Form4 Architecture | Time Space Existencean official collateral event of the Biennale Architettura 2016

[Venezia 28.5 - 27.11]

Conversations

9[+3] about architecture

Introduction

To design is to commit. This act is public and inherently open to collective scrutiny. Emotions driving the design and its recep-tion rarely enter, if ever, any conversations around the work, but they are there. They fuel anticipation, they build hype, they propel our response to what we dwell. So to bring Architecture and Emotion together is an intentional provocation with intermittent precedents and unstable footing in the Age of the Digital. And that makes this pair even more desirable. After all architecture reshapes evidence on a perpetual basis. Architecture is a practice of non-conformity: you design what is yet to be there. Your response to what

is generated is emotional, first and foremost, with the rational a distant second.

The etymology of the word invitation has its root in the Latin invitare, then equivalent in meaning to “invite, treat, entertain, be pleasant toward”. To receive an invitation from Italy to show one’s work can easily encompass all the above possibilities. And so design architect John Marx received such an invitation from the Netherlands-based Global Art Affairs Foundation. He was summoned to exhibit his architectural visions within the context of a upcoming thematic show titled Time, Space, Existence. In this collateral event

falling under the vast umbrella of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, John joins a prestigious roster of names, among them Denise Scott-Brown, Peter Eisenman, and Fumihiko Maki. As a design provocateur, John Marx got what he wished for: a stage to make a case for an architecture based on emotion. The audience is the worldly crowd of one of most coveted appointment in the field today.

The Spark

Perspective map of the city, published by Vincenzo, Venizia, 1693

For those who study and love contempo-rary architecture, the Venice Biennale is possibly the most consequential arena in the world to exhibit and apprehend the architectural concerns of our time. It is there that the grand overview of the cul-ture of the built environment- existing and to be realized- is in full display, and broad assessments about recent and upcoming trends are articulated. While the Art Bien-nale has a rather old history of events since its start in 1895, the Architecture Biennale gave birth to its first international exhibi-tion as recently as 1980 under the artistic curatorship of post-modern architect Paolo

Portoghesi. With the title Strada Novissima, that show symbolize the historical start of Postmodernism, leading to its spread around the globe as a counterforce to the anemic modernism rampant in the 1970s. Over the years, the Architecture Biennale’s following has grown exponentially bring-ing together the heavyweights of the field (both architects and critics) under one roof. Part of its overwhelming success is due to the leading organizers of this festival. For each edition of the Biennale a director is nominated, always different from previous years. Many of those directors are Pritzker Prize winners (the equivalent of the Nobel

Prize in architecture) and this year is no exception with Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena who was just awarded this hon-or. Alternating every other year with the Art twin event, in 2016, architecture takes center stage. This highly prestigious venue attracts a large crowd of general public and specialists from all corners of the world with great fanfare in the press. The issues explored have ranged from looking at the macro scale of territory and regional planning, to the morphing of architectur-al forms through the digital, to the social responsibility of the architect.

The Venice Biennale

TIME SPACE EXISTENCEINVITATION TO THE VIP PREVIEW PARTY

BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 2016EXHIBITION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: 28 MAY - 27 NOVEMBER 2016

WWW.EUROPEANCULTURALCENTRE.EU - WWW.GLOBALARTAFFAIRS.ORG WWW.PALAZZOBEMBO.ORG - WWW.PALAZZOMORA.ORG - WWW.PALAZZOROSSINI.ORG

PALAZZO MORA PALAZZO BEMBO 26 & 27 MAY 2016 | 18:00 - 22:00

PALAZZO ROSSINI26 MAY 2016 | 16:00 - 22:00

TIME SPACE EXISTENCEINVITATION TO THE VIP PREVIEW PARTY

BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 2016EXHIBITION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: 28 MAY - 27 NOVEMBER 2016

WWW.EUROPEANCULTURALCENTRE.EU - WWW.GLOBALARTAFFAIRS.ORG WWW.PALAZZOBEMBO.ORG - WWW.PALAZZOMORA.ORG - WWW.PALAZZOROSSINI.ORG

PALAZZO MORA PALAZZO BEMBO 26 & 27 MAY 2016 | 18:00 - 22:00

PALAZZO ROSSINI26 MAY 2016 | 16:00 - 22:00

Possibly the most ambitious in ideological aspirations, Time Space Existence is the exhi-bition’s title speaking to the first principles of the architectural act. Hinting at the phenomenological dimension of space, the show presents a kaleidoscopic mix of de-sign languages with the purpose of height-ening our corporeal awareness of the archi-tectural experience for users, understood as embodied participants in the world. At the height of modernism, the problem space of architecture, as it was referred to in the early days of Artificial Intelligence, yielded a predictable set of allegedly fit solutions based on declared procedures accessible by third parties. The search for objectivity and for the ideological annihilation of the sub-

ject were institutionalized and inescapable in the institutional climate of the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Such clinical and aseptic outlook to design matters was the fastest shortcut toward the many environ-mental disasters plaguing the ensuing gen-erations. The overwhelming evidence of its failing was beyond reasonable doubt, yet it taught maybe the most important lesson for the collective: forgetting the individual as a complex psychological entity entailed a more thoughtful reflection of how archi-tecture operates and what it does to the world. Henceforth, a new set of concerns arose from the modernist ashes. Time Space Existence may well be the endpoint of that 180 degree turn to structure the making of

architecture around a concept of the indi-vidual repository of inherited knowledge and individual sensibility. How does space affect the nature of our human experience, being citizens of the 21st century world? This broad question inherently elicits a variegated answer from the vast array of architects invited from 6 continents. John Marx’s response to this provocation is as intelligible as it is obvious: too much emphasis on function killed emotion. Architecture will greatly benefit from reconnecting to the emotional response that we as humans have toward buildings. Against all odds even just ten years ago, “How does a building make you feel?” is a query increasingly reappearing in recent

architecture discourse. John Marx displays his own answer in the magical setting of the Venetian Lagoon. It is plausible to label this stance as “neo-humanist” without confining architectural form in a restricted permutation of rules. Time Space Existence is in a network of shows in reality, distributed in three different historical structures (Pala-zzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, Palazzo Rossini) each assigned to host in various assort-ments solo presentations, eclectic groups of architects, and universities installations.

Time Space Existence

That Venice had its own distinct Renais-sance tradition is manifest in the archi-tecture of Palazzo Mora. The particular fenestration, grouped at the center of the facade, with blank walls following and windows stacked toward the corners, is a leitmotif of this glorious period in Italian Art. It celebrated the lineage of a noble family, which inhabited the premise for almost 300 years. While the formal system regulating the facade is legible in its integ-rity, the palazzo underwent various stages of growth by incorporating adjacent

existing structures. The result is a maze of big and small spaces with generous ceil-ings and varying opportunities for natural light. As the palazzo grew it stretched all the way to parcel gaining an addition-al access to a canal. In this labyrinthian environment, the invited architects unfold a universe of their own making. These dimensional variations in room sizes and location lend themselves to countless in-stallations to tell the story of architecture by people for the people.

Palazzo Mora

The Exhibition

Computer simulated rendering of Form4 Architecture’s exhibition at Palazzo Mora.

The 9[+3] Conversations is a visual-textual artwork dealing with the broader philosoph-ical choices architects make in their longing for meaningful space. 9 are pictorial poems illustrating an architectural design philoso-phy. [+3] are the existential premises journal-ing the uniquely personal itinerary of those individuals embracing architecture as a life project: the why (Epiphany), one’s place in the order of things (Avocation), and the chal-lenged navigation of one’s own choices in life (Balance). The rebus is the rhetorical device both groupings share within the artwork. As an ensemble, they invite viewers to decode, interpret, connect, reflect. Each poem intersects the Visual (V), the Textual (T), and the Work (W), three areas encom-passed in a living philosophy. Poems are paired with either one or two projects, in each case illustrating the relationship of the Work to the underlying philosophy. The poems featured reflect the inner world of design architect John Marx.

language has alluded to bigger things, the inscrutable, the ineffable, the ungraspable.

Its unrepentant acknowledgement of the inner reality of the self- either producer or consumer of architecture- is an attempt to bring back the focus on a balanced relation-ship between the humane and the rational side coexisting in the mind. To connect with others now and across Time is at the fore-front of architects’ hopes. The 9[+3] Conver-sations aim at striking that chord resonating in those who feel the vastness of its argu-ment. At its core, it is an attempt to reach out to those who love architecture as a higher pursuit and to add to its dialog. They shape the Work and in turn are recalibrated by it. Each designer would likely craft diverse conversations.

Clustering these 9 (visual poems) [+ 3] (life constants) into an exhibition conveys the

We present our concepts through highly concentrated optical allusions. Our Work is impregnated with aspirations, ambitions, anticipations, that is those intentions mobi-lizing the individual to externalize in archi-tecture all that lives within the self in an effort to communicate with others the range of emotions nested in the flow of Time. The articulation of that tension toward Space is just as diverse, representative of an inner poetic Existence the architect as artist protects and nurtures amidst adversities over a lifetime. What appears in this endeav-or is a proposition, an entry point, dense with signification, where life is celebrated, honored, dignified, and memorialized. Architecture is a co-author of the book of Time, its setting being Space, framing the collective’s Existence. It transcends the immediate pragmatics of building to reach a dimension where the personal and the universal fuse into a socio-cultural and meta-physical continuum. Heretofore literary

By default Architecture implies an

intense commitment to being in the

world. It has physical extension; it

involves sequencing and it constitutes

the autobiographical imprint in

material substance of its creator. In

brief, it resides in Time, Space,

Existence.

Conversations

9[+3] about architecture

Continued

desire to engage the stable technology of paper. These visuals are reflections and solace, roadmaps and statements of belief, pledges and romance. Over three decades of John Marx’s design practice, the Work has unveiled a coherent philosophy, with conceptual invariants amenable for further development as the Work matures and the architect hones the art of design over decades. These 9 [+3] commitments are both generative and interpretative of it. They unlock their coherent interconnectedness without remaining captive of the rational basis of design so defining of the architect as the problem solver alone. The labyrinthine thread weaving its way in the 9[+3] Conver-sations shapes our Work. Our projects’ iconicity is as purposeful as it is functional. Its contextualism is transformational, as opposed to mimetic. Unapologetically inserted in an urban and natural spectacle, they each activate an intent to experience

appears fixed as a numerical device encap-sulating an array of concepts, that figure can be reduced or increased as needed to reor-ganize the fixed workpoints of other archi-tects willing to articulate their time depen-dent story through this format. Nothing is either conclusive or definitive. The puzzle is open, holding pieces that are amenable to variable arrangements. Enjoy.

what is seen in the beholder. In marrying the logistical to the post-physical, these 9 [+3] commitments are equally generative of the works and interpretative of it.

The 9 conversations are given purposefully enigmatic visual and textual representations. Such allegorical form woos the observer in a silent processing of these signs distributed on layered canvas engaging the symbols ruling one’s decisions and actions over a life-time. The graphic texture of each composi-tion is a springboard for the spectators to take a creative, interpretative leap, in order to make their own sense of that visual consumption, recursively rich in signification. Conceived as a stand-alone artwork, the 9[+3] Conversations introduce the onlooker to a puzzle with suggested connections. The narrative outlines one possible interpreta-tion among many and explains the links in the iconography. Although the number 9

Illustration of Form4 Architecture’s final wall layout for the exhibition (next pages).

