing should stay solid. The porous stone screens, 'made to flutter like delicate lotus petals', integrate the surrounding landscape and successfully contribute to collapsing certain hard boundaries between inside and out. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Very much in the style of palaces from the Heian Period Heian period (794–1185) Period of Japanese history named for the capital city of Heian-kyo (Kyoto). It is known mainly for the flourishing culture of the court aristocracy, which devoted itself to the pursuit of aesthetic refinement as displayed in poetry and (794-1185AD), the house comprises two wings linked by a courtyard and a terraced pond that generously spreads over the front of the complex just above a rivulet. The pond is dotted with lotus flowers, one of the symbols of enlightenment in Buddhism. The courtyard, almost empty apart from a few pieces of antique furniture Antique furniture is the term for collectible interior furnishings of considerable age; often its age, rarity, condition, utility, or other unique features makes the furniture desirable. , functions as a transitory space, separating the activities of the everyday--cooking, washing and sleeping--from the more refined, leisurely activities, of reading, playing the piano and watching films. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kuma employs steel mesh internally to 'dematerialise' the environment further. In the kitchen and dining area, the spiral staircase's steel mesh spills over on to the ceiling, bringing an interesting interplay of shadow and light from above. A similar effect is achieved in the study where a narrow steel staircase leading up towards a full-height bookshelf counterbalances the natural sense of sedation Sedation Definition Sedation is the act of calming by administration of a sedative. A sedative is a medication that commonly induces the nervous system to calm. Purpose The process of sedation has two primary intentions. created by its chipboard chip·board n. A pasteboard made from discarded paper. chipboard Noun thin rigid board made of compressed wood particles Noun 1. ceiling and wooden floor. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Reminiscent of traditional Japanese houses, the complex is also open to numerous routes, with the main entrance distinguished from the rest with another pool of water. Stone steps, steel staircases and sliding glass doors all play a part in circulating and distilling weight out of its structure. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Lotus House, in this sense, is an anomaly--constantly suggesting the ephemerality and apparent placelessness of its construction, it offers a kind of enclosure without containment. Although ever experimental in his approach to materials, there is a danger that Kuma is creating a set of criteria from which endless trademarks will emerge. The use of louvres and screens disguises a structure that may otherwise reveal bulky, lacklustre lacklustre or US lackluster Adjective lacking brilliance, force, or vitality Adj. 1. lacklustre - lacking brilliance or vitality; "a dull lackluster life"; "a lusterless performance" shape and form. Too much logic and precision can leave one rigid with austerity, the very prison from which Kuma aspires to flee in his calling for architecture as 'anti-monuments'. In the end, all this lightweight ephemerality has questioned, it seems, is the building's claims to being a house at all. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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