Domus Sri Lanka - March 2015

8/9/2019 Domus Sri Lanka - March 2015

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BT Options536, R A De Mel Mawatha(Duplication Road)Colombo 3, Sri Lanka.

LKR 650.00€ 4.50 US$ 5.00

SRI LANKA 006 LA CITTÀ DELL’ UOMO

march 15 –april 152015


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196, Nawala Road, NawalaTel: (+94 11) 428 7387, 444 4659

Hotline: (+94) 0773 918 191 | Fax: (+94 11) 280 7063E-mail: [email protected]: www.fazaalceramics.com

Branch - Kandy685, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Mawatha

(Peradeniya Road) Kandy.Tel: (+94 81) 495 3453 | Hotline: (+94) 0777 633 443E-mail – [email protected]


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I domus Sri Lanka NEWS

newssummary

Häfele

Häfele introduces innovative conceptsfor Kitchens by BLUM

Danish Design Museum

The century of the child

Hylex Lighting House Hylex Lighting House

MoMA Design for the ear

Barbican Centre Magnificent obsessions

St Anthony’s Group of Industries Anton uPVC windows at Hotel Hilltop

Driade, David Chipperfield From the beginning to the future

Alcantara After Chandigarh

FSRR, Avery Singer Pictures punish words

Matrix, Eero Saarinen Organic furnishings

MAST, Emil Otto Hoppé An industrial photographer

Vorwerk Carpets, Werner Aisslinger Textile floors

Museo del Gioiello A jewellery museum

Foscarini Industrial inspiration

VitrA Sustainable management

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Hylex Lighting House is a companythat focuses on providing lightingsolutions to households since 1997.Sourcing all their products fromChina, Hylex Lighting House presentsinnovative indoor and outdoor lighting

Hylex Lighting House

The Century of the Child

The Odder prams loved by theDanish royal family, the indestructibleWinther tricycle, Kay Bojesen’s

wooden toys (below) and the Lego,all feature in the “Century of theChild” exhibition at the DanishDesign Centre in Copenhagen (until30.8.2015). Inspired by Swedishpedagogue Ellen Key, who promotedchild creativity in 1900, the exhibitionechoes “Century of the Child:Growing by Design 1900-2000” heldat the MoMA in 2012, but shifts thefocus to northern European designs.

www.designmuseum.dk

customers. Innovative technologiesin handle-less cabinet fronts, spaceoptimization options, life systems forwall cabinets, efficient drawer systems

for base cabinets and a myraid ofpossibilities with Blum hinges are fewof the available sophisticated fittingsystems that support the ideas ofarchitects and designers, such as largeand gap-free fronts. Wide pull-outs andlift systems do not only look good, theyalso create valuable storage space.While load-bearing limits previouslystood in the way of extra-wide solutions,now innovative fittings systems enablecompletely new design options.

www.hafele.com

Häfele Introduces Innovative Conceptsfor Kitchens by BLUM

Häfele’s partner for Kitchen fittingsBLUM (from Austria) integrates thecurrent trends in furniture design andprovides customised solutions for

products that are durable, high qualityand sustainable. Offering impeccableservice, the company centres ondelivering the most favourable andrefined result when it comes to lightingsolutions to everyday households.


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domus Sri Lanka II NEWS

St Anthony’s group of industriesrecently installed uPVC windows anddoors at Hotel Hilltop in Kandy. Firstopened in 1981, the installation of theuPVC windows and doors showcased

the hotel’s dedication to sustainability inkeeping with the current trends. uPVCor Un-plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride

Anton uPVC Windows at Hotel Hilltop

is known as the ‘green buildingmaterial’. It is an eco friendly materialand is ideal as a substitute for wood,leading to a reduction in the industry’sdependency on wood and energy bill

by maximizing energy saving insulation.

www.anton.lk

N E W S

Magnificent Obsessions

From mass-produced memorabiliato one-of-a-kind curiosities, theBarbican in London looks at artists asinspired collectors (until 25.5.2015).See Arman’s gas masks, and DamienHirst’s skulls and examples of taxidermy.

www.barbican.org.uk

P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f A r m a n S t u d i o A r c h i v e s

Design for the Ear

The longstanding affinity consistingin rhythm, harmony, interaction andimprovisation between music anddesign has seen transistor radios,LPs, Stratocaster guitars and iPods alterthe way we perform, listen to, visualise

and distribute music. Avant-gardedesigners such as Lilly Reich, SaulBass, Jørn Utzon and Daniel Libeskindhave pushed the boundaries of theirwork in relationship with the music oftheir times. Drawing entirely from thecollection of the Museum of ModernArt in New York, the exhibition “MakingMusic Modern: Design for Ear and Eye”(until 1.11.2015) organised by JulietKinchin with Luke Baker is a displayof designs for auditoriums, instrumentsand listening equipment along withposters, record sleeves, sheet musicand animation. The show examinesalternative music cultures of the early

20th

century, the rise of the radio duringthe interwar period and how design

shaped the “cool” aesthetic of mid-century jazz, high-fidelity culture andits role in countercultural music scenesfrom pop to punk, and later designexplorations at the intersection betweenart, technology and perception.

www.moma.org

P h o t o P e r n i l l e K l e m p


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Car Charger Duo20W dual-portUSB car charger

iGlaze Armourslim fit metallic cases

iGlaze Air /

iGlaze Proultra-slimhardshell case

3.5mm to RCA

stereo cable

Venturoslim laptop backpack

VersaCovertablet case with

folding cover and stand

iGlaze touchhard shell case for iPod touch G5

Dulciastylish aluminum-body earphones


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domus Sri Lanka III NEWS

Pictures Punish Words

American artist Avery Singer usesthe SketchUP software for 3Darchitecture modelling to constructcomplex spatial compositions filled

with abstract figures and objects,producing unexpected pictorialresults. The Fondazione SandrettoRe Rebaudengo in Turin is hostingthe exhibition “Avery Singer. PicturesPunish Words” (until 12.4.2015),organised by Beatrix Ruf and basedon work that Singer made specificallyfor this first solo exhibition. Withhumour, the artist illustrates socialrituals and patterns, familiarisingvisitors with the stereotypes of theartist, curator, collector and critic.A fanciful memory of her first trip toSwitzerland is the basis for Heidiland (photo right). Her “exotic” impressionsof the mountains, different dialects,and the famous Zurich Street Parade,the artist catapults author JohannaSpyri’s heroine Heidi from 1880 intothe present, accessorised with a

pacifier like a 1990s Swiss raver.

www.fsrr.org P h o t o c o u r t e s

y o f A v e r y S i n g e r & G a l e r i e K r a u p a - T u s k a n y Z e i d l e r , B e r l i n

After Chandigarh

After Chandigarh, the giant rug madein Alcantara fabric by Taiwanese artistMichael Lin graces and deliberatelyclashes with the Chandelier Hall of

the Aurora Museum in Shanghai(until 31.3.2015).

www.alcantara.com

From the Beginning to the Future

After Driade was acquired in 2013by the Italian Creation Group, led byGiovanni Perissinotto and StefanoCore, David Chipperfield became itsartistic director. Driade now continuesto pursue its goals for 2015 by opening

a showroom in Milan. Designed byChipperfield, this 500-square-metrespace divided over three floors givesthe collection an aesthetically austerebackdrop. In Core’s words, the intentionwas to create “not simply a store but an

Below: the Driade showroom in Milan,

designed by David Chipperfield, the

brand’s art director. Interior design by

Candida Zanelli Studio

P h o t o E n z a T a m b o r r a

exhibition gallery”. The first event is the“Early Years” show organised by MarcoRomanelli, which illustrates how thebrand began back in 1968.

www.driade.com

No.3 Kandawata Road, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.

