A Cabin for Kengo Kuma:
When designing my cabin for Kengo Kuma I took into consideration the elements of design that Kuma used for his Great (Bamboo) Wall. The aim of my design was to:-
- To create a cabin that is in harmony with the environment that surrounds the site.
- To create a progressive flow of movement though the cabin
- To allow for views of one space to the next within the cabin
- To use materials within the cabin as particles not as a single mass
- To have the outside environment come into the cabin but “not as a guest”
a CABIN is an Environmental Filter
Like Kuma’s Bamboo wall house, I have taken into consideration the play of light and shadow. The materials selected for this house allow for this same play. Instead of bamboo I have designed a wall that is made of opaque recycled plastic tubes (see wall details). These tubes are laid horizontally though the outer walls to allow for light to pass though. The roof in the living area (more like an outdoor court yard as one wall allows the climatic elements to pass through) is the same as the walls however the tubes are laid vertical allowing for light to shine down.
The prevailing winds come from the south onto this block so I have installed glass doors in the hall way to allow for cross ventilation throughout the cabin (running though to the courtyard).
As the long side of the block is facing north and the large building to the west blocks the afternoon western sun, this allows for less need to air-condition the house during summer. The amount of sunlight that reaches the rooms in the winter also saves on energy needed for heating.
Also the materials I chose to use in this cabin all relate to the urban environment that surrounds the site. For the walls, as mentioned before, opaque recycled plastic formed into tubes and glass is used for interior and exterior walls. Highly polished concrete floors were selected to create a similar effect as Kuma’s reflecting pool. The reflection on the polished surface subtly reflects the colours and patterns of the environment outside the house. Metal fixtures also have been used though out the cabin. These materials are not natural but they are forms that the human kind has created and they fill our cities though out the world.
a CABIN is a Container of Human Actives
I have developed a process of moving though the cabin as Kuma did for the bamboo house. My process starts from front of the block where you first approach the entrance. Larger tubes have been placed in the entrance to allow for a transitional space between outside and in (the larger tubes which are open to the elements allow for wide openings to the outside environment). Once inside two paths can be taken, like the Great (Bamboo) Wall, you can move though the public area and then arrive into the private areas of the house or you can skip this process and move straight to the private areas. Because there is only two entrances to each public space this allows for direction of travel to be pre-determined, if you enter a room there is only one exit unless you go back the way you came from.
I have also incorporated into my cabin and area similar to that of the tea room. This courtyard is located in the centre of the cabin and has views to the park on the northern side of the block. The court yard serves as a place to relax, reflect and can be used as a general living area. Also the area of the courtyard is raised to allow the difference in height to signify the difference in use.
Keeping with the idea of an urban village, I have not provided an off street car park facility as there are numerous public transport modes close by and there are all the amenities (shops, health facilities etc) within walking distance. However, if necessary there is room on the land for future development of an off street car park space.
a CABIN is a Delightful Experience
In Kuma’s Great (Bamboo) Wall he used the bamboo in a way that allowed for views from one space to the next, also the difference in space or fluidity of spacing between the bamboo stalks allows the inhabitants to easily see the different uses for each room. I have transferred this idea across to my cabin design by changing the sizes of the horizontal tubes depending on which spaces they are connected to (living room/ courtyard has larger tubes). Also when looking though the wall you can only see though the point you are standing in front of, the length of the tubes blocks views from an angle.
Kuma’s Design idea of using a material as a particle not a single mass has also influenced my design of the tube walls. By splitting this material into particles it has allowed as Kuma would say “they are translucent like rainbows”
In the courtyard surround the raised section, I have placed grass that leads in from the park. I have chosen to do this so that when sitting in the courtyard even if they doors are not open it allows for the feeling that the park is part of the house and vice-a-versa. This follows the bamboo house in the way that the surrounding environment is not seen as a guest in the cabin but part of it.
Site:
Corner of Victoria Park Road and Maidstone Street, Kelvin Grove Urban Village
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| 360 degree photo of surrounding site. Taken by: Adam Scott |
Information on Kelvin Grove Urban Village:
Kelvin Grove Urban Village is a materplaned community, bringing together residential, educational, retail, health, recreational and business opportunities into a vibrant new precinct. This precinct is located approximately 10mins bus ride from the CDB of Brisbane City. This urban village claims that everything in the vicinity is within 10min walking distance.Constrains of site:
- Not much Privacy
o Lots of people walking/driving past and parking out the front
o Tall building to the west and north of site
o Right next to public park
- Noise from cars/car parks straight outside
- Narrow block
- Bottom of hill (could flood)
Opportunities:
- Tall building to the west block the afternoon sun
- Long side of block is to the north
- Can use views of the park or golf coarse
- Don’t need a car park because it is in such a central location
- Prevaling winds come from south west of site
- Prevaling winds come from south west of site
The Great (Bamboo) Wall Designed by Kengo Kuma
The Great (Bamboo) Wall is a guest house that is situated close to the Great Wall of China. This was commissioned by Pan Shi Yi, who drew together 12 foremost architects from across Asia Information on the architect Kengo Kuma:
Kengo Kuma was born in Japan in 1954. He first opened his own architectural firm in 1990 calling it Kengo Kuma and Associates. In all Kuma’s designs, he integrates architecture with nature as a key element to create desired environments. He creates “airy, open spaces filled with sunlight” (Kuma, 2011) by using natural materials. Kuma believes that “everything must be light and gentle”, including the planning of the structure though to the way that light filters though out the building. Kuma says “only by taking this path, architecture finally blends into and becomes one with nature.” (Kuma, 2011) . Kuma also takes into consideration the relativity of material. To Kuma if a material, no issue of the richness of quality, emerges in a sole mass becomes no longer vivid. If materials are used is in a way in which they stand as a particle, not as a whole, then “they are translucent like rainbows” (Kuma, 2011) .
