So a while back I was reading about a house that was being built in Norway (not the house pictured above, although that one is nice too). The designers incorporated a traditional Japanese building technique called Shou-Sugi-Ban. I remember thinking, i should post something on the blog about this and, now that I'm trying to cobble something together here, I can't find the book. Oh, I know it's here and that it isn't misplaced, but I cannot for the life of me figure out which book that house resides in. Regardless, the internet is full of wonderful pictures and information, so here I go.
Shou-Sugi-Ban (Japanese for burnt cedar boards) is the technique of burning the surface of wood (Japanese cedar traditionally, which is actually a cypress, not a cedar) that is intended to be exposed to the elements. The process involves burning the wood, either with a torch (the modern approach) or burning over an open flame. The wood is then extinguised with water, brushed off to remove the charcoal and then washed and dried. The resulting wood has a dark black color with some silver sheen. The grain of the wood is also more heavily pronounced. What this process does to the wood, aside from the aesthetics, is create a layer of carbon that won't burn and resists water, insects and rot. All great things without the application of harmful chemicals. I won't go on and on here, because there are far more informed sources out there, but I just think this is a fantastic method that doesn't get enough attention.
For more info:
http://pursuingwabi.com/2007/11/05/shou-sugi-ban/
http://pursuingwabi.com/2011/05/02/traditional-shou-sugi-ban-burn/
http://materiadesigns.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/shou-sugi-ban-terunobu-fujimori-charred-cedar-siding/
You are in the middle of a room; four walls, a ceiling and floor. On one wall, the image of a lit fireplace is plastered. On another, the image of a door. On the next, the image of a window, overlooking the neighborhood during a light snowfall. And on the last, the image of a comfortable chair. Imagine standing in that room.
Now imagine a different room. This time your eyes are closed; you can see nothing. You are in a comfortable chair, under a blanket. Warmth from the fireplace washes over your body. A light breeze rattles a loose window pane. Sound drifts in from outside, children laughing while they play in the snow. A draft from under the door slips over your bare foot; you tuck it under the blanket.
Architects dedicate so much thought and time designing for the visual experience. This is not to say that the other senses are ignored entirely, but they certainly tend to play second fiddle to sight. I have no intention to try and figure out why this is the case, but my intuition tells me that it is more of a learned approach to the world than a real response to it. Taken alone, sight can be rich, but very flat. There are depths and subtleties in touch and hearing that seem to surpass sight.
Read the rest of this post »
This past year has brought about a fair amount of change in my life. In March I moved to Minneapolis and started work as a designer at a great architecture firm. The move changed a lot of things for me, both in my day to day life and in my perspective on things. With moving and working full time, my daily routine took a sharp turn. Gone are my days filled with hours of leisurely reading about architecture and design, the evenings spent dining and visiting with friends and the flexible hours of freelance design work. They’ve been replaced by a rigid, but rewarding, five day work week; something I am very happy to have. What has suffered since starting this new chapter is how I spend my time outside of work. I’ve spent too much time watching television and movies in the name of “relaxation”. Too much time chatting on Facebook and seeing what my friends and family are up to. Not nearly enough time reading or putting thoughts to paper. Not enough time creating. Not nearly enough time fulfilling my passion for design and discussion.Things need to change. I am going to make a conscious effort to pursue my passions and avoid being a lazy bastard. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but I think with a bit of self awareness I should be able to at least make a decent shift in my day-to-day life. Now as for this blog... I’ve tried making rules for it, giving myself some sort of rigid guideline to follow. That failed miserably. I’m going to try to change things. I think my effort to change my day to day life will be enough to bring some life back into the blog. As part of this fresh start, I have decided to do a little remodel to the blog format. Hope you like it.
I don't usually talk about my own work on here, but I think I'll make an exception. My portfolio is in a publicly judged, online competition put on by Magcloud. I used Magcloud to print my portfolio and it is a fantastic way of making very professional looking product without having to print 1,000 or more units at a time. The print-on-demand company has opened up a great avenue for smaller publishers or just folks like me who want a nice looking portfolio to drag to job interviews.
So, the competition; it's an online judged deal via Facebook. There is a link there to my portfolio on Magcloud, so you can check it out. It would be really awesome if I could get some votes. So here is what I need:
Go here: http://apps.facebook.com/mcportfoliocontest/entry/211916
VOTE!
Every day?
Thanks everyone!
AICP Southwest 2011 Sponsor Reel from Element X Creative on Vimeo.
This sponsor reel by Element X is a fantastic little short film. In fact, it is so good, I want to see and entire movie made this way; miniature modeled sets, animated characters. The whole thing is dream-like and whimsical. It's great!
I came across this really great Instructable and video about how NOT to design chairs. It's part joke and part seriousness. Really, do we need to design chairs? Or a lot of other things that seem to come out every year? What would happen if we looked around for things that did NEED to be designed instead of just working on designing things we WANT to design?
And now, the video:
NO-CHAIR-DESIGN Year 2012! from Eero Y on Vimeo.
I walk past this fence on my way to and from work every day. It didn't exist a few weeks ago, and I can't help but be excited about it. Normally I wouldn't get too enthusiastic about a fence. I don't really like how they divide people up and discourage neighbors in neighborhoods from being neighborly. I'll make an exception for this one, for a few reasons; It's a fence along the side of someone's back yard, and it separates the area where the doggies and the kiddies play from a very busy street; it's not some craptacular chain-link or plastic picket number; and best of all, it is made out of old shipping pallets, complete with spraypainted warnings and numbers. I've seen pallets turned into a lot of different things over the years, but somehow this really simple transformation is probably my favorite.
I've been a bit absent from this blog for a while now... over two months by my count. I'm sorry. Memorial Day weekend was the beginning of what has been a very tiresome stretch that included dragging a loaded-down 26' Uhaul truck to my new place in Minneapolis, the subsequent turmoil and disorder that comes with that sort of relocation, as well as what has seemed like a near constant stream of visitors, with the only break being trips out of town. Needless to say, I've been busy. That is no excuse though.
Well, I'm going to try and get back on the wagon. Look for good things to follow... hopefully I can manage that.
|