Visual Poems9[+3] Broad Philosophy

“Constantly risking absurdity and

death whenever he performs above

the heads of his audience the poet

like an acrobat climbs on rime to a

high wire of his own making “

(Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

Balance9[+3] about architecture

External forces do have agency on a chosen course. It is a push and pull exerted over a lifetime. As architects, the dependence on patrons is clear, that is the well-known realization that architecture is “made to order”. Within this context, the word “compromise” acquires a whole new import in our inner vocabulary. Compromise is negotiation, not yielding. Example of such a stance are “both|and” attitudes rather than “either|or”. These approaches allow greater management of unforeseen change, balancing one’s perception of value while listening to others. The fight between heart and mind, between luck and focus, between money and quality goes on. Balance is the interface between the self and the world. It is a realization that brings perspective, and renewed determination. We seek the best possible outcome from an almost infinite set of conditions. Some of these conditions are inspiring /uplifting, some so woeful and heavy that they threaten to drag down the potential for the project to provide a meaningful environment.

Architecture is an art|science|business. The architect, like the artist, has made a personal commitment that can last an entire life trajectory. The architect does manage a dynamic of emotions, many conflicting, all necessary to ascertain his/her feelings toward this most challenging art form. Over time, attitudes have changed about architecture. The gamut of signification is wide and inconsistently flattering. From mother of all arts to pure decoration, architecture has routinely survived adoration and vilification. Holding on to the “both|and” paves the way for a permeable course to grant architecture a seat at the Table of Relevance for humanity.

The acknowledgement is that many attitudes inhabit the making of architecture. From the prosaic to the poetic, the occupational mentality versus the heroic defender of high ideals, architects

Balance

Sea Song, Big Sur, California

can take on as many identities as their visioning abilities allow them to embrace. Giving is an option in architecture, rather than a dogma. Competence alone already conveys a form of social responsibility. It is an alternative, however, to push architecture to the next level of meaningful impact on the community.

Longevity is a factual test of our union to architecture. It comes at a cost, despite its life affirming benefits. External and internal factors will question our being rational about it, practical, matter of fact, sensible, and even meaningful. That is a storm with many casualties, as youthful enthusiasm might give way to disenchantment. With the accrual of experience year after year, the perceived general public [idealized and mythologized in the mind] of one’s alleged grand acts has vanished from our dreams and what is left is the mirage of an unrealized possibility. The alternative acknowledges the regenerative capacity of love for architecture to replenish our passion, an addictive circularity that perpetuates this endless fascination. This balancing act is complex. The path is hard. Everything is trying to pull you off the wire. This resolve, however, counteracts these ongoing forces.

Knowledge of the self and of one’s place in the world has much to do with an architect’s work. What to envision, what to strive for, what to advocate, what to defend, can only emerge if rooted in the understanding of our own emotional chart and the ensuing action in physical reality. It is anachronistic to live by universalistic rules in a world of global connectivity. This creative eclecticism is exhilarating, rather than confusing. It is this era that the architect is destined to translate into space.

“Constantly risking absurdity and death whenever he performs above the heads of his audience the poet like an acrobat climbs on rime to a high wire of his own making “ (Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

“Constantly risking absurdity and death whenever he performs above the heads of his audience the poet like an acrobat climbs on rime to a high wire of his own making “ (Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

External forces do have agency on a chosen course. It is a push and pull exerted over a lifetime. As architects, the dependence on patrons is clear, that is the well-known realiza-tion that architecture is “made to order”. Within this context, the word “compromise” acquires a whole new import in our inner vocabulary. Compromise is negotiation, not yielding. Example of such a stance are “both-|and” attitudes rather than “either|or”. These approaches allow greater management of unforeseen change, balancing one’s percep-tion of value while listening to others. The fight between heart and mind, between luck and focus, between money and quality goes

adoration and vilification. Holding on to the “both|and” paves the way for a permeable course to grant architecture a seat at the Table of Relevance for humanity.

The acknowledgement is that many attitudes inhabit the making of architecture. From the prosaic to the poetic, the occupational mentality versus the heroic defender of high ideals, architects can take on as many identi-ties as their visioning abilities allow them to embrace. Giving is an option in architecture, rather than a dogma. Competence alone already conveys a form of social responsibili-ty. It is an alternative, however, to push archi-tecture to the next level of meaningful impact on the community.

Longevity is a factual test of our union to architecture. It comes at a cost, despite its life affirming benefits. External and internal

Continued

on. Balance is the interface between the self and the world. It is a realization that brings perspective, and renewed determination. We seek the best possible outcome from an almost infinite set of conditions. Some of these conditions are inspiring /uplifting, some so woeful and heavy that they threaten to drag down the potential for the project to provide a meaningful environment.

Architecture is an art|science|business. The architect, like the artist, has made a personal commitment that can last an entire life trajec-tory. The architect does manage a dynamic of emotions, many conflicting, all necessary to ascertain his/her feelings toward this most challenging art form. Over time, attitudes have changed about architecture. The gamut of signification is wide and inconsistently flat-tering. From mother of all arts to pure deco-ration, architecture has routinely survived

Balance

Sea Song Big Sur, California

This resolve, however, counteracts these ongoing forces.

Knowledge of the self and of one’s place in the world has much to do with an architect’s work. What to envision, what to strive for, what to advocate, what to defend, can only emerge if rooted in the understanding of our own emotional chart and the ensuing action in physical reality. It is anachronistic to live by universalistic rules in a world of global connectivity. This creative eclecticism is exhilarating, rather than confusing. It is this era that the architect is destined to translate into space.

factors will question our being rational about it, practical, matter of fact, sensible, and even meaningful. That is a storm with many casualties, as youthful enthusiasm might give way to disenchantment. With the accru-al of experience year after year, the perceived general public [idealized and mythologized in the mind] of one’s alleged grand acts has vanished from our dreams and what is left is the mirage of an unrealized possibility. The alternative acknowledges the regenerative capacity of love for architecture to replenish our passion, an addictive circularity that perpetuates this endless fascination. This balancing act is complex. The path is hard. Everything is trying to pull you off the wire.

As one looks out in the world to

where an impact could be made, the

options are manifold, both paralyzing

and titillating. The choice is so vast

that self-discipline and deep listening

to oneself are inevitably triggered.

Avo/Advo-cation9[+3] about architecture

In that haze, architecture might emerge. When that happens, when architecture is picked to make one’s contribution to the world, our emotional and logistical resources are put in motion. Architecture is both Art and discipline coalesced in its own distinct complexity, shaking the foundations of our awareness, a key discovery is a world above eye level. It becomes clear that a great many people before us battled for a better environment to improve the human condition and to enjoy inner enrichment. Clear also is that architecture was both a backdrop and a centerpiece of human events and that it has retained the capacity to do the same in the present and future. Where is our place in it? As milestones of architectural history are internalized (those monuments around which our belief system finds anchor to) questions about how our contribution aligns to the ancestry of history come up, if an individual aspires to do worthy work. The story has been told as a logical and linear progression of steps, but its true history is much more layered than that. The inner questionnaire starts. Going through the metaphorical checklist of attributes to learn whether one’s make is right for the job falls into a personal choice. This, by default, is actually an open list, a tentative screening to do a first pass at believers versus “Sunday strollers” improvised designers.

Something somewhere deep inside ourselves prompts us to give, in some form, as members of humankind. It is a growing sense of necessity for us to engage in ways that are meaningful to ourselves and to others. Since architecture is our chosen conduit for that, the senses are more alert to its possibilities than ever before. Whether urban or rural dwellers, our experience of buildings has ordinarily left us indifferent,

Crashing Waves, Tongyeong, South Korea

As one looks out in the world to where an impact could be made, the options are manifold, both paralyzing and titillating. The choice is so vast that self-discipline and deep listening to oneself are inevitably triggered.

backdrop entities to our concerns. However a few of those experiences did move you, and unexpectedly so. It was an eye-opening occurrence that mobilized a whole other level of personal aspiration to contribute within the same mode. That set our agenda: the commitment is to put your best effort to add through one’s work to that inventory of buildings that positively affect lives, while keeping at bay those environmental derailments that will inevitably challenge that resolve. In doing deep reassessments over time about our actions, responsive to how the world is understood, calibrating the next move and the next and the next is done to hit the center of an elusive target. That is the most impactful and transformational architecture the individual can help to shape, to rediscover and reinvigorate our investment in life in general. It is indeed a lofty goal worthwhile a lifetime of exploration, study, and execution.

Skepticism about the linearity of progress is an emerging achievement of 21th century consciousness. Paradoxically it was not inaction that ensued. Recognizing the fallibility of scientific creed in “one solution to one type of problem”, led to the reformulation of the individual’s agency on the oblique plane of the collective. The nurturing of one’s vow to give to the world in some form is negotiated in the cornucopia of opportunities, available over time. Being coherent on a timeline as long as life, goes hand in hand with personal notions of integrity. Those principled yardsticks are realities as singular as the uniqueness of each person.

Avo/Advo-cation

As one looks out in the world to where an impact could be made, the options are manifold, both paralyzing and titillating. The choice is so vast that self-discipline and deep listening to oneself are inevitably triggered.

In that haze, architecture might emerge. When that happens, when architecture is picked to make one’s contribution to the world, our emotional and logistical resourc-es are put in motion. Architecture is both Art and discipline coalesced in its own distinct complexity, shaking the foundations of our awareness, a key discovery is a world above eye level. It becomes clear that a great many people before us battled for a better envi-ronment to improve the human condition and to enjoy inner enrichment. Clear also is that architecture was both a backdrop and a

Something somewhere deep inside ourselves prompts us to give, in some form, as members of humankind. It is a growing sense of necessity for us to engage in ways that are meaningful to ourselves and to others. Since architecture is our chosen conduit for that, the senses are more alert to its possibilities than ever before. Wheth-er urban or rural dwellers, our experience of buildings has ordinarily left us indifferent, backdrop entities to our concerns. However a few of those experiences did move you, and unexpectedly so. It was an eye-opening occurrence that mobilized a whole other level of personal aspiration to contribute within the same mode. That set our agen-da: the commitment is to put your best effort to add through one’s work to that inventory of buildings that positively affect

centerpiece of human events and that it has retained the capacity to do the same in the present and future. Where is our place in it? As milestones of architectural history are internalized (those monuments around which our belief system finds anchor to) questions about how our contribution aligns to the ancestry of history come up, if an indi-vidual aspires to do worthy work. The story has been told as a logical and linear progres-sion of steps, but its true history is much more layered than that. The inner question-naire starts. Going through the metaphorical checklist of attributes to learn whether one’s make is right for the job falls into a personal choice. This, by default, is actually an open list, a tentative screening to do a first pass at believers versus “Sunday strollers” impro-vised designers.

Avo/Advo-cation

Continued

Crashing Waves Tongyeong Music Hall, South Korea

lives, while keeping at bay those environ-mental derailments that will inevitably chal-lenge that resolve. In doing deep reassess-ments over time about our actions, responsive to how the world is understood, calibrating the next move and the next and the next is done to hit the center of an elusive target. That is the most impactful and transformational architecture the indi-vidual can help to shape, to rediscover and reinvigorate our investment in life in gener-al. It is indeed a lofty goal worthwhile a life-time of exploration, study, and execution.

integrity. Those principled yardsticks are realities as singular as the uniqueness of each person.

Skepticism about the linearity of progress is an emerging achievement of 21th century consciousness. Paradoxically it was not inaction that ensued. Recognizing the falli-bility of scientific creed in “one solution to one type of problem”, led to the reformula-tion of the individual’s agency on the oblique plane of the collective. The nurtur-ing of one’s vow to give to the world in some form is negotiated in the cornucopia of opportunities, available over time. Being coherent on a timeline as long as life, goes hand in hand with personal notions of

Confronting the world through the

lens of one’s perception, while

assessing its scarcity and abundance,

prompts a reaction, which can range

from passion or apathy.