A house is an ENVIRONMENTAL FILTER:
From the name, the Great (Bamboo) Wall, it is easy to recognise that bamboo is the most commonly used material in this structure. Bamboo being a local material, vastly available in Asia and only able to be used in its original state allows the house to be sustainable in terms of material usage Along with bamboo, rice paper, slate, and glass are all materials that have been used to connect the house with the site. With the bamboo as the skin of the house, placed at different intervals allows for the outside environment to break through into the midst of the house, “but not as a guest”. The landscape looks to have an immense connection with the home to the point that Kuma’s design is one with the surrounds (Oddo, 2011) .
Slate tiles were also used to “fasten” the house to the earth and creates a “Strong, exclusive, unique, relationship with it”. Francesca Oddo wrote that “the natural elements take over the architecture, surround it and embrace it, reaching into its heart, where the slate floor gives way to an expanse of water reflecting the image of the hill” A house is a container of human activities:
As the house was commissioned for a developer, it was not designed to the needs of one family profile. This house was designed as a part of eleven villa’s situated along the great wall of china A house is a DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE:
Kuma designed this house keeping in practices with his firm’s philosophy of integrating architecture with nature. With the Great (Bamboo) Wall, Kuma wanted to “apply the nature of the Great Wall of China into the act of dwelling”. This was also the reasoning behind him naming it “WALL instead of HOUSE”. The Great Wall of China to Kuma’s expression “seems to run virtually endlessly along the undulation ridgeline of the mountainous landscape without being disconnected to its surrounding environment” 
As mentioned previously the bamboo is the most widely used material though out the house, although there was a sustainable aspect to this, Kuma also choose this material to fit in with the context of the site (as bamboo has significant meaning among both the Chinese and JapaneseThe heart of this house is the central tea room, which is accessible by two stepping stones, over the shallow reflecting pool. This tea room frames the views south to the Great Wall of China, and with the use of glass and bamboo light filters in and “provides the space with an ephemeral quality that makes the experience of this architecture especially memorable” (Bognar, 2008) .
List of Figures
Figure 1 Hand Drawn perspective of tea room
Figure 2 Hand Drawn Plan, Section and South Elevation
Figure 3 Hand Drawn Site Plan
Figure 4 Show of light and shadow in tea room (Oddo, 2011)
Figure 5 Model of site and house
Figure 6 View from outside tea room (Bognar, 2008)
Figure 7 View from dining room into kitchen (Bognar, 2008)
Figure 8 View from kitchen into dining room (Bognar, 2008)
Figure 9 View of Stair case (Bognar, 2008)
Figure 10 View from kitchen into tea room (Bognar, 2008)
Works Cited
ArchitectureWeek.com. (2006, May 17). Two Green Houses. Retrieved March 10, 2011, from Architecture Week: http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/0517/environment_1-2.html
Barrisvino. (2011). Kengo Kuma Designs. Retrieved March 08, 2011, from Materialicious: Shelter, Materials & Objects: http://www.materialicious.com/2009/10/kengo-kuma-designs-the-great-bamboo-wall-house-in-china.html#
Bognar, B. (2008). Kengo Kuma: Selected Works. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Brown, A. (2004, Spring Issue). Kengo Kuma: Making magic with materials and light. Retrieved March 15, 2011 , from International Edition: Japanese Arts and Cultural Mazine: http://int.kateigaho.com/mar04/architect-kuma.html
Commune by the Great Wall.com. (2011). Architect: Kengo Kuma (Japan) Villas . Retrieved March 9, 2011, from Commune by the Great Wall: http://www.communebythegreatwall.com/en/design/channel/design_390.shtml
Kuma, K. (2011). Company Profile. Retrieved March 10, 2011, from Kengo Kuma & Associates: http://www.valdofusi.it/ita/bando/pdf/KengoKuma.pdf
NK. (2006, February 26). Great Bamboo Wall. Retrieved March 09, 2011, from InHabitat.com: http://inhabitat.com/great-bamboo-wall/
Oddo, F. (2011). Great (Bamboo) Wall House, Kengo Kuma. Retrieved March 11, 2011, from Floor Nature: http://www.floornature.com/progetto.php?id=4718&sez=30
Stang, A., & Hawthorne, C. (2005). The Green Houses: A Direction in Sustainable Architecture. New York: Princton Architectural Press.