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T. +94 11 2826399 | +94 11 2826447

T. +94 11 4322020 | F. +94 11 2826447E. [email protected]

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IVdomus Sri Lanka NEWS

An Industrial Photographer

P h o t o C h r i s t o p h e r B u r k e . © T

h e E a s t o n F o u n d a t i o n / L i c e n s e d b y V G B i l d - K u n s t

Textile Floors

Presented at Bau and Domotex(Munich and Hannover) in January,Vorwerk Carpet’s new Projectionranges are primarily intended for theoffice environment. Projection addsto an already extensive range ofdesign solutions that combinesclassical and new forms freely.After Hadi Teherani designed theContura collection (photo right),the company in Hamelin, NorthernGermany invited the Berlin designerWerner Aisslinger to create the newElementary Shapes collection, whichmixes six basic geometrical shapesin countless possible compositionsto form patchworks up to one metre

in length.

www.vorwerk-carpet.com P h o t o © V o r w

e r k

Emil Otto Hoppé (1878-1972), an

eclectic artist, famed portraitist andone of the leading photographers ofmodern times, is the subject of a largeexhibition organised by Urs Stahel atthe MAST in Bologna (until 3.5.2015).“Emil Otto Hoppé: il segreto svelato”presents for the first time in Italy hisemblematic pictures of the secondindustrial revolution, long hidden awayin London archives. On display are over200 photos taken in the 1920s and‘30s, when he became an acclaimedtopographic photographer and portraitistof some of Europe’s most famousartists, politicians and scientists.Hoppé travelled widely, determined to

record the grandiosity of industrial sitesthe world over and the advent of a newera in which the very nature of work andproduction was changing radically.

www.mast.org

Organic Furnishings

the book Eero Saarinen. The OrganicUnit in Furniture Design providesa broad overview of the Finnisharchitect’s work in furniture designand highlights the organic unity andinnovation of his iconic designs. Matrix

International promoted the project andconsulted the original drawings, lettersand other rare material conserved atYale University since 2002, unearthingpreviously unknown projects that it hasput into industrial production.

www.matrixinternational.it

With a rich array of pictures, drawings,documents and personal accounts,

NEWS

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domus Sri Lanka NEWSV

A Jewellery Museum

P h o t o C o s m o L a e r a

One of the few museums in theworld dedicated entirely to jewellery,the Museo del Gioiello opened lastDecember inside Vicenza’s BasilicaPalladiana. Conceived and managedby the Fiera di Vicenza in collaboration

with the city, its director is AlbaCappellieri. Patricia Urquiola designedthe interior, built by Molteni & C, todisplay 400 items in 9 themed rooms.

www.museodelgioiello.it

Industrial Inspiration

The Pylon lamp by Diesel Living

with Foscarini was indeed inspiredby electricity pylons. It has a solid,architectural-looking steel body anda diffuser made of linen and PVC.The fabric has an irregular weaveand is hand-pleated on the diffuserbody, lending it a form reminiscentof an industrial filter or turbine.Available as a suspension or floorlamp, the height of the latter can beadjusted to create a reading lamp.Pylon is suited to both domestic andcontract spaces.

www.foscarini.com

Eczacıbası Building Products – oneof Turkey’s biggest industrial groups– has won the European BusinessAward for the Environment (EBAE)in the Management category for itsVitrA Blue Life integrated sustainablemanagement system. Launched in2010, it acts as a sole reference, with

Sustainable Management

methods for measuring, reporting andimproving all EPB’s factory processesfrom production programming tohuman resources – an approach thatis similar to the “triple bottom line”system.

www.vitra.com.tr

Above: the showroom at the VitrA

Innovation Center in Turkey


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Founded in 1928 in Italy, Domus stays true to the theme coined by its

founder Gio Ponti; La città dell’ uomo which translates to ‘the human city’.

Domus aims at examining the world of projects and of contemporaneity

in its numerous forms through the perspectives of the specialists in the field.

Issue 006 exemplifies tackling constraints and inspired design.

In approaching an architectural project, constraints and challenges are

often inevitable. This is what pushes designers to rethink, re-evaluate and

sometimes step outside of comfort zones. Thinking beyond convention

is also an inspired response. A whole spectrum of limitations in terms

of architecture is all too familiar and has been dealt with in varying degreesof capability. Architecture as a result can be viewed as one of the most

repetitive forms of art. It can be said that the art of architecture lies

in the skill of interpretation.

4,500 8,950 17,900


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BT Options Founded in 1987

Editorial

Udeshi Amarasinghe Director – Editorial Prasadini Nanayakkara Editorial Business Manager Krishani Peiris Assistant Editorial Manager Dilshi Aberaja Feature Writer Hansani Bandara Feature Writer Swetha Rathnajothiee Feature Writer Nadhwa Mohamed Feature Writer Archna Balakumar Feature Writer Supipi Udashashi Feature Writer Imaad Saibo Editorial Assistant

Anuradha Perera Editorial Assistant

Consultant – Editorial Jagath Weerasinghe

Creative

Mahesh Bandara Creative Director Ranga Prabhath Associate Creative Director Prabuddhi Bandara Senior Graphic Editor Prasad Caldera Graphic Editor Arham Farook Graphic Designer Ramesh Rajagopalan Graphic Designer Rebecca Huyghebaert Graphic Designer Gayathri Dassanayake Graphic Designer Sujith Heenatigala Graphic Designer Moris Urari Graphic Designer Indika De Silva Photographer/Photo Editor Rameesh Gunasekera Web Administrator Isuru Upeksha Web Developer Geeth Viduranga Trainee Web Developer

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t y p e f a c e : H e l v e t i c a N e u e L T S t d

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Domus Founded in 1928 Editor Nicola Di Battista

The College of Masters David Chipperfield Kenneth Frampton

Hans Kollhoff Werner Oechslin Eduardo Souto de Moura

Art Director Giuseppe Basile

Study Centre Massimo Curzi Spartaco Paris

Andrea Zamboni

Special Projects Luca Gazzaniga

Website www.domusweb.itFacebook www.facebook.com/domusTwitter @domusweb

Editoriale Domus

Publisher and Managing Editor Maria Giovanna Mazzocchi Bordone

Chief Executive Officer Sofia Bordone

Brand Manager Anna Amodeo

Licensing & Syndication Carmen Figini T (+39) 02 82472487

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Vdomus Sri Lanka EDITORIAL

Author Designer Title

BT Options Designing to build

Nicola Di Battista EditorialWhat a project is, again

Confetti

Paolo Besana 1 Weaving with structure and threedimentionality

Konstantin Grcic 6 Building by adding

Projects

Russell Dandeniya 10 Eco House, Madinnagoda

Tadao Ando 18 House in Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Valerio Olgiati 30 Além House, Portugal

Rassegna (Display)

Centro Studi 38 Bathroom

Feedback

Adolfo Natalini 45 Adolfo Natalini’s Florence

ElzeviroAlberto Sironi 49 The soul of a house

51 Contributors

Cover: a sketch of the Housein Mirissa, Sri Lanka by TadaoAndo (right)

BTOptions536,RADeMelMawatha(DuplicationRoad)Colombo3,SriLanka.

