architecture « my design fix

Julius Shulman (1910 – 2009)

July 28, 2009 at 10:54 pm | Posted in architecture, photography | Leave a comment
Tags: architecture, julius shulman, photography

Photo: Dan Winters

“What good is a dream house if you haven’t got a dream?” -Julius Shulman

Just a few months shy of his 99th birthday, Julius Shulman, the photographer famous for his iconic photos of modern homes and a glamorous post-war Los Angeles, died at his home in L.A. on Wednesday the 15th of August.

His love and respect for Modernist architecture, his amazing photos and his contagiously charming personality led him to be a well respected champion of the modernist architecture movement.

Shulman’s architectural photography career began by chance at the young age of 26 when his photos of an incomplete house designed by Richard Neutra impressed the architect so much that he offered him money for them and invited him to take more. This talent for photography not only launched his own career but arguably the careers of many of the period’s most famous architects such as Rudolph Schindler, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Raphael Soriano (who designed Shulman’s own house, which he lived in for decades.)

His work, whether in black and white or colour, was never just about composition and light. It was about lifestyle. He was the first architectural photographer to plant men, women, and children like props inside buildings.

Photo: Genaro Molina

Above is a photo of Julius Shulman at work photographing the now famous Stahl House (Case Study House #22) and below is a link to a short video of Julius talking about his most famous photograph that could easily be said to be the signature image of 1960’s Los Angeles.

For a great article that gives an insight into the life of the charming, brilliant, and cantankerous architectural photographer in 36 exposures visit the LAmag website here.

Onepoto Footbridge – Beca Architects

June 24, 2009 at 12:03 am | Posted in architecture | 1 Comment
Tags: architecture, bridge, glue laminated timber, new zealand

Photo via Flickr: Ray Tomes

The Onepoto Footbridge is a shared use bridge for pedestrians and cyclists located in the Onepoto Basin, north of Auckland. Completed in 2008, it was designed by Beca Architects for the North Shore City Council.

“This vision was developed into an architectural form simulating a breaking wave, realised through a series of glue laminated timber rib components. From a sustainable urban design view, the bridge creates interest that encourages pedestrians and cyclists to use it. It also provides comfort for pedestrians and cyclists, separating them from the road.” Beca Architects

There is some very nice detailing in this project such as the view shafts notched into some of the timber ribs to allow people passing by to catch glimpses of the surroundings. Lighting has also been set into the concrete path to differentiate between the pedestrian and cyclist sides.

I also think the timber ribs also look a bit like a fish or whale skeleton sticking out of the mud amongst the surrounding mangroves.

For further reading visit NZ Wood here.

Visit the Beca architects website here.

Photo via Flickr: beejayge

Photos: Simon Devitt

Photo: Simon Devitt

Click on the above elevation to view a pdf brochure of the project containing this drawing and other images at shwan.net

Binimelis House – Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos

May 27, 2009 at 12:00 am | Posted in architecture, houses | 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, chile, concrete, houses, stone, timber

The Binimelis House designed by Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos is located in Colina, Chile and is situated on a triangular shaped block with a slope of 40%. The living spaces are located upstairs with the bedrooms cut into the hillside downstairs.

The house has been orientated parallel with the terrain to create a direct relationship with the landscape on both levels while also taking advantage of the northern sun and views (an ideal arrangement with street access to the upper living areas from the south). A kink in the upper volume also directs the occupant’s view toward the valley and away from a nearby quarry.

Concrete, timber and stone form the simple, yet beautiful palette of materials but it is how they are used that is most appealing to me. The lower level’s organic dry stone walls create a nice contrast with the crisp and sharp nature of the upper level’s gloss stone tiles, reinforcing the appearance that the upper level is just sitting or floating there.

The stone tile cladding on the upper floor is also interestingly detailed. Check out the section detail showing this cladding extending onto the roof and how there is no hidden box gutter – the water would just run off the edge and down the walls. The other section showing the window/door opening has a 50×50 steel angle near the roof edge. I assume this would divert the rain to either side of the opening. It would be interesting to see how this works in a heavy downpour.

Photos: Aryeh Kornfeld

Visit the Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos website here.

For more photographs and drawings visit Archdaily here.

Via Archdaily

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant – Pacific Environments Architects

March 6, 2009 at 10:44 pm | Posted in architecture | Leave a comment
Tags: architecture, new zealand

The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant, designed by Pacific Environments Architects, is situated north of Auckland, New Zealand. The project started out as a marketing campaign for Yellow Pages to build a restaurant in a tree using only services and materials listed in the Yellow Pages.

The restaurant is suspended 10m up a Redwood tree and is accessed via a 60m ramp. It can seat 18 guests at one time and still has room for a bar. The kitchen facilities are located in a marquee at the bottom of the ramp.

The form itself was inspired by a number of things found in nature – a suspended butterfly cocoon to name just one.

If you were thinking ‘That’s somewhere I might like to visit’ I’m afraid it was only open for one fully booked out month during January/February 2009 but who knows – maybe its popularity will lead it to be reopened and become a permanent fixture?

Photos: Lucy Gauntlett

To read more visit the Pacific Environments Architects’ website here.

Or visit the Yellow Treehouse Restaurant website/blog at www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz

James-Robertson House – Casey Brown Architecture

January 13, 2009 at 4:06 am | Posted in architecture, houses | Leave a comment
Tags: architecture, australia, coastal, houses

jamesrhouse1

This has been one of my favourite Australian houses for quite a while now. Designed by Casey Brown Architecture, the house is located on a steep 45 degree slope at Mackeral Beach in NSW. It consists of three pavilions; the upper housing the main bedroom, the lower two housing the living and kitchen and beneath those are the guest bedroom and bathroom. I really like the use of materials (stone, steel, timber, glass and copper) allowing the building to blend nicely into the surrounding environment. The slender black steel structure and extensive use of glass creates a beautiful glowing ‘lantern like’ structure at night and I particularly like the frameless glass of the upper windows at the corners each pavilion.

For further reading visit The Cool Hunter

www.caseybrown.com.au

First Year Model

December 14, 2008 at 10:51 am | Posted in architecture, my work | 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, model

I felt like posting a couple of images of a model I made in first year architecture at uni. I still really like this model – It’s one of the few from my early uni years that didn’t get broken or thrown away.

stair-1

stair-21

Photos: Aidan Taylor

Klein Bottle House – McBride Charles Ryan

November 18, 2008 at 1:51 pm | Posted in architecture, houses | 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, australia, houses, robin boyd award

The Klein Bottle House, designed by McBride Charles Ryan, was recently awarded the 2008 Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – the highest award for residential architecture in Australia.

"This holiday house is situated on the Mornington Peninsula 1.5 hrs drive from Melbourne. It is located within the tee-tree on the sand dunes, a short distance from the wild 16 beach. From the outset MCR wanted a building that nestled within the tree line. That talked about journey and the playfulness of holiday time."

"What began as a spiral or shell like building developed into a more complex spiral, the Klein bottle. MCR were keen to be topologically true to the Klein bottle but it had to function as a home. We thought an origami version of the bottle would be achievable and hold some ironic fascination. (The resulting Fibre Cement version also has a comforting relationship to the tradition of the Aussie cement sheet beach house). The house revolves around a central courtyard, a grand regal stair connecting all the levels. There is a sense of both being near and far to all occupants."

04 klein bottle 05 klein bottle 06 klein bottle 07 klein bottle 08 klein bottle 10 klein bottle 09 klein bottle Photos: John Gollings