ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Magritte’s in Tokyo, Japan by Makoto YoshidaSeptember 25th, 2011 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Atelier Tekuto Magritte’s – Like Magritte’s Paintings Magritte’s is situated in the middle of Tokyo, on a tiny 45.61 m2 of plot of land. The width of front road restricted the size of construction machinery. The conditions made it extremely difficult to build the residence. The client was a married couple in their thirties, and their simple request was the use of concrete for every part of the house including floor, wall, tables etc. They didn’t even care for storage space to satisfy this request.
Deviation from the gravity Creating architecture is a fight against gravity. There are two ways to escape from the gravity: Use energy to push against gravity like a rocket, or create a structure that contains a volume lighter than air such as a helium balloon. I was inspired by Magritte’s work on surrealism and proposed the motif of a massive concrete block escaping from the gravity. For the structure, I chose precast concrete with pre-stressed steel bar, to separate the volume between ground floor and basement. Finally I found a new element of architecture by rediscovering the common things that were once for granted.
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