LKR925.00€5.50 US$7.00

SRILANKA 006 LACITTÀ DELL’ UOMO

march15–april152015


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I domus Sri LankaEDITORIAL

It can be understood that the success of an architect is not

merely the completion of a building that is perceived as beautifulor novel in design. In Sri Lanka you often come across buildings,in particular houses presented as minimalist or vernacular.It has become commonplace for architects to embrace eitherone of these two approaches depending on their ideals andpreferences. In effect derivatives of the contemporary or thetraditional character are perpetuated exhaustively and at timessuperficially in keeping with a theme. These variations on atheme more often than not fall short of any designer’s aspirationof building timeless designs. Instead you find a haphazard formof redundancy. At times occupants find they are no longer ableto inhabit these spaces, having for a time played the part ofcustodians of abstract design that does not serve comfort andconvenience.

Sri Lanka is not known for its technologically advancedarchitecture and instead continue to produce simple and

creative designs with the resources at hand. Architects havethe responsibility of designing, not the most ground-breakingand advanced design but one that is most feasible sociallyand culturally. There are exceptions to this statement, wherearchitects are compelled and allowed to push the envelope toproduce one-of-a-kind designs through elaborate means withthe blessing of its potential inhabitants. The question arises;does the architect’s responsibility end with the changing handsof the design with the construction? How far does an architect’srole extend in bringing to fruition a design that is particularlychallenging within the social, cultural and climatic limits of acountry? The burden weighs upon the skills of construction wheretechnically advanced methods are unfamiliar territory. Even soa design can be improvised to be realized within its limitations.

Creativity is impeded with constraints of many a nature.In terms of building, the construction processes and mechanics

hamper art through the many complex structural necessities.In this context architects who remain removed from building canalienate their design and leave a house without fully consideringhow living spaces would function once occupied.

Material plays a pivotal role in architectural design. Architecture can be described as the art of building a suitabledesign with suitable material. An architect can push theboundaries of exploring material and its manipulation to producebeautiful and innovative designs. In order to do so they must besensitive to the technical and social outcomes of their designs. Architects that stay the course can witness the building processshape their design and in the process understand and involvein material technologies and construction. It would pave way toenvisage the impact of their design decisions in a tangible way.

The end result would be highly responsive work sensitive to its

site and occupants.In the end experimentation and involvement by the architects

would only serve to expand the possibilities of architectureand lead to novel or alternative material applications andconstruction capabilities. It would pave the way to innovation inarchitecture.

This issue features a house by Tadao Ando in the southerncoast of Sri Lanka and tests the boundaries of local skilland technology in building primarily with exposed concrete.Conversely is a house by Russell Dandeniya designed withparticular emphasis on sustainable building practices,improvising with a considerable amount of recycled material.When comparing the two above mentioned projects, one doneby an international architect and the other by a Sri Lankan,it is clear to see that the two follow vastly different approaches.

While one seeks to test the architectural as well as construction

boundaries hereto unattempted in Sri Lanka prompting theneed to bring in international expertise to complete the task,the other strives to adhere to designs that have proven to besecure and effective emulating the time tested stratagems ofan architectural legacy that Sri Lankan architects continue topursue.

The two approaches of these architects bring to lightseveral questions. Why has a country that is enriched with anarchitectural history spannning more than 2,500 years grownmonotonous in its design approach to architecture, placing lessemphasis on new technologies? Is it that we refuse to relinquishthe comfort of an architectural culture, which has been successfulthat we do not feel the need to think beyond the conventionalbox? Then, is it the responsibility of the architect or the client toinsist on a new way of thinking so that we are able to aquire newtechnologies, innovate, develop skills in the industry and createnovel properties that are not just a reflection of the past? Theseare pertinent questions that need answers to. Domus Sri Lankaaims to create a platform that provides the opportunity for suchdiscussion so that the next generation of architects reflect a newage of thinking.

This issue also features the creative process adopted bya German designer who seeks to give order to the project’selements and create beauty through intelligence, simplicity offunction and quality of construction, and another that looks atthe design of surfaces by connecting warp and weft, which givesinfinite variables in technique, shape and colour. Projects includeSwiss architect Valerio Olgiati’s own house constructed entirelyof reddish concrete and lies immersed in nature conveyingstrength and inhabitability. bto

DESIGNING TO BUILD BT Options


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Vdomus Sri Lanka EDITORIAL

Left: Giorgio Vasari,

the title page of DeRe Aedificatoria in vernacular, by LeonBattista Alberti, publishedby Torrentino, Florence1550. BibliotecaRiccardiana, Florence

© 2

0 1 5 F o t o

S c a l a ,

F i r e n z e


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X domus Sri LankaEDITORIAL

To fully experience our contemporaneity and so be able to imagine

our best possible future, we feel that the question of architecturaldesign, dealt with in last month’s editorial, is so pivotal and ofsuch priority that it is worth adding further reflections here on thesame topic.

First of all, we asked ourselves what architectural design is andwhat we want from it. And also, what the present conditions arefor its implementation and how important it is to choose what kindof projects are really needed today. Finally, as architects and inother ways as citizens, we stated the absolute necessity to seek theforms most feasible and best suited to build those projects.

We shall therefore start from what at this moment seemsto be truly incomprehensible and is becoming more and moreunbearable: the embarrassing incapacity revealed nowadays tothink, design and realise the right backdrop for our lives.

Our society has always been creative and at the forefront, amongthe most fecund and capable in designing the built environment

and its surrounding landscape. The idea that it is now graduallyforfeiting this role is a detestable one.Ours is a society that patiently in the course of time has

succeeded in creating places truly in keeping with people’s lives;places both public and private, indispensable and useful not onlyto the body but also to the mind; places that the world envies.

We do not want to resign ourselves to the idea that all this cansuddenly be interrupted. So it has become important to keeptalking about it.

It is true that recently, an idea, a simplified idea, let us say,of architectural design has increasingly surfaced that respondsprincipally to the many futile fashions that are promoted by theusual superstitious attachment to all things new, by a few uselessinventions, or by yet another technological ideology.

It is not our idea of design, and above all we are not convincedby it. The paltriness of its results and its utter failure to improve

our lives are here before us. By favouring the quest for newness atall costs, we have failed to advance the design culture that belongsto us. Until recently, it produced extraordinary results that arestill amazing today.

We understand that the evolution required by our times and byits innumerable technological discoveries cannot and must notbe ignored. On the contrary, we think that it must constitute theprecious material on which to build our present. But we also thinkthat all this must happen within what has been achieved beforeus, and as a continuity of those achievements.

The continuity that we are talking about, however, is not anautomatic fact. Rather it is the outcome of long and patientendeavours. It entails the capacity to select everything that wedeem to be still of value, and to substitute what instead we believeis outdated and no longer useful or necessary to contemporarylife. We want to construct our present by starting from the greathistory inherited from our past, so as to reassert the architecturaldesign culture that belongs to us.

