This house is located between the mountains of Nihommatsu-shi and Fukushima-shi in Fukushima prefecture. The client has an emotional attachment to the site, because they inherited the land from their grandmother. The region is rich in nature; the environment is tranquil and full of nostalgic elements and vistas. In the past, the land was used for farming, but has become fallow due to neglect. An abundance of clean water, rich greenery, and wildlife enriches the site. The house is designed to preserve the natural ecosystem, allowing for the coexistence of humans and animals.
One of the most pious and perilous of Hindu pilgrimages, the ‘Amarnath ji yatra’ is situated at a height of 3888 m, accessible only during the months of July-August for a period of roughly 45 days. The destination of the pilgrimage consists of a cave with a natural formation of an ice stalagmite in the form of a Shiva lingam.
The hut offers a snowdrift frame made from weighted carbon fibre mesh, this contoured landscape mimics the surrounding vertiginous precipices and landscapes, the carbon fibre snowscape creates an artificial snow cave which can be burrowed into and around enabling climbers to inhabit the excavated structure in a similar way to a snow cave. The composite carbon frame catches the snowdrift using snow as an insulating material, as it is a mesh structure pockets of rooms can be carved into the build up of snow as well as air vents to help air circulation, it is possible to further insulate the structure by digging a small pit deeper into one part of the cave floor to provide a place for the coldest air to gather, away from the occupants, the entrance may be partially blocked with chunks of snow to deflect wind and retain heat.
The hut offers a snowdrift frame made from weighted carbon fiber mesh, this contoured landscape mimics the surrounding vertiginous precipices and landscapes, the carbon fiber snowscape creates an artificial snow cave which can be dug into and around enabling climbers to inhabit the structure in a similar way to a snow cave.
The new hotel style
Primitive humans were using caves, dark and not comfortable places, but there they could find shelter from the cold and from the wild animals. In the civilization ages they invented the tent, real light and easy transportable shelter, so they could move whenever they want. The tent was also not so comfortable, so over the years, humans started to have sedentary lifestyle. They built their stone and brick houses, which were very comfortable, but they lost their ability to move and to be free. Human population increased and had less and less space for their houses; that’s why they invented at first blocks and then skyscrapers, they were trying to gain space in height, until their homes reach the sky.
El OJO DE POLIFEMO (Polyphemus’ Eye) transforms the Alhóndiga’s main Hall into the Cylops’s cave, and visitors into lost travellers. The Eye looks directly at the entrance, and its presence leaves no passer-by indifferent. The only way to stay alive is to offer wine to the Giant, amplifying astuteness and mixing stories so as not to be devoured by his deeds. It is an installation, one architecture within another, a memorable scene which invites you to look, to penetrate the Eye and to discover its interior and its surroundings. A perceptive journey which swings from the Homeric epic to surrealist experience and the verses of Cortázar within the context of the 3, 2, 1 Gathering and Alhóndiga Bilbao.
A lot that does not exist. A pine forest along the hillside at the top of Murtas. An existing retaining wall constructed in an Alpujarra´s vernacular way, using local rough stones. The program seeks a room to hold a wake over. A large stone lintel beam supported by a large HEB creates an access space threshold. Once inside, you think of a concave space (cavus-cave) that connects earth with sky. Two concave rooms, one public and one more private.
The assignment was to build a new structure to replace the former temporary structure wich was in very poor condition and a new antechamber. The antechamber, needed to control the thermal exchanges, was tougt like a new perfect rock” among the others existing ones.
Acting against gravity is a familiar Human desire, the most primitive form of body play that inspires many needs. The need to densification is not an exception. Vertical expansion is not only a solution to densify lands, but also a desire to be on top of every visible height. What if instead of the question of density the reason to create a tower was to respect a primitive joy: the joy of heights! Cities in the glory of skyscrapers such as New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong are perhaps examples of many successful vertical densities, but what difference does height make if people who only share an address still see urban structures at their eye level.
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