Epiphany9[+3] about architecture

If passion is the inner response then it positions oneself in the flow of things as a quest for a personal path. In the search for a way to place an imprint, however small, in the vastness of the what is, the pendulum swings between turmoil and solace. The belief in change has manifested and there is place for the individual to act upon it. A most paralyzing question is how to go about it, as it lacks the luxury to be left unanswered. So begins a sequence of fits and starts, flights and falls, toward a direction, despite our lack of navigational skills in a world yet to be understood. Life is a testing ground. Challenges arise time and again. As this process takes place, one’s identity progressively acquires well staked out contours. Enough life has been lived to draw a sustained distinction within oneself between notions of good and bad. At that point the problem of self-knowledge has reached a temporary internal equilibrium and a clear picture of one’s movement in the entanglement of life commitments emerges. When the resolve to stay the course is unstoppable, managing the to-do-list in a way that fails to disable those long-term ambitions is a default mode of operation. In the juggling of practicality and dream, the search is for a way to balance an ongoing conundrum: how to reconcile forces- large and small- derailing the desired destination in a measurable action plan. The response might be in one’s investment in merging the call for a social cause into sustained contribution through Art, that is reaching deep

Epiphany

Sanguine Lily, Dublin, Ireland

Confronting the world through the lens of one’s perception, while assessing its scarcity and abundance, prompts a reaction, which can range from passion or apathy.

into the core of the self to bring out creativity. The individual’s intuition could point to architecture as a catalyst for that, because it did inspire us more than once in the highs and lows of our lives. Being in resonance with our environment, an awareness has progressively arisen about the magnitude in qualitative differences. The mind and the heart have, at last, a common aim.

Readiness to share, to battle, to articulate, to perorate, to evoke, to convince, to woo is the grand inner mechanism to make progress, albeit a non-linear one, in the large scheme of things. It sets in motion our resources to generate work that connects our destinies in the horizon of history, that lineage that goes back as far as memory can reconstruct and will continue to write itself until life goes on. It is an exhilarating realization- an empowering one, and feeling at the center of a symbolic machine inclusive of the self is an effective reality. It is one’s own version of “awakening”.

Confronting the world through the lens of one’s perception, while assessing its scarcity and abundance, prompts a reaction, which can range from passion or apathy.

If passion is the inner response then it posi-tions oneself in the flow of things as a quest for a personal path. In the search for a way to place an imprint, however small, in the vastness of the what is, the pendulum swings between turmoil and solace. The belief in change has manifested and there is place for the individual to act upon it. A most paralyzing question is how to go about it, as it lacks the luxury to be left unanswered. So begins a sequence of fits and starts, flights and falls, toward a direc-tion, despite our lack of navigational skills in a world yet to be understood. Life is a testing ground. Challenges arise time and again. As this process takes place, one’s identity progressively acquires well staked

lyst for that, because it did inspire us more than once in the highs and lows of our lives. Being in resonance with our environment, an awareness has progressively arisen about the magnitude in qualitative differences. The mind and the heart have, at last, a common aim.

Readiness to share, to battle, to articulate, to perorate, to evoke, to convince, to woo is the grand inner mechanism to make prog-ress, albeit a non-linear one, in the large scheme of things. It sets in motion our resources to generate work that connects our destinies in the horizon of history, that lineage that goes back as far as memory can reconstruct and will continue to write itself until life goes on. It is an exhilarating realiza-tion- an empowering one, and feeling at the center of a symbolic machine inclusive of the self is an effective reality. It is one’s own version of “awakening”.

out contours. Enough life has been lived to draw a sustained distinction within oneself between notions of good and bad. At that point the problem of self-knowledge has reached a temporary internal equilibrium and a clear picture of one’s movement in the entanglement of life commitments emerges. When the resolve to stay the course is unstoppable, managing the to-do-list in a way that fails to disable those long-term ambitions is a default mode of opera-tion. In the juggling of practicality and dream, the search is for a way to balance an ongoing conundrum: how to reconcile forc-es- large and small- derailing the desired destination in a measurable action plan. The response might be in one’s investment in merging the call for a social cause into sustained contribution through Art, that is reaching deep into the core of the self to bring out creativity. The individual’s intu-ition could point to architecture as a cata-

Epiphany

Sanguine Lily 1916 Centenary Chapel at Glasnevin CemeteryDublin, Ireland

Visual Poems9[+3] Architectural

Design Philosophy

The longevity of our species is

fundamentally predicated on the

diversity of its ecology. In the global

world homogeneity disappears to

disclose its all−inclusive richness.

Diversity9[+3] about architecture

The longevity of our species is fundamentally predicated on the diversity of its ecology. In the global world homogeneity disappears to disclose its all−inclusive richness.

Diversity

Luminous Moon-Gate, Taichung, Taiwan

Architecture commits the act of building to a singularly

specific place. The universal feeds the intent embodied

in its material substance. Between these two far apart

endpoints, the gamut of human experiences displays its

complexity and fascinating differentiation. Repository

of expertise, aspiration, know−how, financial savviness,

and logistical calculations, architecture caters, shelters,

reminds, instills pride, and coalesces all that informs the

horizon of the people asking for it. Web connectivity, a

generous digital bandwidth, and ubiquitous computing

enable architects to design from everywhere for anyone

in the anywhere. When architecture accepts the wide

spectrum of human types, sensitive to gender, age,

class, it positively shapes all aspects of living wherever

life unfolds in disregard of the social dividers that have

historically fractured humanity.

True architecture speaks the language of the universal,

yet is embodied in the situatedness of the particular. It

is physically anchored to its site while broadcasting its

message far beyond its physical limits. Humankind has

transitioned from life in settled communities to collective

nomadism: kinetic elites can navigate the world in a

matter of hours, a mobility increasingly accessible to

the masses. Such capacity has changed the terms of

architectural discourse.

Geographic insularity belongs to the past. Architecture

now is steeped in worldly affairs, attuned to a global

register, sadly with fewer tenable forms of regional

design expressions. Ever since Robert Venturi and

Denise Scott Brown published the seminal, Learning

from Las Vegas, a new nomenclature has framed design

explorations: “multiplicity,” “inclusion,” “populism,”

“the commercial,” “signs,” “decoration,” “symbolism,”

“allusion,” and “association.” This is the working

vocabulary of the 21st−century architect. It is generative

of formal eclecticism, of pluralism, of disseminated

variety. Diversity is what allows our species to thrive.

Consequently, a design practice of ambition inevitably

extends its outreach to the global scene to deliver its

artistry where it is sought after. No project is too remote

for the design quest. Each assignment is a diving board

for the exploration of faraway realities, fascinating and

compelling in their distinct and complete character.

These are focused interventions that in their exhilarating

typological mixture loop back into the production of new

work closer to home. That cross−pollination is a fertilizer.

The vast entirety of the world is home.

DiversityThe longevity of our species is fundamentally predicated on the diversity of its ecology. In the global world homogeneity disappears to disclose its all−inclusive richness.

Architecture commits the act of building to a singularly specific place. The universal feeds the intent embodied in its material substance. Between these two far apart endpoints, the gamut of human experiences displays its complexity and fascinating differentiation. Repository of expertise, aspiration, know−how, financial savviness, and logistical calcu-lations, architecture caters, shelters, reminds, instills pride, and coalesces all that informs the horizon of the people asking for it. Web connectivity, a generous digital bandwidth, and ubiquitous computing enable architects to design from everywhere for anyone in the anywhere. When architecture accepts the wide spectrum of human types, sensitive to gender, age, class, it positively shapes all

Las Vegas, a new nomenclature has framed design explorations: “multiplicity,” “inclu-sion,” “populism,” “the commercial,” “signs,” “decoration,” “symbolism,” “allu-sion,” and “association.” This is the working vocabulary of the 21st−century architect. It is generative of formal eclecticism, of pluralism, of disseminated variety. Diversity is what allows our species to thrive. Consequently, a design practice of ambition inevitably extends its outreach to the global scene to deliver its artistry where it is sought after. No project is too remote for the design quest. Each assign-ment is a diving board for the exploration of faraway realities, fascinating and compelling in their distinct and complete character. These are focused interventions that in their exhilarating typological mixture loop back into the production of new work closer to home. That cross−pollination is a fertilizer. The vast entirety of the world is home.

aspects of living wherever life unfolds in disre-gard of the social dividers that have historical-ly fractured humanity.

True architecture speaks the language of the universal, yet is embodied in the situatedness of the particular. It is physically anchored to its site while broadcasting its message far beyond its physical limits. Humankind has transitioned from life in settled communities to collective nomadism: kinetic elites can navigate the world in a matter of hours, a mobility increasingly accessible to the mass-es. Such capacity has changed the terms of architectural discourse.

Geographic insularity belongs to the past. Architecture now is steeped in worldly affairs, attuned to a global register, sadly with fewer tenable forms of regional design expressions. Ever since Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown published the seminal, Learning from

Luminous Moon-Gate Taichung City Cultural CenterTaichung, Taiwan

Diversity

Luminous Moon-Gate was de-signed in 2013 for the Taichung City Cultural Center International Competition. The design intent behind the proposed project hints at multiple interpretative roles for Taichung: a portal into heightened consciousness, a lan-tern of knowledge, a catalyst for metropolitan living, a cultural lung for the body of the city, a gate toward a responsible future, a center regenerative of community life, a landmark for orientation.

The project replaces various discontinued military installations and the former Shuinan Airport. Located on the northern end of the new Taichung Gateway Park, the library and the museum act as both a singular cultural landmark and entrance to the greater urban park. Each building axis points to pivotal parts of the park and the city. The library, the

vertical oval, and the museum, the horizontal oval, work in tandem to express a gateway, yet are distinct volumes with shared design language. The buildings feature largely glass surfaces that draw passersby throughout the day and serve as a beacon of activity at night, following the idea that transparency of knowledge leads to collective achievements.

In traditional Chinese iconography, a moon-gate symbolizes a gateway “to the Garden of Paradise.” The paradise of our Information Age aspires to be a future where knowledge and culture shape humankind. The combina-tion of a library and museum is uniquely suit-ed to provide the basis for this future, and the moon-gate-like 10-story form of the library is a potent metaphor for this direction.

The Grand Stair is an allegory of the power of knowledge, accessible to all citizens of

a free society. Majestic in scale, it marks the entry point to the Great Forum of the library, drawing the public to ascend and reach the long view on all human matters. This trans-parent landmark extends the compositional axis of the Taichung Gateway Park. This marker is a two-way signal: cascading knowl-edge and culture from the complex to the public realm, and channeling the urban dwell-ers from the street to its institutional void.

The vertical culmination of the library is the Great Reading Room, the architectural center where knowledge gets internalized. In the vastness of its vault, patrons and visitors gather to learn, to experience, to open to the city below. Education, personal growth, citizenship, and the fostering of the arts will regain center stage in the life of Taichung. The Great Reading Room affords expansive view of the city and Taichung Gateway Park.

Porosity is a core environmental driver for this design. From the high porosity of the overall layout allowing for maximum wind penetration in and around the massing to the low porosity of building materials for controlled collection of water and heat, this notion informs all design moves. We envision these structures as breathing machines: cur-vaceous forms enhance passive ventilation, movable daylight louvers and shutters for all the building envelopes, and photo voltaic panels on the large surface areas exposed to the sun.

Object scale and practice scale shape

the making of architecture, for

producers and consumers alike.