For this reason, there is an important and urgent need to discussthe idea that we have of design. We need to close ranks clearly andunambiguously, resolutely and decisively, so as to avert the notionthat anything – and its opposite – goes, in other words: nothing.If we fail to adopt this initial choice before everything else, wewon’t even have stated the issue, thus precluding all possibility ofresolving it.

Just how the act of architectural designing came to be reducedto such an eminently technical or merely trade-related fact issomething that must alarm us and give us food for thought.The overwhelming, relentless advance of technology, with itsadmirable discoveries, has radically changed the lives and habitsof the people of our time. And for the first time in the history ofhumanity, this has affected everybody and not just a few, whatevercontinent or place on earth they may belong to.

Above all, this change has occurred in a very short space oftime. The event, completely without precedent, may have giventhose who experience it the sensation that the formidable power

expressed by contemporary technology may in itself be enough for

them to tackle and solve all the questions of habitation; that itmight be sufficient to meet the needs both material and spiritualof their daily lives. Technology has convinced most people thateverything can be faced and resolved by using it, by wieldingits stunning and seemingly infinite products. At that point,architectural design could become simply a specialised practice,capable on its own of finding the answer to any demand expressedby humankind.

No, for us the problem of architectural design goes much deeperthan that. To quote José Ortega y Gasset, we might say that it ismuch more preliminary and much more problematical. In a word,for us the matter of architectural design is a strictly cultural one,and should be treated and discussed as such.

There are no feasible shortcuts to reach our destination morequickly, and any determinism that might be implemented in thepractice of design is doomed to failure.

There can be no design or project based solely on technicalknowledge. Conversely, there is an urgent and indispensableneed today to work on the construction of a more generalauthoritativeness, the only type that can bring back into play thearchitectural design culture so plentifully and admirably practisedin the past.

We do not by any means wish to propose a nostalgic andundifferentiated return to the past. Nor, however, do we want togive up anything from it that may still be of use to our present.This can be done by seeking, selecting and choosing from our pastwith rigorous awareness what may still be of value to us today.This material would prove advantageous to our work, because firstof all it would prevent us from stooping to whimsicality, from doing just one random thing out of all the many possible things thatcould be done.

If we come to think of it, precisely whimsicality has been thereally indecent characteristic that seems to have corroded mostof the architecture and design produced in recent years. So if whatwe propose might serve to reverse, at least in part, this unhealthytrend, that in itself would be a great achievement.

Mainly, the material chosen and shared by us would form a goodpoint of departure; it would help us to select and build only thethings that ask specifically to be built, among the many thingsthat our times and today’s technology have made possible.

This brings us back to the more stringent question ofarchitectural design, underlining how it represents one ofhumankind’s most important activities, an activity that has alwayssustained and permitted our many different ways of inhabitingthe earth. We can add that if among all the practices, crafts andprofessions conducted by man, design represents the more or lessevident basis, in architecture this is superlatively so, expressed tothe maximum degree, and it even represents its very essence.

What we are saying is that the place where architecture really

resides is in design rather than in construction. Architectureis fully contained in the design of a project, where it imagines,conceives and precedes the work’s construction.

Let us try then to reverse a typical definition that saysarchitecture is the art of constructing, a definition that confusesthe effect with the cause. Let us consider a different definitionthat sees it instead as the art of designing something to construct.Better still, let us try to define architecture as the art of imagininghow humanity can better inhabit this earth. At this point we cansay that it is first and foremost all about thinking, about thinkingwith the capacity to create expected and unexpected connectionsthat have to do with the lives of people. It is not just techniqueapplied as a trade. It is thinking that is the foundation and basisof a future realisation.

Preliminarily, therefore, to build a good contemporary projectthat takes into account our needs and is in keeping with them,

we are more interested in problem-solving today than indeterminism, more in doubt than in certainties, and more inpatient work than in sudden flashes of intuition. ndb

WHAT A PROJECT IS, AGAIN Nicola Di Battista


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domus Sri Lanka CONFETTI

CONFETTI


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2 domus Sri Lanka CONFETTI

PAOLA BESANA: WEAVINGWITH STRUCTURE ANDTHREE-DIMENSIONALITY The design of surfaces by connecting warp andweft is a fascinating play of infinite variablesin technique, shape and colour. Several recentprojects demonstrate the strong architecturalcharacter of the work of one of Italy’s mostimportant exponents in the craft of weaving

Paola Besana


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I consider the basic elements of textiledesign to be the material, the structureof the weave, the effect of warp andweft and their alternation, the overallcolour, the yarn count, the finish, thescale of the work, and the contrastsbetween all these elements.

I am very interested in the three-dimensional aspect of fabrics. I oftenuse a double weave with multipleintersecting and open planes.

This gives me free, three-dimensional structures that canhave either contrasting or balancedrelationships. I am interested inexploiting to the maximum, to the

absolute limits, the constructive andexpressive scope offered by thetechnical medium.

My research work on textiletechniques ranges from loom tonon-loom fabric structures, ethnicfabrics, weaving methods anddevelopments applicable to textiledesign, my own artistic output andpractical teaching in the textile field.I search in order to find out more(I sing to sing, as the old song goes),for something fruitful will always comefrom free associations.

I believe however that it is a goodthing to always set oneself a clear

purpose and field to be surveyed,so as not to stumble about aimlesslyin the dark. It is advisable to alwayskeep a record of one’s discoveriesand intuitions as they occur. I considerthat the purpose of hand weaving isnot so much the production of yards

of fabric, but designs for the industry,or the creation of one-off or small-series textile items whose destinationor shape suggests the type offabric to be used. Fabrics to me arenot two-dimensional surfaces, butrather three-dimensional structures,in which patterns originate fromthe contrast and juxtaposition ofdifferent materials, weaves andcolours. What interests me in a pieceof fabric is its specific structure,in a tactile and visual sense. I amless concerned about motifs andthe juxtaposition of colour areas,which can be better rendered using

graphic techniques. I have alwaysbeen particularly fascinated by thestructural aspect of every textile form,and not only those produced on theloom. My interests range from lace tosprang, to four-selvedge fabrics andscaffolded weaving. I have attendedcourses by Thessy SchoenholzerNichols on the recognition of lacesand embroidery. I have exploredthis passion of mine through studytravels in Europe, Mexico, Guatemala,Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, whereI was able to observe, photographand experiment with numerousprimitive weaving techniques, and to

collect ethnic samples and looms. In2001-2002, with a group of formerstudents, I studied and reconstructedlooms collected in South Americaand created modern products usingAndean techniques. My collectionof textile structures and objects

gathered over the years stretchesfrom wire sieves used by bricklayersto delicate needle or bobbin lacesand to samples of different textiletechniques. I have devised a methodof cataloguing that has enabled meover the years to collect and indexa textile library of 1,560 volumes.Searches can be done by subjectas well as by author and title. I keepthese in my own living space, whichin the course of time has become aworkshop, a school and a library, aswell as my home.

For years I have worked on threemain possible types of collections

that are interconnected: examplesof textile structures; artefactsof historical, geographic andanthropological interest; and athird collection of a more personalnature, consisting in textile gifts andtextile postcards, which I have been

swapping with friends. To studyand catalogue these diverse fabricsand textile objects, I have reliedmostly on the writing of Irene Emery,whom I met at the Textile Museum inWashington D.C. when she was stillworking on her monumental textile artresearch project.

