Exhibition: The Art of Timber Construction

Guanyin-hall, Dule-monastery Tianjin, Jixian (Liao Dynasty 916-1125)

Chunyang Hall, Yongle Palace, Ruicheng, Shanxi Province (Yuan Dynasty 1271-1368)

Bracketing Cluster (Dougong) (Song Dynasty 960-1279)

Hall of a Thousand Buddhas, Temple Zhihua, Beijing (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644)

For about three centuries, almost all public buildings in China were built according to a hardly ever changing construction system: an enormous, curved hip roof rests on wooden posts with wide overhanging eaves and tile covering, supported by an elaborate wooden construction.
In the 20th century, documentation and teaching models of the highest accuracy were made of the most important buddhist temples and palace complexes. These large-scale models precisely show all the details in order to enable their study and a possible reconstruction of the historical buildings. The exhibition at the Architekturmuseum shows 19 of these models, among them detailed models of the bracket system (Dougong) and reproductions of the oldest timber constructions existing in China.

The Art of Timber Construction: Chinese Architectural Models, at Architekturmuseum der TU München, Munich, Germany, October 22 – January 24, 2009
via: designboom

Haus Presenhuber by AFGH

The holiday house in located in the middle of the village of Vnà in the Lower Engadine. The particular challenge of the project was to bridge the divide between the old-world charm of the village and the modern flair embodied in a holiday house for an internationally successful art gallery owner. The aim was to develop a formal language which had a certain proximity to traditional Engadine architecture and yet remained immediately recognisable as contemporary without being conservatively romanticised.

Haus Presenhuber, Vnà, Switzerland, by AFGH
Photography: Valentin Jeck, via: Plataforma Arquitectura

House 53 by Marcio Kogan

House 53 was conceived as a wood and mortar monolithic block with another concrete and glass volume upon it. Due to the ground’s small front and volumetry, the box’s two edges had to make the most of light’s entrance, which explains the large windows. It was also desirable that these windows would make it possible to darken the internal environment whenever needed.

The house’s inferior volume, which comprises the living room on the first floor, and the bedrooms on the second floor, is a glass box with wooden brises that open as folding doors. The rooms’ front and back facades were designed to be completely closed or opened.

Can’t get enough of homes designed by Marcio Kogan?
More Daily Icon posts: Panama House, Beach House, Casa Mirindiba, Osler House and Casa Corten.

House 53, São Paulo, Brazil, by Marcio Kogan
via: Contemporist

Kübler House by 57 Studio

Kübler House is surrounded by golf courses and green areas near the Andes. The project seeks to incorporate the landscape into daily life, following the client’s request to spend a long time throughout the year in the exterior spaces.

Kübler House, Santiago, Chile, by 57 Studio
via: Arch Daily

Casa en la Cala Galiota by Joan Riera + Francisco Barceló

Casa en la Cala Galiota, Mallorca, Spain, by Joan Riera + Francisco Barceló
Photography by Miguel Coelho

Ibere Camargo Museum by Álvaro Siza Vieira

When the international contest for a building that would house the works of Brazilian painter Iberê Camargo, who died in 1994, was launched, it was equally supported by the artist’s family and the local administration, who donated the site near the Padre Cacique road, in Porto Alegre, a city with over one million inhabitants, in southernmost part of Brazil. The site was a difficult one, shaped as a small and tight triangle, surrounded by rocks of around 25 metres in height, offering a great view on the river Guaiba.

In his museum project, Álvaro Siza Vieira incuded exhibition spaces, storage spaces, a library and a video-library, a cafe, a small auditorium, as well as administrative spaces and workshops for artists. Consequently, the building developed vertically, the main volume being dug in the rocky background. The building’s shape moulds upon the nearby slopes and, through a coherent distribution of space, solves the problem of parking, extremely important in such a tight place, situated near crowded arteries.

Ibere Camargo Museum, Porto Alegre, Brazil, by Álvaro Siza Vieira
via: igloo

Fray Leon house by 57 Studio

This is a residence for a family who looks for a more extensive terrain and ampler spaces, without leaving the traditional neighborhood where it has lived for almost 30 years. Located on the east side of Santiago, the main characteristics of the neighborhood are the presence of old growth trees and huge lots with houses that have a limited relation with the street.

Fray Leon house, Santiago, Chile, by 57 Studio
via: Arch Daily

Haus Bold by Thomas Bendel

The house consists of prefabricated concrete elements, the front and back of the house is made of glass and black anodized aluminum.
The interior includes a dramatic steel handrail, which spans the ten meters long staircase and wraps around seamlessly into the balustrade above. The house is placed to take advantage of the views of a hills and surrounding landscape.

Haus Bold, by Thomas Bendel

Tye River Cabin by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen

Winner of the American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum, The Tye River Cabin is a structure distilled to a fireplace, windows and a roof. This 1,200 square-foot 2 bedroom retreat is essentially a wooden tent on a platform that opens to the forest and river. Materials are allowed to weather and merge with the site.

Tye River Cabin, Skykomish, Washington, USA, by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen

The New Acropolis Museum Opens

Located only 300 meters Southeast of the Parthenon, with an exhibition space of 14,000 square meters and a cost of €130 million, the New Acropolis Museum houses some of the most famous works of classical antiquity. It aims at providing the visitors with a comprehensive picture of the human presence on the Acropolis, from the pre-historic times through late Antiquity, with the advantage of being built on the slope of the Acropolis itself.

The New Acropolis Museum, by architect Bernard Tschumi in collaboration with Michalis Photiadis & Associate Architects, Athens, Greece.
via: Yatzer