Scale9[+3] about architecture

Object scale and practice scale shape the making of architecture, for producers and consumers alike.

Scale

Top: Mondrian’s Window, San Francisco, CA Bottom: Falling Lotus Blossoms, Pune, India

In its first connotation, the word “scale” points to the

dimensional relationship between the body and the

objects that make near and far physical surroundings.

This link is at the very core of the sensorial experience of

architecture. Scale is to design as sound is to music: all

artifacts share scale. Rather than being intrinsic attributes,

BIGNESS and smallness remain strictly contextual: it is

objects’ colocation in space that will yield unambiguous

perceptual assessments in the viewer. Users are given cues

to inhabit space in a variety of ways. Scale can be bearer

of sublimity, of ominousness, of quaintness, of cuteness. It

affords mirage, dream, and a way to contain the paralyzing

phobia of unmeasured space. As intuitive savans of

all three-dimensional things, architects purposefully

manipulate the interdependency of the variables forming

all spatial equations to explore the vastness and depth of

collective emotions.

Basic computing technology affords today what was

logistically highly problematic only a few years ago. Relative

to scale and size of projects, it is entirely possible to have a

small firm do big projects and a large firm do small projects.

Additionally, whether small or large, the choice between

being a generalist versus a specialized studio opens up-

or forecloses- unexpected design opportunities. In both

scenario, how to maintain one’s design bar over such

wide range is therefore an unsettling provocation of the

usual way of operating in practice. To curb architectural

explorations to a hyper-narrow assortment of building

types and sizes might be an undesirable price to pay,

sacrificing architects’ grand ambitions to enhance life on

earth (and in heaven) to the limited contingencies of the

commission of the moment.

Concurrently, scale applies to the size of an architectural

office, ranging from the solo practitioner to organizations

employing tens of thousands of people. The poles of this

spectrum—the individual and the giant corporation—

illustrate the gamut of involvement that architects can have

in projects: from complete in the first case to removed in

the second. When an office is too big, its infrastructure

does not allow direct principal involvement. The scale of

the office then poses a philosophical question: what is the

largest size a firm can be without losing direct principal

involvement? The computerization of the architectural

office promises a greater degree of creative productivity

with fewer personnel, thereby allowing the office to create

more architecture. This magical balance between object

scale and practice scale is the operational pursuit of the

creative architect.

Object scale and practice scale shape the making of architecture, for producers and consumers alike.

In its first connotation, the word “scale” points to the dimensional relationship between the body and the objects that make near and far physical surroundings. This link is at the very core of the sensorial experience of architecture. Scale is to design as sound is to music: all artifacts share scale. Rather than being intrinsic attributes, BIGNESS and small-ness remain strictly contextual: it is objects’ colocation in space that will yield unambigu-ous perceptual assessments in the viewer. Users are given cues to inhabit space in a vari-ety of ways. Scale can be bearer of sublimity, of ominousness, of quaintness, of cuteness. It affords mirage, dream, and a way to contain the paralyzing phobia of unmeasured space. As intuitive savans of all three-dimensional things, architects purposefully manipulate the

gencies of the commission of the moment.

Concurrently, scale applies to the size of an architectural office, ranging from the solo practitioner to organizations employing tens of thousands of people. The poles of this spectrum—the individual and the giant corpo-ration—illustrate the gamut of involvement that architects can have in projects: from complete in the first case to removed in the second. When an office is too big, its infra-structure does not allow direct principal involvement. The scale of the office then poses a philosophical question: what is the largest size a firm can be without losing direct principal involvement? The computerization of the architectural office promises a greater degree of creative productivity with fewer personnel, thereby allowing the office to create more architecture. This magical balance between object scale and practice scale is the operational pursuit of the creative architect.

interdependency of the variables forming all spatial equations to explore the vastness and depth of collective emotions.

Basic computing technology affords today what was logistically highly problematic only a few years ago. Relative to scale and size of projects, it is entirely possible to have a small firm do big projects and a large firm do small projects. Additionally, whether small or large, the choice between being a generalist versus a specialized studio opens up- or forecloses- unexpected design opportuni-ties. In both scenario, how to maintain one’s design bar over such wide range is therefore an unsettling provocation of the usual way of operating in practice. To curb architectural explorations to a hyper-narrow assortment of building types and sizes might be an undesirable price to pay, sacrificing archi-tects’ grand ambitions to enhance life on earth (and in heaven) to the limited contin-

Scale

mondrianH-19-full Long-2.psd

Mondrian’s Window San Francisco, California

Scale

Designed for two artists this rear addition to a one-bedroom house symbolizes the architecture of linearity and sequence, where all of the rooms across the three-sto-ries have a sight-line, progressively more expansive as one moves higher, overlooking a downward sloping garden and panoramas of the Bay to the North.

The rear elevation, now the primary façade of the house, is rich in explicit formal refer-ences. They range from the Dutch cabinet maker/architect Gerrit Rietveld for volumet-ric composition, to Dutch painter Piet Mon-drian for the subdivision of the glazing and its coloring, and contemporary New York architect Richard Meier for the expression of frames containing the individual windows in and out of the primary building envelope.

Through a language of planes, a much larger scale is hinted at than what the current footprint really affords. In breaking down the smaller elements blatant symmetry is avoided while simultaneously remaining elusive. As a result, there is some symmetry in the mid-dle floor, wherein the sectional ins and outs activate the default flatness of the elevation. Selective use of dichroic glass suggests further scale as a pursuit of optical vibrancy. These bold primary colors are repeated in the two main worktables’ bright colored glass tabletops. The wall surface is broken up into planes in the color palette of the California morning.

Built on a lot narrower than the typical San Francisco 25-foot parcel, this one-bedroom, three-story infill project is not visible from the street; instead the existing residence forms

the primary façade of the new 1,400 square-foot home. In Roman mythology, Janus is a god with two faces: one looking toward the future and the other toward the past. Simi-larly, the addition to this house represents a creative front where artwork is carried out, whereas the existing part allocated to routine functions faces the street.

The addition provides an abundance of natu-ral light in the creative spaces and the original areas gain more breathing room while con-tinuing to cater to everyday functions. These areas were kept in the Edwardian Arts and Crafts style in deference to two generations of artists who lived in the house prior to the current owners.

At the ground level, the existing garage opens onto a new studio that opens onto the garden

beyond. Connected by a spiral staircase in the studio, the second level comprises an existing street-facing parlor and previously windowless bedroom, which now opens onto a multi-use space for painting and yoga. The existing kitchen and dining room on the third floor open onto a live/work space that also doubles as a space in which to entertain. The view of the Bay increases as one ascends.

Falling Lotus Blossoms EON IT ParkPune, India

Scale

populating the outdoor spaces for more than just a few months of the year, the build-ings themselves contain semi-conditioned, shaded atrium spaces that serve as meeting or gathering spaces for the buildings’ occupants. At dusk, each courtyard morphs into a giant kaleidoscope by the delineation of building elements with neon lighting.

Raised on the ground plane, the complex picks up a teleological dimension in that it becomes a quasi-temple devoted to the future of technology and its own iconogra-phy. As the eye follows the sweeping shape of the roof line, a vivid image of the fluid plane emerges. The building opens up and embraces the users of a new society. This iconic project, both in its construction phase and completion, exemplifies technology as a transformative force for the language of ar-chitecture in a fast-growing country like India.

Located in the seventh largest metrop-olis in India, Falling Lotus Blossoms: EON IT Park is an elegantly arranged quartet of buildings totaling four million square feet that occupy a site located in the EON Free Zone, a Special Economic Zone established by the government to encourage development. This 21st-century workplace, which sets a grand scale in counterpoint to the rugged Indian countryside, overlooks a river and the fields beyond on a flat site that was previously almost entirely untouched.

Inspired by nature—India’s national flower, the white lotus—the design began as differ-ent iterations of the shape of the lotus flower petal. Ultimately, four “petals” were arranged like a four-leaf clover in plan with an open space at its center. In part a response to the extreme heat and humidity and the goal of

Technology is changing architectural reality in India, and what architects can do in terms of mechanical systems. Upon meeting Indian people in their own territory, they prove to be like people everywhere else: they want a bet-ter life for themselves. More often than not this equates to technological advancements in all sectors, such as a reliable electrical grid, access to clean water, and the like. They also want iPhones, color TVs, and computers. It is through technology that architecture, for better or for worse, will acquire new identities as humankind plows through the never-end-ing project of life improvement.

Place is design independent. It is not

one thing, but a thousand things,

existing at a variety of scales and

types. What differentiates place from

nonplace is the enduring emotional

bond between people and space.

Place9[+3] about architecture

Place is design independent. It is not one thing, but a thousand things, existing at a variety of scales and types. What differentiates place from nonplace is the enduring emotional bond between people and space.

Place

Top: Cloud Company Headquarters Campus, Palo Alto, California Bottom: Urban Frames, Palo Alto, California

At a very basic level, a place is something to go back to,

truly important to some, but may be inconsequential,

if not unremarkable, to others. This bond is a source

of yearning, nostalgia, affection, melancholy, memory,

identity, and citizenship. To create place is the ultimate

prize architects strive for in their dreams to shape a better

world. Although place exists outside of design, design can

help make place happen. We all recognize when a site is

a place, but what makes it a place remains elusive. In fact,

we are hard pressed to pinpoint all the intangibles that

bestow “placeness” upon an otherwise undifferentiated

piece of land. At least in our minds and hearts, we know

we are in a place, but we are unable to say exactly how in

a way that allows us to reproduce it with accuracy.

In addition, issues of authenticity become prominent in

matters of place-making. Are Disneyland and the Venetian

Las Vegas places? Considering how crowded these two

venues are, it seems most people would say yes. Even as

urban fantasies, they are catalysts for the vibrancy that

makes spaces memorable. The old European settlements

get the limelight in conversations on places. Rome, for

instance, offers limitless examples of small and large

places where life unfolds seamlessly, blending practicality

and pleasure. The ground condition takes center stage

for the interaction of people, context, and activators, the

last being the sparks generating sustained human activity.

These three elements are truly inseparable. Architects

concerned with place might see in this interdependence

a central paradigm of a human-centered urbanity to be

pursued with varying degrees in all projects: besides an

aesthetic effect, space has an evocative effect as well.

Each place carries a unique array of qualitative attributes,

and each of these attributes exist along a spectrum.

French writer Marguerite Yourcenar wrote that “Time is a

Mighty Sculptor”. It certainly is for architecture to become

a place. As days go by, the realized design is enmeshed in

the flow of living, accumulating on its surfaces the story of

its inhabitants. The life of architecture is architecture in life.

Place is design independent. It is not one thing, but a thousand things, existing at a variety of scales and types. What differenti-ates place from nonplace is the enduring emotional bond between people and space.

At a very basic level, a place is something to go back to, truly important to some, but may be inconsequential, if not unremarkable, to others. This bond is a source of yearning, nostalgia, affection, melancholy, memory, identity, and citizenship. To create place is the ultimate prize architects strive for in their dreams to shape a better world. Although place exists outside of design, design can help make place happen. We all recognize when a site is a place, but what makes it a place remains elusive. In fact, we are hard pressed to pinpoint all the intangibles that bestow “placeness” upon an otherwise

generating sustained human activity. These three elements are truly inseparable. Archi-tects concerned with place might see in this interdependence a central paradigm of a human-centered urbanity to be pursued with varying degrees in all projects: besides an aesthetic effect, space has an evocative effect as well. Each place carries a unique array of qualitative attributes, and each of these attributes exist along a spectrum. French writer Marguerite Yourcenar wrote that “Time is a Mighty Sculptor”. It certainly is for architecture to become a place. As days go by, the realized design is enmeshed in the flow of living, accumulating on its surfaces the story of its inhabitants. The life of architecture is architecture in life.

undifferentiated piece of land. At least in our minds and hearts, we know we are in a place, but we are unable to say exactly how in a way that allows us to reproduce it with accuracy.