As to my card-swapping, just aschildren swap footballer cards, soI send and receive postcards oflace-makers and types of lace, loomsand weavers, medieval tapestriesand Amazon hammocks, miniaturesof textile ateliers that are parts ofmodels found in Egyptian tombs, and

improbable “Penelopes” at work onRenaissance looms by Pinturicchioor by the 19th Century painter WilliamWaterhouse. This allows manydifferent worlds to chat and exchangeviews, spurred by constant creativeenergy.

Opposite page top and this page, rightand far right: the 1989 Tile carpet has areversed negative motif and is designedin easily managed rectangles of 80 x130 cm that can be lifted, reversed andcombined with other similar pieces tocreate different patterns. Its rather thick structure allows it also to be used asa futon. The photo shows the first four samples in a smaller size

Right: sample and study looms,mounted with different woven structuresCentre right: two chests of drawerscontaining textile treasures from all overthe world. The sculpture on the left wearsa necklace created by the designer and acrown by one of her pupils. Animal figureswoven from palm leaves join two small sculptures by Besana (the polypropylene Albero and La Strada, standing twistedatop a slab of stone). Leaning against thewall are two structures woven by her and stretched on frames, A Passeggio (left)and Piani (right)

Opposite page, bottom: Giulia Pils,Besana’s assistant, wearing a Manta.


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Right: baskets are another type of woven structure of which Besana owns a largecollection. She sometimes uses themas inspiration for future fabrics. Thebookcase contains a small part of hercollection of books on the subject ofweaving. Among them is Ed Rossbach’s Baskets as Textile Art , 1973

This page, top left: a sample of a tabbyweave in Sardinian wool, woven over30 years ago. It inspired the makingof the manta because of its diagonaltexture that is unusual in loom-wovenfabrics. From this sample, Besanacreated the Manta with Eugenia Pinna,who also produces it; top right andcentre right: a corner of the Manta,where the diagonals are shaped by

the characteristics of the yarn and thedensity of the weave; Griglia Africana,made by Besana with silk dyed innatural colours, was inspired by anethnic fabric seen at an exhibition atthe Musée d’Ethnographie in Neuchâtel,By threading only one of the warp’s five shafts, infinite patterns can be created,all with the same warp


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Above: Paola Besana hides behindthe openwork screen of a burqa,a gift she received from a travelling student weaver who bought it at an Afghan market. On Besana’s wristis the Essequ bracelet made from a single, thick strand of felt connectedby an overlapping loop. Her necklaceis a length of tubular fabric with acontinuous warp

Below: thicker strands of yarn travelacross the weave, appearing anddisappearing from the surface to givethe fabric three-dimensional texture.This sample was used as a base fortheatre costumes that were worn for theParsifal opera, staged at La Scala, Milanin inauguration of the 1991-1992 season

All photos by Andrea Martiradonna


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BUILDING BY ADDING

In the creative process adopted by this German designer, both analogueand digital tools are wielded to find the right idea and steer it in the correctdirection. Starting from scratch, he seeks to give order to a project’s elementsand create a kind of beauty that is not driven by form but by intelligence,simplicity of function and quality of construction

Konstantin Grcic


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Design has to do with a desire,a need, a necessity, a problem.

Design has to do with people.When I work on a project, I do nothave any precise vision of whereI want to go. I cannot see the projectyet. I shuffle its elements aroundin my head, looking for an order,a trigger for the next phase. Thiscould be a technology or material,or it could be a certain behaviour orfunction. Finding the right direction isthe most critical step, the basis andfoundation of a project, and for meit is the hardest part.

Once I’ve found it, I start involvingone of my assistants. This moment iscrucial – it is the point where I breakthe privacy of my own thinking andopen it up to someone else. It putsmy thoughts to the test. Usually,I talk about the idea. After this firstphase, everything becomes easy andthe design process really begins.We act and react, often enough withour hands, in an analogue, directway. We build models, sometimeson the computer, we try things out,we make mistakes, we correct themand learn. The quality of the processdetermines the quality of the finalresult.

Some designers sculpt form outof a solid volume, others build formup from elements. These are two

completely different intellectualprocesses. I prefer the latter, maybebecause of my curiosity about how

things are made and how theywork. As a kid, I loved to take things

apart and put them back togetheragain. I guess my early childhoodexercises were the beginnings of mebecoming a designer. To some extentI am still doing the same thing: tryingto understand how things are madeand getting them to work.

In my way of constructing things,making models is essential. In turn,these cardboard or wire modelshave an impact on the final look ofmy designs. Even the way we use3D software reflects our approachto modelling things from the groundup. I like the mathematics of thisprocess. They provide me with anotion of measure and control.

For me, beauty is more aboutdiscovery than about having a vision.I don’t think I ever work towardsa specific ideal of the beautiful.Rather, I try to be open to theunexpected. This doesn’t mean thatI’m unconscious or passive about it.In fact, searching for beauty formsan important part of my creativethinking process. I consider beautyto be an important factor for thequality of a design. However, beautyisn’t necessarily connected to formor aesthetics. The intelligence of anidea is beautiful, the simplicity of afunction is beautiful, the economy of

a construction is beautiful. Beautyis always subjective, and alwayschanging. I can’t really explain why,

Opposite page and this page, below,respectively: sketches for the Dahlemchair designed for Arflex Japan in 2014,

and for the Isamo armchair for Magis;above, computer rendering of the Isamo,which will be presented at the MilanFurniture Fair this April. Sketches arepart of Grcic ’s brainstorming phase,where he finds the right direction for theproject’s development

but usually those things that at firstseem raw and unsettling that, in the

long run, I find to be most beautiful.We usually develop our designsrelatively far along before wepresent them to the client. For me,it is essential to have well-foundedknowledge about a project beforereleasing it into open discussion.Only if I know what I want and whyI want it am I able to navigate aproject through this collaborativeprocess. This phase is the mostproductive and important one,and the one that I enjoy the most.There are always constraintsin a design process. Technicalconstraints, budgetary constraints,time constraints and more. Thetrick is to turn such constraints intosomething positive, into an advantage.Constraints can create opportunities.The more I know about a project’sconstraints, the better I can assessmy options and, consequently, themore precise my response can be.

One of the things that fascinateme about design is the prospectof changing things, of questioningthem, of creating something new,something that is the first of itskind. At the same time, I am wellaware that design is evolution,that it is built, to a certain extent,on continuity, and that it needs

this continuity in order to grow.Sometimes one is lucky enough tocreate a disruption, or to make a


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This page: models of the Dahlemchair for Arflex Japan, which ischaracterised by a geometric visual

language. In Grcic’s work method, themaking of models in cardboard or wireis an essential step that helps correctmistakes and define the final project

big leap forward. Often, though, thetask is to continue the evolution,

to tie in with what is already there,to optimise, to make things better.Then, design is for people. Duringthe design process, I have two kindsof people in mind. They structurethe project and put it into context.One is the end user, the person whowill use my designs, possess themand even live with them. The other ismy client, the producer, the companyI am designing for. I like to think thatmy design can respond to the needsof people, make them happy even

just for a moment. Consumers canno longer be grouped into strategicmarkets. The idea that one size fitsall has been proven wrong. Instead,we’ve learnt to respect people’spersonal histories, needs and desires.This is inspiring and beautiful.

