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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. W(an)W(an)S(hu) in Beijing, China by reMIXstudioFebruary 20th, 2020 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: reMIXstudio The project is an extension designed to host private residential spaces as well as spaces for a local artists community. The intervention connects and mediates the presence of two existing volumes; it grows around the two separated units generating different light conditions, fusing in a non-linear sequence the existing programs and the “new”, which comprises of creative disciplines such as sculpting, painting, pottery. The volumes weave around in their bare materiality enveloping more private and secluded spaces, interiors that are of three types: meditation, rest and discussion.  North volumes taken from the central garden, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto
 North volumes taken from the main access, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto The volumes overground are defined by layers that, keeping a calculated balance between dissolution and solidification, work mainly on one function: mediating and organizing through few formal gestures the “incalculable”: light. The composition, texture and density of the facades result from the interpolation of three parameters: degree of reflection/refraction of direct light (artistic requirements), maximization of view from interior to exterior (living requirements), and minimization of visual permeability from exterior to interior (privacy). Materials are kept to the bare minimum; anodized aluminum envelops all the new overground terraces and glass volumes, whilst rough concrete defines the underground spaces. The program has no identifiable divisions, no internal boundaries define the newly inserted activities, which are diluted by light and transformed into programmatic gradients.  Night view of the North volume’s South face, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  Night view of the South volume’s South face, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto For this reason each space (spatial sequence) is surrounded by a continuous system, a porous envelope made by glass and several layers of a differently oriented mesh —superimposed sheets that have apertures and densities varying according to specific requirements. This operation generates different degrees of visual permeability, reflection and ultimately privacy. The new addition appears solid in volume/color/texture if looked from the outside, but it visually vanishes when “lived” from the inside, an effect generated by the juxtaposition of differently oriented layers of stretched aluminum mesh that “opening up” or “closing down” force the eyes to see trough or not, to catch peculiar reflections according to where they are placed. The landscape around the building [unfinished at this stage] is supposed to work formally in continuity with the architectural mass, establishing ground links between the two poles of the plot. The material simplicity of the hardscape -wooden deck and aluminum mesh, works in conjunction with a less formally determined softscape which has set plants and groups of essences placed emphasizing the presence of water, the amount of solar irradiation, and the desired degree of privacy from the surroundings.  Exterior ramps of the South terraces, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South volume’s exterior envelope, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto At the moment there is no effective presence of vegetation on the elevated terraces and on the facades, this is because time has not yet run its course. By the end of summer we expect to be able to catch layers of vegetation expanding all around the building, growing from the elevated terraces that have embedded soil containers along their perimeters, and from the base of each metallic surface. It is only a matter of time, and of weather, for the rough geometric definition of the envelope to loose itself up whilst being parasitized by the green. Bringing such unpredictable element to fuse with the linear austerity of the intervention (to be an added layer composing the facade) will not only build more interesting aesthetic effects but will help maintaining the interior cooler in the hot days of summer.  In between the North volumes, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South volume’s yoga terrace and projection room, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South envelope and existing building, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  North volume’s materials, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South volume’s materials, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  North volume’s materials, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South top terrace, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  Projection room, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  From the North painting room towards the South block, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South volume’s terrace and connection to the top level, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  View from the South volume seen from the elevated terrace of the North volume, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South volume’s yoga terrace , Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  South connection towards the top level, Image Courtesy © Federico Ruberto  Top view and elevation, Image Courtesy © reMIX Studio  Sections and diagrams of the intervention, Image Courtesy © reMIX Studio  Presentation model, Image Courtesy © reMIX Studio  Models, first (wood) and second option (Perspex), Image Courtesy © reMIX Studio
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Categories: House, Mixed use, private residence, Residential |
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