In addition, issues of authenticity become prominent in matters of place-making. Are Disneyland and the Venetian Las Vegas plac-es? Considering how crowded these two venues are, it seems most people would say yes. Even as urban fantasies, they are cata-lysts for the vibrancy that makes spaces memorable. The old European settlements get the limelight in conversations on places. Rome, for instance, offers limitless examples of small and large places where life unfolds seamlessly, blending practicality and plea-sure. The ground condition takes center stage for the interaction of people, context, and activators, the last being the sparks

Place

aspel id quaspiet, tiaspel lessunt volo dollend sum, od eum nos alit

TitleVMware Campus Stanford Research Park Palo Alto, California

Place

The asymmetrical balance between nature and architecture is the big idea sup-porting this design for an office park. To create place where place does not exist yet is possibly the chief test an architect can under-take. This challenge, however, is particularly formidable in Silicon Valley, a legendary Bab-ylon in the mind of the world, but in actuality a built environment without places to speak of. To achieve such lofty goal, the architecture of this scheme takes on its form by revisiting the basic principles of urban design with a twenty-first century twist.

The setting remains serene, reflecting the value of the company headquartered here. Strolling around campus is where oppor-tunities for creative meandering, peripa-tetic thinking, and relaxation in nature are presented. It is this dispersed urbanity that de-emphasize the traditional confines of hard-edge office buildings. In this project

there is more nature than architecture and from within the building long sightlines in the natural environment are available to all occupants. On the Eastern side of this gen-tle, yet assertive Californian Decumanus a V-shaped cafeteria is a major focus of com-munity life. From this point a procession of glass lanterns mark the entrances to the five two-story office buildings to terminate into a gridded labyrinth filled with glass and allur-ing transparency. The visual porosity of the architecture ands as metaphor for the flow of the life inhabiting its premises. Above grade parking is strategically located in four discrete and far-apart points to afford per-meability of the campus from all sides.

Reimagining the existing real estate to transform their role in this new architectural order is achieved through surgical interven-tions. Of particular notice is the pavilion-like glassed lobby appended to the courtyard building inherited as part of the site history.

This new lyrical triple height volume show-cases a folded surface, half roof and half enclosure, lifted from the ground on the back and a foil of glass to mute and abstract to close the remaining sides in the most elegant modernist tradition. The vertical axis takes center stage in all entry experiences. The soaring nature of these voids exposed to greenery and foliage conjure a setting for personal time and community events. Straddling the threshold between the sacred and the profane, these lobbies make of nature the ultimate focus of spaces them-selves. Other on-site amenities offered to the workforce are a fitness center, a central plaza, a playing field, outdoor dining, diverse meeting spaces arranged around intercon-nected outdoor garden spaces and exterior bridges joining the upper floors.

As a commitment to minimize the environ-mental footprint numerous provisions were implemented: a global adoption of cleresto-

ry light monitors to calibrate natural daylight indoors for the well-being of the occupants, operable windows to enable reliable passive ventilation, energy-efficient lighting fixtures together with moderate reliance on mechan-ical systems, and the implementation of safe, healthy, and whenever possible recyclable materials with minimal to no off gassing. While the project incorporate pre-existing vegetation, it keeps the contour lines of the site undisturbed, and holds on to the storm-water on site through the use of bioswales and a bio-retention system.

This architecture of presence is discreet, but not timid. It sets a mechanism for future growth in what is still an underutilized site in terms of square footage, yet fully realized in its architectural aspiration.

PlaceUrban Frames Palo Alto, California

Inhabiting Palo Alto is an ex-perience straddling worldly urbanity and American sprawl. On University Avenue, the town’s main street, there is distinct character, human scale, lush nature, and pedestrian friendliness in its neighborhoods. These traits, sought after amongst design-ers searching for meaningful placemaking, are unevenly present even in this famous municipality, globally known for being the epicenter of the tech industry. To give an image that is both distinct and belonging to its place is our response to raise the diffused quality of living in Palo Alto and what drives our housing proposal.

Living and working merge into this compact urban scheme, a microcosm of streets and courts, permeable to pedestrian circulation, yet impervious to cars except at its edges. Courtyards are voids filled with collective en-ergy, where the community can perform the rituals that make a city what it is. Our design

response to the mix of office and housing hinges on the potential the courtyard offers for human contact, leaving unaltered provi-sions for privacy and identity for each dwell-ing. We believe in the courageous insertion of the new within an established pattern. To the system of alleys forming the network of movement in Palo Alto, this project proposes an intervention of bold stylistic consistencies despite their functional diversity nested in the identifiable urban tissue. Functionally, two separate parts- one for the residential units of various cuts, the other for office space- sit on two levels of parking below grade. Inte-grating working and living was an objective that steered the treatment of all the exterior facades. Their design grammar is intelligible and cohesive: an array of thick cubic frames painted white rests on a travertine podium, gently cantilevering from its edges. While the solid base is sparsely pierced in the residential portion of the project to provide privacy, the office ground level is completely accessible from the pedestrian level.

But it is in the coexistence of axial perspec-tives and non perspectival arrangements that this scheme displays its full spatial richness. The classical and the modern syntax of space making are uniquely organized so as to defy any closed reading of this scheme. To the earthbound footprint solidly an-chored to the ground, the large expanses of glass make of technology a platform for lightness and hypnotic lighting. And if office and housing are in plan clearly marked functionally, they are undeniably enmeshed into the architecture as one idea of city making, as it was in the pre-industrial world. Dynamic views of these frames hovering on the traffic below point to nuanced changes in the enclosure to signal the places where to work and those where to live.

These distinctive volumes, conceived as an architectural ensemble, articulate their own skyline against the pronounced horizontal-ity of Palo Alto. They occupy a quarter of city block, offering to the local community

a restrained Mediterranean modernity, disciplined and relaxed at the same time. Its cubist massing lets coexist individuality in multiplicity: each unit has a recognizable presence while being fully integrated into a total vision. A sense of domesticity steers the design to acknowledge the smaller scale, while retaining the confidence of the architectural language. The stacking of frames suggesting a parade of double height spaces bestows a sense of hierarchy to this compound. They are grand in their urban presence, yet intimate in how they relate to the architecture. Earth-bound, yet light and powerfully extruded to a majestic height, these voided boxes are the markers of an architecture with no back of house: all elevations are meaningfully relating to their adjacencies. This boxy geometry reinforces the corners of the lot, making of axiality a flexible rule for a lively archi-tectural composition.

Continued

This is a new design language in the archi-tecture of Palo Alto. The ins and outs of the vertical planes cast shadows against a datum of stone rarely encountered in the area. There are formal permutations with con-stants that texture the surfaces, balanced by a restrained material palette of stone, con-crete, and glass. Hardscape and landscape knit together the building footprints into a continuum in the manner of an old Europe-an city, an effective idea tested in centuries of urban design practices. Outdoor spaces at mid-air are evocative of balconies where the spectacle of city life can unfold as in the century past. To invite pedestrians to inhabit any architecture is to coax them into an experience filled with interest, safety, and surprise. An environment where to gather, share, retreat, entertain, nurture, reflect, work, and function. In a nutshell, a place.

The “Aspirational Place” is in a

category of its own. It is a type of

place, not always present in projects.

Its visibility from afar is just as critical

as the experience of arriving at it.

Aspirational9[+3] about architecture

The “Aspirational Place” is in a category of its own. It is a type of place, not always present in projects. Its visibility from afar is just as critical as the experience of arriving at it.

Aspirational

Oasis, Santa Clara, California

Seeing “there” and getting “there” thus enter into

a mutually reinforcing circularity, where desire and

fulfillment transform and refine the architectural

experience. The inner reward of getting “there” is the

unrestrained expansion of the self into the horizon. The

Aspirational Place, a special place within a larger place,

is often, but not always, metaphorically and physically

high up: its preciousness legitimates the longing for it. It

is invariably remote and perceived as unattainable. It is a

particular destination within space that viewers desire to

get to. The building section, typically an analytical design

tool to check clearances and meet technical requirements,

thus becomes a poetic device to stage this choreographed

finish line. By providing a raised point of view, it grants

access to a broader perspective on things, allowing

viewers to situate themselves beyond the site and to live

simultaneously in both a part of their environment and

the environment as a whole. The gravitational force of the

Aspirational Place draws users up to make them become

part of the architecture while projecting their sensibility

outside of those architectural limits. The sequence of

detecting the point of arrival, anticipating reaching it, and

achieving that goal is made compelling and necessary by

the spectacle of it all.

That space is hierarchical is a central realization

superseding the modernist grid where place is reduced to

dots on faceless coordinates. Aspiration is a word stacked

with layers of subjective dreams. It simply acknowledges

that humans inhabit more than clinical containers with

clearances to perform biological functions. They do

operate in an environment that includes the objective

and the personal. With this realization, making

architecture requires conscious sequencing to meet

this psychological brief, absent in the client/patron’s

programmatic requirements. Subliminally, it is the invisible

magnet making the viewer want to go back to it, without

having a clear explanation about it. French philosopher

Gaston Bachelard reminded the readership that space

carries poetics, and that much of that is brought in by

the users. Spaces are mute if taken out of the flow of

human experience. With such detached stance, walls are

dividers instead of shielding unique content. The rational

suppresses the poetic. And the loss is entirely ours.

AspirationalThe “Aspirational Place” is in a category of its own. It is a type of place, not always pres-ent in projects. Its visibility from afar is just as critical as the experience of arriving at it.

Seeing “there” and getting “there” thus enter into a mutually reinforcing circularity, where desire and fulfillment transform and refine the architectural experience. The inner reward of getting “there” is the unrestrained expansion of the self into the horizon. The Aspirational Place, a special place within a larger place, is often, but not always, meta-phorically and physically high up: its preciousness legitimates the longing for it. It is invariably remote and perceived as unat-tainable. It is a particular destination within space that viewers desire to get to. The building section, typically an analytical design tool to check clearances and meet technical requirements, thus becomes a

acknowledges that humans inhabit more than clinical containers with clearances to perform biological functions. They do oper-ate in an environment that includes the objective and the personal. With this realiza-tion, making architecture requires conscious sequencing to meet this psychological brief, absent in the client/patron’s programmatic requirements. Subliminally, it is the invisible magnet making the viewer want to go back to it, without having a clear explanation about it. French philosopher Gaston Bachelard reminded the readership that space carries poetics, and that much of that is brought in by the users. Spaces are mute if taken out of the flow of human experience. With such detached stance, walls are divid-ers instead of shielding unique content. The rational suppresses the poetic. And the loss is entirely ours.

poetic device to stage this choreographed finish line. By providing a raised point of view, it grants access to a broader perspec-tive on things, allowing viewers to situate themselves beyond the site and to live simul-taneously in both a part of their environment and the environment as a whole. The gravi-tational force of the Aspirational Place draws users up to make them become part of the architecture while projecting their sensibility outside of those architectural limits. The sequence of detecting the point of arrival, anticipating reaching it, and achieving that goal is made compelling and necessary by the spectacle of it all.