The nature of industrial designimplicates that I don’t know my endusers, at least not in a way that wouldallow me to really design for them.

I can only make assumptions abouttheir wishes and needs. I help myselfby constructing little stories; I try toimagine peoples’ lives and names,and to put myself in their positions.

It’s a little bit like method acting.The relationship between people andobjects forms a main focal point forme. Not only for studying practical

issues such as form and function,but also for a general understandingabout cultural phenomena and

society at large. There is somethingvery creative about the way we

use, abuse and reuse products.Sometimes it can be comical or eventragic to watch how we struggle withthe complexity and overload of today’smaterial world. While my relationshipwith end users is rather abstract,my relationship with clients is veryconcrete and personal. We don’t onlywork together. When things go well,we share common goals, a commonpassion; we become friends. Thatdoesn’t mean that we’re always inagreement. The most productive andinteresting relationships are the onesthat allow for friction.

Design is a two-way street,the result of a dialogue betweenthe designer and the personcommissioning the work. It’s like agame of ping-pong – an exchangeof knowledge, ideas and argumentsthat is only exciting when bothparties are equally strong.

When I begin working for a client,I like to learn as much as possibleabout the story of his company.With my product, I work for, with andagainst that story. Sometimes, I mighteven rewrite it, put it in a new context.I find it important to not only thinkabout the company’s status quo but toimagine its future. Often, companiesare farther ahead than one can see

from the outside. By working well, Imight be able to help them take thenext step on their path.


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PROJECTSdomus Sri Lanka

PROJECTS


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PROJECTS0 domus Sri Lanka


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ECO HOUSE, MADINNAGODA

Although in the heart of an urban setting, thishouse takes advantage of its natural surroundingsto provide serene living spaces while at the sametime paying homage to the environment throughits sustainable design approach

Photos Indika De Silva, Mahesh Bandara and Kolitha Perera

Russell Dandeniya


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of the house whererecycled material hasbeen extensively used;opposite page: patternsof dawn created by thetimber roof

Opening page: wrappingthreshold brings outsideto inside; pages 10-11:camouflaged cottageinside the green; thispage, above: the exterior

FROM THE ARCHITECT’S

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Designed to make the most of its surroundingsthis small house is a spatial refuge, a place

to unwind for a client with a busy lifestyle.It is set among the lush greeneries abutting

the Diyawannawa Lake on one side and apicturesque marshland on the other.

The subsequent placing and planning ofthe house reflect an eagerness to capture

the natural rhythms and flows of its urbanenclave, as well as to appreciate experience

and protect the variety of birds and otherspecies that dwell in the surrounding

environment.Positioned along the east-west axis of the

site, the thin rectangular form of the houseis both an environmental and aesthetic

response to the idea of intervening sensitivelyinto the natural habitat. Yet, the apparently

simple design has been carefully resolved toaccommodate a diverse range of indoor and

outdoor spaces to suit the client’s basic – and attimes complex – spatial requirements.

A key strategy pursued in spatial planningwas to increase the garden areas substantially,

thus leaving most of the natural settingsunharmed and allowing interiors to capture

to ‘inside’ – is further exaggerated by usingnatural materials and rough textures

to soften the built-form edges, as well asby allowing natural light and ventilationto penetrate each of the interior spaces.

Even the master suite at the upper level with

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unrestricted views of the greenery. The internal

ground level spaces seamlessly merge with

the outside by extending into an open dining verandah first, and then to a timber pathwaythat runs towards the water body. This

projected feeling of living ‘outside’ – as opposed


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Above: the sitting roomwith a clear flow of airand light. Sun baked mudbrick interior reduces anyusage chaos

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the associated timber attic to entertain kids

gets prodigious views of the natural water

body and the marshland, thereby creating aunique experience unparalleled to what onegets in a similar urban setting.

While the natural setting has been theobvious inspiration for spatial design, the

building also benefits from a continuouscommitment to follow sustainable building

practices. For example, this project can almostbe considered as a ‘zero energy building’ where

materials for the floor structure, timber floorpaneling, doors and windows, railings, staircases,

roof timber, etc. have all been recycled, havingbeen collected from junk building yards in

the vicinity of the site; even most of the newmaterials selected for the building – such as the

low-energy sun baked mud bricks used for walls– fit within the ESD agenda of the project.

Through its simple gestures, materialchoices and spacious envelopes, the structure

also creates a user-friendly and robustarchitectural environment, which is receptive

to different arrangements of furniture orany other spatial or functional chaos without

diminishing the intended unique experienceor architectural character. It attempts to

exemplify wear and tear-free, usable robust,architecture.

05

03

04 02 06

01


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Above: the living areaopens out to the diningpodium; right: hiddenalternate access to thehouse from client’s office

Main entranceFamily livingDinning roomVisitor’s toiletLinear kitchenVarandahMaster Ensuit

1234567

89

101112

Master toiletLaundryWashing roomTimber terraceAttic floor/Kids sleeping

09

10

0807

11


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Inset: timber detailing ofthe ceiling; bottom, left:floating space over thecanopies; bottom, right:master bedroom, cheerfulinside penetration

Top, left: the play of lightand shadow is maximisedto enhance the space;top, right: camouflagedcottage inside the green

Architect: Archt. Russell DandeniyaProject Architects Archt. Gihan Muthugala Archt. Gayani HewageClient :Eshani De SilvaConsultants:JayanthaGamage (Structural Engineer)RDC Architects (Service/Electrical)Site extent:

40.9 p.Total built area:1900 ft2Cost:4.5 MCompleted:2010Civil contractor:Kottegoda AssociatesPhotographs:Kolitha Perera


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Top: capturing the naturethrough openings;bottom, left and right: thewooden walkway from

the jetty of the lake tothe house and theaquatic environmentaround the house


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HOUSE IN MIRISSA, SRI LANKAOvercoming the limitations of working in aforeign territory Tadao Ando improvised withlocal technology to design a house that embodiesthe comforts of a home and serves as a sourceof inspiration to its occupants. This cliff sideconcrete house in southern Sri Lanka takesadvantage of its location to relate to its natural

environment.Photos Edmund Sumner

Tadao Ando


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The house stands facing the Indian Oceanfrom atop a steep cliff at the southern tip of

the island nation of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka hasa population of approximately 20 million that

is largely Buddhist. Its people and culturediffer markedly from that of neighbouring

India, and it has an atmosphere that in somerespects is more similar to that of Japan.

The clients are a Belgian couple. Thehusband runs a manufacturing company

that he developed from a local business intoa global corporation, and his wife is an artist

who creates artwork inspired by the localSri Lankan climate and culture. Though

they live alternatively between Europe andSri Lanka, they hold a deep affection forSri Lanka’s climate, its people, and their

culture, and spend a large part of the yearthere. The husband approached us with a

wish to build a permanent home and atelierin Sri Lanka as a present for his wife, who

has stood together with him through many

hardships. After receiving the commission in early 2004,we engaged in design meetings together with

a local architect who was selected through aninterview process. Later in that year, however,

a great earthquake struck Sumatra, and SriLanka was hit by a tsunami.

Many people near the project site weretaken by the waves, and buildings and

port structures were destroyed. It seemedimpossible for the project to be continued in

light of the situation, yet several months afterthe tsunami we were requested to resume

with designing the house by the client, whohad been conducting relief work through an

organisation that he had established by hisown accord.

After the project was reconvened andthe construction drawings were completed,

we were faced with the problem of determininghow to construct an exposed concrete building

in Sri Lanka by using local constructiontechnology, while maintaining the same quality

that we have been able to achieve in Japan. A local construction firm that had formerly

operated as a subsidiary company of a Japanesegeneral contractor was selected to conduct the

Pages 18-19: the swimmingpool overlooking thebeach. This page: above,the house is located ona cliff facing the IndianOcean.

Centre: the position anddesign of the buildingaccording to the contoursof the land


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Top left, main entrance;top right, the atelier wingprojects outward towardsthe ocean from the top of

a cliff covered with wildbush; bottom, south sideof the building


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project’s construction, but they did not haveexperience with casting exposed concrete. Thus

a decision was made upon the client’s request tosend in two Japanese specialists onto the site.

The two men both had experience working withus as construction site managers, and despite

being close to retirement age, they were still very spirited and eager to make use of their

skills to benefit society. Though they struggledwith the foreign culture and unfamiliar customs

on their first overseas experience, after takingturns to provide instruction on the site, and

with the good effort of the local workers, theysucceeded in drastically improving the quality

of construction.The building consists of the client’s residence,

guestrooms, and an atelier for the wife. These

programs were distributed within zigzagging volumes, and the interstitial voids created

between them were provided as places forentering into a dialogue with the natural Sri

Lankan environment. We planned numerous

semi-outdoor spaces suited for the tropicalclimate, and aimed to create an airy architecturelike many of the native houses. In respect of a

request by the client, a pool that visually extendsinfinitely into the Indian Ocean was positioned

on the second-level terrace. Local materials suchas temple stone, cut concrete, and timber were

used for the finishing, and a wall faced withnatural stone was built around the perimeter

of the building. The steel door and windowfixtures were made in the client’s native

Belgium.I believe that through overcoming various

difficulties by pulling together the strengthsof the local team, the Japanese team, and many

other people from a range of countries, we havesucceeded in realising a quality work of modern

architecture capable of setting a precedent forthe architecture of the paradise of the Indian

Ocean. After its completion, the house has become

a central place in the lives of the client couple,and they spend long hours together there with

their family and friends, enveloped by thenature of Sri Lanka. Without a doubt, today, in

the atelier, works of art are being created thatcan only be made at that place.

Centre: view from thewest end of the diningroom; bottom: first floordining room

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1. Entrance Court2. Service Entrance3. Lounge4. Lobby5. Dining Room6. Kitchen7. Living Room8. Study9. Library10. Reading Room11. Master Bedroom12. Family Bedroom13. Queens Bedroom

14. Swimming Pool15. Pool Deck 16. Shower17. Machine Room18. Dry & Cold Store19. Studio20. Gallery21. Dressing Room

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ROOF PLAN

22. Gym23. Bath24. Sauna25. Guest Room26. Staff Room27. Anteroom For Staff28. Master Bath29. Bath Room30. Maids Room31. Laundry32. Dog House33. Closet34. Terrace

35. Walkway36. Toilet37. Storage38. Lift39. Pantry40. Cantilevered Slab41. Drive Way

Project Data

LocationMirissa, Sri LankaProgramPrivate ResidenceArchitectTadao Ando Architect & Associates(Tadao Ando, Hidehiro Yano)

34 12

34

33

29

378

5

3

37

25

33

3329

25

34

3727 1

4

6

19

3434

34

34

34

40

34

33

29

29

25

27

33

13

14 35

3434 34 17

24

37

36

21

738

18

34

9 10

30

3729

3129

26

2232

35

376

26

26

26

23

16

11

38

39

36

3328

20

15

36

2

38

29


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Left: staircase; right:gallery (above) and studio (below); bottom:atelier wing interior as

seen from the secondfloor gallery. Oppositepage: stairs from studioto gallery


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Opposite page: top,bathroom of “Queen’sbedroom”; bottom,“Queen’s bedroom”on second floor

This page: top, east endof studio; bottom, terraceon second floor

Sri Lanka Design Team

Architect of RecordPWA Architects(Philip Weeraratne, Ravindu Karunanayake,Yohan Abhayaratne, Sumith Perera, KasuniBoteju)Project ManagerPerigon Lanka(Hussein T Fazleabas)Structural EngineerNCD Consultants (Nandana Abeysuriya)

Resident Structural EngineerKokila LayanMEP EngineerBuilding Sevices Consultants(Tissa Gunasena)Resident MEP EngineerYohan JayanthaLighting ConsultantElectro Plastic Eng. Co.(Shashikala Ranasinghe)Interior DesignerTop Mouton, Belgium (Nick Top, Jacob Pringiers)Construction Consultant from JapanKiyoshi Aoki, Yukio Tanaka


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Top: different view of theterrace on the secondfloor; bottom: entrancecourt. Opposite page:top, the full length of the

swimming pool; bottom, view of the ocean tothe southwest as seenbeyond the pool from the second floor terrace

Contractors & Suppliers

Main ContractorSanken LankaFire/Tel/Data/Audio-Video &security camera systemsFentonsAir Conditioning systemElite Radio & EngineeringSupplier for glazing & steel doors and windows Aelbrecht-Maes nv, BelgiumInstaller for glazing & steel doors & windowsC.P.P. Industries

HandrailsBAFF (Building a Future Foundation)Design Period2004.02-2006.02Construction Period2006. 05-2008.12SizeSite Area: 131,621 m2Building Area: 955 m2Total Floor Area: 2577 m2StructureReinforced ConcreteFinishExterior: Exposed Concrete withclear sealerInterior: Exposed Concrete,Temple Stone, Timber flooring,Cut-concrete-finish, etc


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South of Lisbon, in the Alentejo region, this Swiss architect has builthis own house – not as a summer residence, but as an actual dwellingimmersed in nature. The result of this work is a virtual manifesto ofhow his architecture marries expressive strength with inhabitability

ALÉM HOUSE, PORTUGAL Valerio Olgiati


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0 2M

1 Main courtyard 2 Study 3 Kitchen

4 Pantry 5 Living room

6 Utility room 7 Bathroom 8 Bedroom 9 Courtyard

WEST ELEVATION AND PLAN

Pages 30-31: partialview of the façade alongthe courtyard, showing

the living room and thekitchen (window on left).These pages: the Alémhouse seen in its rural setting. Surrounding itare tall concrete wallswhose upper half bendsopen like a petal. Thispage, bottom right: siteplan

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Photos by Valerio Olgiati.All material © Archivio Olgiati

FROM THE ARCHITECT’S PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This project is located in Alentejo, about10 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean.The area is a hilly, rural landscape covered

with beautiful old cork oaks.The climate is mild and dry. The primary

intention here was to create a secluded garden.The surrounding walls are up to five and a half

metres high to provide the necessary shade.The impression created is one of a desert: dry,

stony and dusty. Everything is constructedfrom slightly reddish concrete, poured on site.

The character of the complex is chiefly

defined by the surrounding walls, which

create the impression of petals that closeand open towards the sky. The dwelling itselfis invisible: a single floor secluded behind

surrounding walls.The living room is located at the end of

a strict axis leading from north to south. Itoverlooks the pool and offers a view through

the southern door in the garden wall acrossa flat and empty landscape. A curved hallway

allows the inhabitants to retreat into theshadows of introverted private rooms.