That space is hierarchical is a central realiza-tion superseding the modernist grid where place is reduced to dots on faceless coordi-nates. Aspiration is a word stacked with layers of subjective dreams. It simply

aspel id quaspiet, tiaspel lessunt volo dollend sum, od eum nos alit

TitleOasisSilicon Valley Technology CenterSanta Clara, California

Aspirational

Oasis was conceived as an iconic beacon for innovation and design, majes-tic and intimate at the same time. With a suspended tropical garden in the midst of futuristic building systems, the large expanse of glass, and a multi-level enclosure, match aspirations to leave a meaningful imprint for better into the world.

Purposefully totemic, Oasis’ imagery is conceived as a piece of technology itself. Its iconicity is justifiably technologically poi-gnant. Sited on a tight urban parcel in Santa Clara, California, facing the Great America theme park, this 300,000 square-foot project signals the inevitable shift in higher density and transit-oriented developments surfacing in Silicon Valley’s anonymous, often unin-spired landscape.

Intended as a prototype of tomorrow’s workplace, Oasis’ vision asserts itself at a distance to coax the visitors into a world of urbanity and surprise. Set apart, and still in the city, the glimmering 13-story object raises in the sky on a transparent podium as the pinnacle of the immaterial. Conferring lightness and friendliness while protecting the preciousness of ideas in formation in an industry constantly reinventing the future.

On a tongue of pushed and pulled earth, pierced strategically to filter light into the parking garage below, the shift from the sub-urban to the urban takes place, the choreo-graphed earth movement brings excitement and awareness.

Underneath the floating glass volume, a ma-jestic sequence of retail experiences activates

the street. As the ground curls into a canopy, a spacious public cafe at the end captures the pedestrian flow to become a stage from where to take in all the surroundings.

On the 9th floor, there is a special place: the Big Sky Garden. People, an open-air café, and a grand environment give life to this 3-story urban retreat. This aspirational grand window casts visual magnetism for miles. This is the place you want to be, the ultimate treat in this journey of architectural seduction, the aspiration of its occupants to inhabit its rewarding preciousness. We wanted the Big Sky Garden to be embedded in the platonic completeness of the elevated massing, yet set apart as an experience both within the building and in its relation to the object’s surroundings.

As an object of technology Oasis conveys desire. We wanted it big, yet accessible. Permeable, and private. Public, and intimate. Oasis is the poster child for the future of Silicon Valley.

Santa Clara, California Oasis

The 20th century saw the birth of

collaboration in architecture. The

argument was that there was too

much to know about building in the

modern era for one person to bear.

Collaboration9[+3] about architecture

The 20th century saw the birth of collaboration in architecture. The argument was that there was too much to know about building in the modern era for one person to bear.

Collaboration

Top: Workday Headquarters, Pleasanton, California Bottom: nVidia Headquarters, Santa Clara, California

One hundred years later, institutional consensus on what

collaboration means and how it happens remains out

of reach. There are a few certainties to capitalize upon.

Indeed, to make architecture a collective is necessary. Four

constants are routinely present in collaboration: culture,

audience, context, and history. A fifth component is an

infinite vessel, a wide open book, not specific at all, made

of miscellaneous ad hoc project-specific agents. Such

infinitude needs to be balanced to yield credible creative

results. This ever-changing bundle of components informs

the dialog among the many members of the design team

to eventually influence the outcome. As recursive and

maddening as it is, the whirlwind of conscious design

proposals, interactive criticism of proposals, and the

subconscious filtering of that critique invariably delivers

a design iteration under the pressure of a schedule, an

exterior yet stabilizing factor in what could otherwise be a

perpetual exercise of amelioration and refinement. Symbolic

aspirations and the pragmatics of program requirements

coalesce into an artifact of reliable performance to meet

the assigned task. The result is sometimes architecturally

dubious, at other times inspirational and of the first rank.

Conversely the creative architect often remains suspicious

of groups. Teamwork has been a major source of anxiety in

the architectural past. The architect’s charisma, stable belief

systems, symbolic charge of a particular program brief,

and visibility of location are the tools the most determined

use to leverage a whole other level of commitment in the

team to give to the project beyond basic competence.

There are elements of the heroic, the competitive, the

artistic in this enterprise. A lesson learned from history.

Balancing these competing urgencies falls into the

repertoire of the architect. Screening input, absorbing

without preconception, merging the visionary and the

team mentality into a unified course of action, all of

it to deliver a space to return to in the highs and lows

of one’s existence. The broad philosophy of a culturally

informed design firm embraces the acknowledgement

of the entropic exchange and cycles of growth that the

making of architecture in the 21st century calls for. While

the conditions of architectural practice have changed, the

mandate of architecture remains the same: to make the

world an exciting place to be.

CollaborationThe 20th century saw the birth of collabora-tion in architecture. The argument was that there was too much to know about building in the modern era for one person to bear.

One hundred years later, institutional consen-sus on what collaboration means and how it happens remains out of reach. There are a few certainties to capitalize upon. Indeed, to make architecture a collective is necessary. Four constants are routinely present in collaboration: culture, audience, context, and history. A fifth component is an infinite vessel, a wide open book, not specific at all, made of miscellaneous ad hoc project-spe-cific agents. Such infinitude needs to be balanced to yield credible creative results. This ever-changing bundle of components informs the dialog among the many members of the design team to eventually influence the outcome. As recursive and maddening as it is, the whirlwind of conscious design proposals, interactive criticism of proposals, and the subconscious filtering of that critique

Balancing these competing urgencies falls into the repertoire of the architect. Screening input, absorbing without preconception, merging the visionary and the team mentality into a unified course of action, all of it to deliver a space to return to in the highs and lows of one’s existence. The broad philoso-phy of a culturally informed design firm embraces the acknowledgement of the entropic exchange and cycles of growth that the making of architecture in the 21st century calls for. While the conditions of architectural practice have changed, the mandate of archi-tecture remains the same: to make the world an exciting place to be.

invariably delivers a design iteration under the pressure of a schedule, an exterior yet stabilizing factor in what could otherwise be a perpetual exercise of amelioration and refinement. Symbolic aspirations and the pragmatics of program requirements coalesce into an artifact of reliable perfor-mance to meet the assigned task. The result is sometimes architecturally dubious, at other times inspirational and of the first rank.

Conversely the creative architect often remains suspicious of groups. Teamwork has been a major source of anxiety in the archi-tectural past. The architect’s charisma, stable belief systems, symbolic charge of a particu-lar program brief, and visibility of location are the tools the most determined use to lever-age a whole other level of commitment in the team to give to the project beyond basic competence. There are elements of the hero-ic, the competitive, the artistic in this enter-prise. A lesson learned from history.

Workday HeadquartersPleasanton, California

Collaboration

Bridging the gap between the neu-trality of a core and shell structure and the exhilarating vitality of a business enterprise is a design challenge filled with universal and particular complexities. This could not be more true than in the case of the five building, 330,000 sq. ft. tenant improvement project for Workday Inc.’s headquarters, a company on the rise committed to consoli-dating its solid footing in the marketplace of digital offerings. Its leadership saw a unique opportunity of making out of its own work-place a manifesto of the principles informing the software design of its products. It is the lively lexicon of the company’s culture that the ideas driving the big design moves took their concrete form: intuitive users experi-ence, speedy collaborative work, usability, flexibility, integration, connectivity supplied the words for the design language of this uplifting enclosure.

To deinstitutionalize the traditionally rigid arrangements of office layouts is the hall-mark of the digital age. True to the prevailing trends to boost a sense of community within the Silicon-Valley-type company, we picked the metaphor of the village to shape Workday Inc.’s bustling interior commons. Village is evocative of collectives, unstructured gather-ing, welcoming informality, and human scale.

In celebrating the scripted informality of the workflow, the staff can coalesce in discrete spaces, regroup in multiple areas, disperse in individual cells, all while maintaining the long view of the entire interior.

The sculptural interaction between existing and new geometry sets the stage for the expansion and contraction of the personnel within space. Against the predictable orthog-

onality of the structural grid and the building envelope inherited from the existing condi-tion, the architects’ counterpoint is a constel-lation of floating objects filled with common areas animating the hard edges located in the center spine of the floor plate. Curvaceous shapes, angled rooms, rounded partitions, accent color in end walls (blue and orange are Workday Inc.’s brand colors), become the vanishing points of ever changing perspec-tives viewers experience walking the building’s interiors. In this Workday’s headquarters, a sense of play confers visual appeal, while retaining clear orientation in the mental maps of the occupants.

Deep sightlines, the great legacy of the open plan, help navigate the web of spatial events tailored to the company needs. The flooring patterns and the reflected ceiling

plans make explicit possible paths of travel, making signage redundant. Although the departmental structure of the organization is legible in the architectural plan, the linkages between its distinct parts is as fluid as the volumes punctuating the various conference rooms and break areas. Within the given L-shaped footprint, what bisects the wings of equal length is a most sensuous trail. The reception and the main conference room signal the endpoints of these powerful lines. A business café, a game room, huddle rooms, kitchens, and seating areas distributed on two stories are the neighborhood amenities of a metaphorical village, where interaction and the magical chance encounter so dear to the mythology of digital culture can yield the dreamed next “big thing”.

CollaborationNvidia Corporation

Santa Clara, California

As a prototype for improved work flows and renewed social relationships, Nvidia’s headquarters is designed to steer the global technology company towards its goal of maintaining a sense of community and in-teraction among its dynamic workforce, while upgrading to a multi-building campus.

While each of the four building’s composi-tion of three rectilinear sides and a sweeping curve closely resembles the next, they are distinct in their varying façades and angles. Paired with the green granite fins at the buildings’ ends, these four elements are, as a formal nod to the building owner’s nautical interest, reminiscent of the bow and stern of a vessel and contribute to the streamlined yet dynamic duality of the campus.

In plan, the headquarters resembles a pinwheel, revolving around an ensconced core that, with its controlled elevations and ground conditions, inevitably draws users to engage with it. Both core and walkway above have become an extension of the indoor office space, an ideal setting for visioning, brainstorming, and engaging with colleagues. Working within the tight parameters of the site and its parking requirements, Form4 Architecture carefully delegated landscaping to available interstitial space between the four three-story buildings and the surrounding parking area.

Part of the architectural dominant for Nvidia was to link the buildings through bridges, named informally “the squiggle”. This feature became wildly popular as place for visioning

and brainstorming. The squiggle is at the upper level with restricted access and de facto an outdoor office space where the workforce holds casual meetings and exchange vital information for the creative relevance of the company.

Both the client and the developer had strong preferences for the entrance hall. The crux of the contention between these two parties was the perception of opulence. The tenant wanted the lobby to be downscaled, whereas the developer wanted it to be soaring and rich in materials. In plan this space is shaped like a wedge, whose only exterior wall exhibiting a shallow curve. The lobby itself is gently curbed as well with the doors and the en-trance that goes back to the elevator bank laid out along an axis perpendicular to the bend.

The entry desk and the seating group flank the actual entry while leaving the space clear of furnishing. The liveliness of the ceiling is the focus point through the insertion of a disk in the ceiling. This floating cloud lights up and creates a glow. And with the adjacent curves generates a visual dynamic that relates to the curving forms of the building. Then the rest of the design is at the fine grain of the details after with a custom made stainless steel rail and an imaginative array of floor-to-wall-to-ceiling solutions.

Nature remains a vast source of

inspiration for creative work. Currently

the word “organic” in architecture

points to a historically defined time

under Frank Lloyd Wright, expressing

an important yet personal relationship

to the themes that natural processes

allude to.

Organic9[+3] about architecture

Nature remains a vast source of inspiration for creative work. Currently the word “organic” in architecture points to a historically defined time under Frank Lloyd Wright, expressing an important yet personal relationship to the themes that natural processes allude to.

Organic

Top: Sanguine Lily, Dublin, Ireland Bottom: Glass Butterfly, Holbaek, Denmark

Nature, from the infinitely small to the infinitely large, is the

reservoir of all things, an endless storehouse to mine and

learn from with child-like curiosity in a heightened state

of presence. Rivers, mountains, rocks, rugged landscapes,

seashells, and fish are examples of natural forces

crystallized in visible forms. Textures, patterns, contours,

colors, the innumerable ways light falls onto animate and

inanimate objects, and the suave tactility of materials

suggest formal opportunities to shape our human-made

surroundings in reciprocity with their natural counterpart.

Architecture emerges from the understanding and

replication of natural processes in creative consonance

with what is already there. Physically and metaphorically, all

consequential design propositions latch onto this primary

environment to foster a bond and a sense of necessity

and belonging between architecture and its users. Rather

than distilling Nature to the absolute abstraction of its first

principles, architects can instead choose to celebrate the

richness of the physical world through programmatically

driven shapes and through inventive interior and exterior

layering. Architectural history is filled with myriad versions

of the organic in space. From the work of Alvar Aalto, to the

flights of fancy of Antoni Gaudi, to the colorful excursions

of Pancho Guedes from Mozambique, the permutations

of architectural expression of the organic is as countless

as the imagination of its producers can conceive.

The constant rediscovery of (or return to) Nature, a

recurring event as new generations replace the old, bears

witness to the overriding of mechanistic technology in

contemporary time. Currently the cult of the machine

is supreme, continuing an inexorable journey started

with the Industrial Revolution. The magnitude of such

emphasis is yet to be comprehended in its long-term

consequences. Yet, humans are inextricably linked to

the organic, being themselves instances of Nature. It is

that inseparability that awakens the consciousness of the

individual when inhumane technology rules the making

of the built environment. When facing the disconnect

between the messages coming from our own organism

and the physical world humankind has contributed to

making, turning to the organic to produce an architecture

rooted in Nature, can unleash a new set of relationships.

Nature and the machine could then coexist in a working

equilibrium based on the architecture of life.

Nature remains a vast source of inspiration for creative work. Currently the word “organ-ic” in architecture points to a historically defined time under Frank Lloyd Wright, expressing an important yet personal rela-tionship to the themes that natural process-es allude to

Nature, from the infinitely small to the infinitely large, is the reservoir of all things, an endless storehouse to mine and learn from with child-like curiosity in a heightened state of presence. Rivers, mountains, rocks, rugged landscapes, seashells, and fish are examples of natural forces crystallized in visi-ble forms. Textures, patterns, contours, colors, the innumerable ways light falls onto animate and inanimate objects, and the suave tactility of materials suggest formal opportunities to shape our human-made surroundings in reciprocity with their natural counterpart. Architecture emerges from the understanding and replication of natural

replace the old, bears witness to the overrid-ing of mechanistic technology in contempo-rary time. Currently the cult of the machine is supreme, continuing an inexorable journey started with the Industrial Revolution. The magnitude of such emphasis is yet to be comprehended in its long-term consequenc-es. Yet, humans are inextricably linked to the organic, being themselves instances of Nature. It is that inseparability that awakens the consciousness of the individual when inhumane technology rules the making of the built environment. When facing the disconnect between the messages coming from our own organism and the physical world humankind has contributed to making, turning to the organic to produce an archi-tecture rooted in Nature, can unleash a new set of relationships. Nature and the machine could then coexist in a working equilibrium based on the architecture of life.

processes in creative consonance with what is already there. Physically and metaphorical-ly, all consequential design propositions latch onto this primary environment to foster a bond and a sense of necessity and belong-ing between architecture and its users. Rath-er than distilling Nature to the absolute abstraction of its first principles, architects can instead choose to celebrate the richness of the physical world through programmati-cally driven shapes and through inventive interior and exterior layering. Architectural history is filled with myriad versions of the organic in space. From the work of Alvar Aalto, to the flights of fancy of Antoni Gaudi, to the colorful excursions of Pancho Guedes from Mozambique, the permutations of architectural expression of the organic is as countless as the imagination of its producers can conceive.

The constant rediscovery of (or return to) Nature, a recurring event as new generations

Organic

OrganicSanguine Lily

1916 Centenary Chapel at Glasnevin Cemetery

Dublin, Ireland

The design of the 1916 Centenary Chapel at Glasnevin Cemetery takes the idea of a perfect moment and fashions it into a structure that pays homage to lost loved ones in the form of a chapel. The chapel aims to bring together a unifying whole in the greater Dublin community and act as a portal of lost loved ones, while being a symbol of indissol-uble unity amongst the living. Situated next to the National Botanic Garden in Dublin, Ireland, this design seeks to build upon the rich symbolic repertoire of the nation by directly referencing to the petal of an Easter lily. Surrounded by three reflecting pools, the chapel appears from afar to be a petal floating on a puddle of water.

Historically the Easter Rising in 1916 marked the inevitable rise of Ireland’s political independence. Against what was known to be superior military power and resources, the uprising lasted only 5 days, but was a momen-tous call for freedom. Following the uprising,

232 casualties were buried in a mass grave in the Glasnevin Cemetery. The insurgents had knowingly paid the ultimate sacrifice to rise against centuries of outsiders’ oppression and give voice to the fight.

The main focal point of the centenary chapel is the natural and artificial light surrounding the structure. Natural light streaming in from the north and south through the glass curtain walls enclosing the chapel, combined with 232 glass sphere lights suspended from the ceiling, allow for maximum brightness that will form a luminous crown visible in the nocturnal sky. With its altar positioned to the east, the chapel acts as a sundial to capture the seasonal variations of natural light. The continuous slot that bisects the roof and acts as a skylight creates a beautiful contrast to the shadows cast after sunrise.

Together with the flickering of the sunlight reflected from the pond to the underside of

the roof structure, the natural beauty will take center stage in the architectural experience. To retain the gracefulness of the roof, the primary structural systems comprise two con-crete columns, twined through lateral bracing, that lean gently eastward with a cable-stayed roof anchored to the ground on the west-ward tip. The thickening of the array of cross beams at the center of the roof section con-fers rigidity while freeing the outer contour of the hovering shape from any permanent loads. A secondary system supports the ac-cessory spaces of the program and provides a column-free space punctuated by a careful orchestration of directed and reflected nat-ural lighting compounded with the ambient luminosity coming from the roof underside.

With the intention of relying as much as possible on passive technology to achieve thermal comfort in the chapel, operable win-dows at the top and bottom of the window wall will activate convection heat transfer and

natural ventilation with the roof to act as a funnel to flush out warm air. Depending on the seasonal needs, the same openings would work for cooling. To modulate the permea-bility of the interiors to natural light, an array of mechanical blinds can be raised up to the level of the lowest sunshade, which will shield the spaces most exposed to any sun coming in the southern glass wall. Roof drainage water re-circulates in the body of water that surrounds the chapel’s dual entries.

The restoration of the Centenary Chapel aims at joining the past, present and future in a way that takes a perfect moment and shapes it to an elegant and refined structure that will stand resolute for all to admire. The image of an Easter lily petal lying next to a botanic garden makes for the perfect representation of beauty and its longevity.

232

OrganicGlass Butterfly

Holbaek, Denmark

The Glass Butterfly is inspired by a formal negotiation between the delicacy of glass and its structural integrity. Sponsored by a glazing manufacturing company the com-petition’s programmatic purpose was to take a bus shelter, an atypical, ubiquitous object within the public realm, and create a design for a rural area of Denmark.

The design wanted to be self-referential and authoritative in the landscape. Trees, weav-ing grass, and big canopies were key inspira-tional organic forms. The gentle nature of the Danish environment became the source for the proposed biomorphic volume. Like a graceful butterfly, this structure radiates its immaterial presence to its surroundings during the day as well as night. This scalable transparent container, almost a frozen mem-

brane, is a place of protection, sheltering users from rain, wind, and sun.

Despite its seemingly imminent flight from the ground, this artifact is securely an-chored to the soil through unobtrusive steel connections. Maximum structural integrity is provided by the graceful, U-shaped glass bays. The bays are scalable to afford a vari-ety of seating arrangements for those who are alone, couples, or groups of friends with deep protection from wind and rain.

The elliptical photovoltaic panels laid on the roof and directly above the bays have the dual function of harnessing solar energy to power the structure and serving as sun shad-ing devices to shield those sitting below.

The structure metamorphoses from a simple portal between here and there, to an oasis. As an easily identifiable billboard and beacon, the glass medium provides a point of belonging. It transitions from a transpar-ent cocoon serving the occupants need to see out and catch the approaching vehicle during the day, to a guidepost at night. It is for this reason that linear LED lighting follows the edges of the canopy, illuminat-ing its architecture even in complete Nordic darkness.

Fluidity9[+3] about architecture

Of forms existing in Nature, the curve

is one that the human eye follows with

ease. It suggests flow, continuity, and

life-affirming sensuality. While the

curve has been captured in a

mathematical expression, its poetic

charge has not.

Of forms existing in Nature, the curve is one that the human eye follows with ease. It suggests flow, continuity, and life-affirming sensuality. While the curve has been captured in a mathematical expression, its poetic charge has not.

Fluidity

Top: Jeju International Airport, Jeju, South Korea Bottom: The Innovation Curve, Palo Alto, California

Not a whimsical gesture for its own sake, but a design tool

to manage expectations within experience, form within

requirements, efficiency within economic imperatives

in the long run. Above all, the curve is an emotional

response to often uninviting massing, thus challenging the

supremacy of orthogonality, which reigned in the avant-

garde of the modernist circles but has remained unpopular

with the public. What was necessary in the 1920s to purge

architecture of ornamental excesses became a suffocating

dogma in the 1970s. Architects of ambition are deploying

a new curvaceousness to inform great spaces. Designers

can use curvature in everything from the site plan to the

ceiling detail to deal with practical necessities without

losing sight of the bigger picture: to relate the building

to the formal fundamentals of the natural world, where

not a single straight line is to be found. The lessons that

the Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, and the Liberty

Style delivered to us in the past are more relevant than

ever in the 21st century.

Curves have been cyclically celebrated and repudiated in

architecture. Capricious for some, poetic for others, their

place is strictly linked to the formal paradigm of each era.

Circles bring with themselves symbolically charged forms.

Their centrality is laden with mysticism and often extended

to encompass all that is sacred. From the domes dotting

the skyline of the ancient city of Rome to the visionary

projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the roundness of circles

implies maximum density and efficiency of form. The

free curve is a further achievement learned through the

design of modern landscapes, conceived in reciprocity

with the organic in nature. Rather than imposing

Euclidean geometry on the garden, landscapers drew

inspiration from observing growth in nature. The leap of

the free curve into the built environment took place in

the 20th century as the dogmatic adherence to the XYZ

space formation crumbled. Nature became, once again,

a source of inspiration for architects. Sea shells, clouds,

sections of tree trunks, birds, wings were but a few of

the awakening evidences about the power of curvilinear

forms. Because architecture is profoundly rooted in the

processes existing in nature, curvilinear design is a most

precious option to architects.

FluidityOf forms existing in Nature, the curve is one that the human eye follows with ease. It suggests flow, continuity, and life-affirming sensuality. While the curve has been captured in a mathematical expression, its poetic charge has not.