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This page, top and left:two views of the westfaçade. The windowswere made by a localcraftsman according tothe architect’s design.They are larger than theapertures to which theyare affixed, and appliedexternally to the surfaceof the walls. This allowsthe window frames toremain invisible from theinside; centre, differentlayout proposals.Opposite page: viewsof the court and detail, seen from above, of the swimming pool, madewith local pink marblethat reflects the light andturns the water brightemerald

10. 02. 2009 17. 11. 2009

Além houseAlentejo, Portugal

DesignValerio OlgiatiCollaboratorsPatricia Da Silva (project architect),Daisuke Kokufuda,Liviu VasiuGeneral contractorMatriz Sociedade deConstruções Lda.Surfaces720 m² (courtyard);290 m² (house); 85 m²(total of bedroom courts)Design phase2009-2012

Construction phase2013-2014


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14. 12. 2009 17. 1. 2010


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17. 06. 2010 21. 06. 2010


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Opposite page: top,the study has a gabledceiling and a largeopening to the outdoors;centre, two layoutproposals; bottom left,the entrance to the housefrom the courts; bottomright, the hallway to thebedrooms. Raw linendrapes hide the doors ofbedrooms not in use. Thispage: above, the housein its bucolic setting.The reddish colour of

the building’s concretewas obtained by addingpowdered red stone tothe mix; centre, the livingroom. As in all the otherrooms, the flooring ishand-smoothed concrete.The concrete walls wereleft natural after removalof the wooden formwork,which was used morethan once in order toobtain a rougher finish;below, left: oneof the three bedrooms,

all of which featurea private court that isilluminated by an ellipticoverhead aperture. Theellipses have different sizes, and so createa range of spatialconditions that vary withthe changing seasons;right, the kitchen isfurnished with a countertop that is a single blockof marble measuring 127x 314 x 8 cm and weighing800 kg


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8 domus Sri LankaRASSEGNA

RASSEGNA(DISPLAY)

BATHROOM

P h o t o R a m a k

F a z e l


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domus Sri Lanka RASSEGNA

Aside from the evolution of the role of the bathroomwithin the domestic context – having become increasingly

important when it comes to representing desired orachieved status – in these pages it is interesting to consider

the relationship between the products themselves andthe industrial strategies being adopted by this sector of

the market. Bathroom products – I refer particularly tosanitaryware and finishes – have a close relationship

with advanced technology and are intrinsically linked tothe manufacturing strategies of the industry itself where,

alongside well-established industrial values such asoptimising efficiency, quality-control and the economics of

production, there is now an increasing emphasis on the newshared values of eco-sustainability and energy-saving.

Although it may seem to the end-user that the productsof the bathroom industry are not particularly high on

technological content compared to other items – for exampleICT products – in reality they conceal industrial strategies

and technologies applied to the process and products thatare both complex and innovative.

The leading companies in this sector are focussedon a kind of “preventative-design” approach for ‘green’

production, that offers the opportunity for more sensitiveusers/customers to choose products characterised not only

by a discernible aesthetic content but also by their highlevel of environmental efficiency. This means that the

whole of the supply-chain has to be able to monitor theconsumption of material resources, heating and electrical

energy as well as land-use throughout the entire lifecycleof the product, from its conception to its disposal.

As well as acrylic materials, it is on ceramic products– that would seem to be relatively low on technological

content – that manufacturers are focussing their research,one that pays increasing attention to developing a more

responsible approach to production, aided by the factthat ceramic is already in itself a hygienic, hard-wearing,

inexpensive and mouldable material.Use of the Life Cycle Design approach makes it possible to

study and reduce the environmental impact of products overthe course of their entire life cycle: through all the phases of

design, production, transport, distribution, and recycling.In the field of sanitaryware and ceramic products – as

in other manufacturing sectors for more sophisticatedcomponents – Life Cycle Design requires a high level of

integration between all the parties in the supply-chain: fromthe producers of raw materials (chemical and mining industry)

to the workers and on to recycling at the end of its useful life,a sector today still largely at a developmental stage.

From the point of view of manufacturing technology, themain innovations for sustainability, as well as improved

techniques for glazing, regard the evolution of robotisedsystems of casting at high-pressure that enable maximum

optimisation.This has determined not only better-quality products –

through the optimisation of energy consumption and rawmaterials – but also an improvement of the conditions of

the workers, an important factor for the establishment ofa more ethical industry.

Spartaco Paris

Opposite page: Inside theTurkish ceramic factoryVitrA in Bozüyük wheretechnologically-advanced systems such as high-pressure casting, rapiddrying moulds, robotisedcasting shops andbarcode-tracking systemsare used


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HITOArblu

The Hito programme consists of a

series of base units that can becombined with tops in wood or glasswith recessed rectangular bowls

made from different materials.The compositions can be furtherenhanced with painted metal containersfixed onto the sides of the bases.

ARBLU

www.arblu.it

AQUOStudio Castiglia Associati

This bathroom system can beconfigured in a number of versions.Handles made from chromed orsatined metal and available in a

number of different typologiesaccentuate the stylish appearanceof the wall-hung modules.

SCAVOLINI BATHROOMS

www.scavolini.com

STONE BATHWEARStone Italiana

Designed for contract use, thismonobloc bathroom is designed as asingle, joint-free piece that is suitablyinclined for draining water from the

shower. This unit is then fitted withuprights and crosspieces in galvanisedsteel that are pre-drilled for installingwiring and pipework.

STONE ITALIANA

www.stoneitaliana.com

PARQUET PLANK 190Listone Giordano

Thanks to the large dimensions ofthe planks and their sur face finishes,Plank 190 conveys all the naturalbeauty of wood. Free from solvents,

the varnish is applied after a brushingprocess that brings out the grainof the material.

LISTONE GIORDANO

www.listonegiordano.com

FLORENTINEJaquar

A collection of taps whose design isbased on paring-down forms inspiredby Renaissance Florence with the kindof minimalist lines associated with

contemporary living. The result is asimple design that can be accentuatedby combining it with warm surfacessuch as stone and terracotta.

JAQUAR

www.jaquar.com

HYDROWELLNeutra

Combining the technical

requirements of a multi-functionaltub with a decision to use only marbleand natural stones led to the production

of this spa tub made from a single blockof stone, a mark of the company’s skillin creating bespoke products.

NEUTRA

www.neutradesign.it


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TOWERPozzi-Ginori

A range of sinks, measuring 60, 90and 120 cm, base-units with squaredforms and tall cabinets in assortedfinishes. To complete the range, there

SUEDES. Spessotto e/and L. Agnoletto

Suede is a modular and versatilecollection of bathroom furnitureavailable in assorted dimensions andfinishes, characterised by the total

absence of handles; instead eachside of the door has been specially-shaped to enable opening.

CERASA

www.cerasa.it

are wall-hung sanitary fittings anda WC with seat integrated into theceramic that reproduce the curvedlines of the sinks.

POZZI-GINORI

www.pozzi-ginori.it

TECHLAM®

Levantina

A porcelain-stoneware tile for interiorsand exteriors, Techlam® is proposedby the Spanish company in two newfinishes inspired by materials suchas wood and steel. The result of asophisticated digital-printing technology,the new collections have the samem

Documents

Domus Sri Lanka - March 2015