Not a whimsical gesture for its own sake, but a design tool to manage expectations within experience, form within requirements, effi-ciency within economic imperatives in the long run. Above all, the curve is an emotional response to often uninviting massing, thus challenging the supremacy of orthogonality, which reigned in the avant-garde of the modernist circles but has remained unpopu-lar with the public. What was necessary in the 1920s to purge architecture of ornamental excesses became a suffocating dogma in the 1970s. Architects of ambition are deploying a new curvaceousness to inform great spaces. Designers can use curvature in everything from the site plan to the ceiling detail to deal

reciprocity with the organic in nature. Rather than imposing Euclidean geometry on the garden, landscapers drew inspiration from observing growth in nature. The leap of the free curve into the built environment took place in the 20th century as the dogmatic adherence to the XYZ space formation crum-bled. Nature became, once again, a source of inspiration for architects. Sea shells, clouds, sections of tree trunks, birds, wings were but a few of the awakening evidences about the power of curvilinear forms. Because architec-ture is profoundly rooted in the processes existing in nature, curvilinear design is a most precious option to architects.

with practical necessities without losing sight of the bigger picture: to relate the building to the formal fundamentals of the natural world, where not a single straight line is to be found. The lessons that the Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, and the Liberty Style delivered to us in the past are more relevant than ever in the 21st century.

Curves have been cyclically celebrated and repudiated in architecture. Capricious for some, poetic for others, their place is strictly linked to the formal paradigm of each era. Circles bring with themselves symbolically charged forms. Their centrality is laden with mysticism and often extended to encompass all that is sacred. From the domes dotting the skyline of the ancient city of Rome to the visionary projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the roundness of circles implies maximum density and efficiency of form. The free curve is a further achievement learned through the design of modern landscapes, conceived in

FluidityPortal to the Winds Jeju International AirportJeju, South Korea

Legend has it that winds formed the landscape of the Jeju Island before the first inhabitants ventured upon its shores centu-ries ago. The addition to Jeju International Airport, designed in collaboration with Jung-IL Architects of South Korea, attempts to formalize the strong winds responsible for the island’s landscape.

The mystery of this project was how to fuse into a coherent design vision the geography of a region with aspiration for technological advancement. The contextual pressures of the site and nature were used as an inspira-tional source, as opposed to the immediate built surroundings, which included an unwel-coming sea of parking against the relentless flatness of the topography

Having the wind as the form-giver for the scheme determined a curvilinear geometry that is something of a trademark in Form4’s work. Within the design for the international terminal addition, broadly sweeping stain-less steel roofs create a dynamic flow that expresses both the strength and beauty of the winds. As the defining design metaphor for the scheme, the winds determine the curvilin-ear geometry of the design. Throughout, the notion of wind is revealed in the massing of the addition, the shape of the canopies, and the circulation of the interiors. Abstracted wind currents sculpt the interior and the exterior in the tripartite layout. This is realized in the design of the terminal ramp, particularly in the wings at the edges of the ramps that stretch the building horizontally to

express the flow of users. Elsewhere, slanted cylindrical volumes, reminiscent of local rocks and stones, suggest the coastline and encourage passengers to pause before they board the airplanes situated along the round-ed plan. Because the departure gates are very high, the entire airport is raised in order to use the lower level freely.

Innovation Curve Palo Alto, California

Fluidity

The design for this new workplace recognizes and celebrates the essence of a research park: an innovative entrepreneurial spirit. The blue horizontal ribbon element follows the shape of the classic R&D time-line: from creative spark, though trial and tribulation, to welcome success. The highs and lows of an idea within reach, yet to be perfected and fine-tuned metaphorically bear-ing anticipation and anxiety. For this scheme, the innovation diagram is generative of the compound’s urban appearance as well as its internal parti. To further activate the space, terraces break down the scale of the building along the inner campus to create places for people to work or meet.

The project rises on a hotspot in the golden geography of the bits economy in Silicon Valley. Located on the edge of Stanford

Research Park, the site sits directly across the street from the Hewlett Packard Headquar-ters. The two existing buildings were deemed inimical to future growth for the sought-after tenants, these obsolete structures are slated for demolition. But their previous occupants are just as legendary as their immediate neighbors: the two bars housed the most recent headquarters of the giant company Facebook.

Ever conscious of the importance of sustainability, the envelope shading strategy, conceived in a lyrical way, takes on a form evocative of this entrepreneurial spirit. The clear glass envelope with glass shading fins creates a crystalline form that evokes a sense of lightness and spirit. In an effort to let the energy model allow more exterior glass, deep horizontal sunshades are present throughout

the buildings. Translucent glass fin verticals and a deep roof overhang complete the shading strategy. The building will achieve a LEED Platinum rating. The normative Silicon Valley Tech campus is closed to the public. The Innovation Curve breaks with this tradition by reaching out to road entry, welcoming the public into a vast inner courtyard garden.

In making the innovation diagram the face of the buildings, users and visitors inhabit symbolically a space of and for innovation, for expansive and intense focus. It is at the building’s entry point, however, where the spatial experience reaches its apex. The lyrical metaphor yields maximum effect onto the users at the threshold. The valley of this innovation vessel gives a magnetic material

form to the intoxicating excitement of what is yet to come. Tomorrow is already here.

Emotive stories exist behind

architecture. The biographical

intersects with the professional in

guiding the digital pencil to help

architects imagine a better tomorrow.

Lyricism yields the understanding that

the emotive is what causes

architectural elation.

Lyrical9[+3] about architecture

Emotive stories exist behind architecture. The biographical intersects with the professional in guiding the digital pencil to help architects imagine a better tomorrow. Lyricism yields the understanding that the emotive is what causes architectural elation.

Lyrical

Top: Crashing Waves, Tongyeong, South Korea Bottom: Lyrical Seashore, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

This state of affairs is a concoction of intuition, sensibility,

aesthetic sense, subjectivity, and personal reflection.

When carried to its ultimate architectural consequences,

each project is partially an autobiographical account of

its author. Modern architectural history offers already a

powerful precedent of someone who, with his effervescent,

carioca invention, challenged the severity of the hardliners

when nobody else dared: Oscar Niemeyer. In his work

functionality and sensuality found a unique synthesis.

Each commission jumpstarts a private reflection and

design rendition of a reading of site, client, users, cultures,

and the economics surrounding it. This mix is processed in a

pot of environmental psychology, metaphorically speaking,

to bring users to the center of the quest for placemaking. The

result is a “Lyrical Modernism.” There is no mathematical

formula, no scripting, no technical rationality producing

a computer-generated design, estranged from the site it

is supposed to occupy. Instead, it is a humane effort to

bring together the computing paradigm of our time and

the lessons learned in environmental psychology to make,

at the most basic level, meaningful spaces for people to

have a dignified life in them. Rather than choosing form for

form’s sake, the lyrical modernist aims to attach stories to

architectural form in order to yield the emotional meaning

that the majority of people can relate to. In this respect, the

lyrical approach to design is a case to preserve the unique

sensibility of the subject to draw lasting architectural

meaning instead of giving license to capricious space-

making. It acknowledges that the individual is source

and endorsement of choices inclusive of the rational

without being captive of it. This position enables the

creative coexistence of the lessons of modernity about

the mechanical with the active realm of the self, originator

of actions impactful on architectural form. It is the very

reason why, despite innumerable attempts, architecture

has escaped the procedural approaches of generative

design. That angle amplifies the rational parameters

while silencing the world of the affects, making it just an

update version of problem-solving. Lyrical design is a

living template to set free reflections, possibilities, and

in the end designs speaking to the multiple aspirations

the collective yearns for when witnessing the rise of a new

architecture.

Emotive stories exist behind architecture. The biographical intersects with the profes-sional in guiding the digital pencil to help architects imagine a better tomorrow. Lyri-cism yields the understanding that the emotive is what causes architectural elation.

This state of affairs is a concoction of intu-ition, sensibility, aesthetic sense, subjectivity, and personal reflection. When carried to its ultimate architectural consequences, each project is partially an autobiographical account of its author. Modern architectural history offers already a powerful precedent of someone who, with his effervescent, carioca invention, challenged the severity of the hardliners when nobody else dared: Oscar Niemeyer. In his work functionality and sensu-ality found a unique synthesis.

Each commission jumpstarts a private reflec-tion and design rendition of a reading of site,

instead of giving license to capricious space-making. It acknowledges that the indi-vidual is source and endorsement of choices inclusive of the rational without being captive of it. This position enables the creative coex-istence of the lessons of modernity about the mechanical with the active realm of the self, originator of actions impactful on architectur-al form. It is the very reason why, despite innumerable attempts, architecture has escaped the procedural approaches of generative design. That angle amplifies the rational parameters while silencing the world of the affects, making it just an update version of problem-solving. Lyrical design is a living template to set free reflections, possibilities, and in the end designs speaking to the multi-ple aspirations the collective yearns for when witnessing the rise of a new architecture.

client, users, cultures, and the economics surrounding it. This mix is processed in a pot of environmental psychology, metaphorically speaking, to bring users to the center of the quest for placemaking. The result is a “Lyrical Modernism.” There is no mathematical formula, no scripting, no technical rationality producing a computer-generated design, estranged from the site it is supposed to occupy. Instead, it is a humane effort to bring together the computing paradigm of our time and the lessons learned in environmen-tal psychology to make, at the most basic level, meaningful spaces for people to have a dignified life in them. Rather than choosing form for form’s sake, the lyrical modernist aims to attach stories to architectural form in order to yield the emotional meaning that the majority of people can relate to. In this respect, the lyrical approach to design is a case to preserve the unique sensibility of the subject to draw lasting architectural meaning

Lyrical

Crashing Waves Tongyeong Music HallSouth Korea

Lyrical

The Crashing Waves (Tongyeong Concert Hall) was designed to resound the intensity and vibrancy of Korean composer Isang Yun’s music. The 1,300-seat concert hall encompassing 155,000 square feet is lo-cated on an ocean side bluff overlooking the Tongyeong Harbor in South Korea.

The concert hall design comprises two elements: the upper level, with its meta-phorical frozen undulation of water waves and the podium, which at ground level starts as a landform that mimics the ocean. The calm “water” at the base builds into a spatial crescendo culminating in the vertical glass elements that define the lobby. These elongated pieces become sculptural, slightly arching to become emblematic “foam.” The visual result is one of abstracted waves crashing together.

The design experience is modulated in a series of fluid ramps that stretch from the entry doors down to the parking lot. Fluidity, once again, endows the design with breathtaking dynamism. The reference to crashing waves informs the massing, section, and site plan. Symbolically, it is the conflagration of the ocean, the music, and the two Koreas coming together that establishes the conceptual footprint that the plan is built upon, in tribute to the composer’s life.

LyricalLyrical Seashore

Kaohsiung HarborKaohsiung, Taiwan

Lyrical Seashore, a competition entry for the Kaohsiung Maritime Culture and Pop Music Center, embraces a sizable portion of the city’s harbor. In one sweeping move, the one million square feet simultaneously operates at the levels of architecture and urban design. The Lyrical Seashore project was designed as a catalyst to turn the Port of Kaohsiung, which transformed from a small lagoon in the 1640s to a major export harbor of agricultural products during Japanese rule in the first half of the 20th century and then to one of the world’s top container ports, into a major tourism, trade, and transit port. The project distributes volumes of program on a prominent tray of liminal land with the intention of intensifying the urban pulse of the populace.

The sensuous yet logical form of sea crea-tures, ships, and the fluidity of music are the three themes drawn from the program and the site, setting the tone for the seductive spatiality and repertoire of shapes.

Two fingers of facilities flank an indoor concert hall and outdoor performance area including a large indoor 5,000-seat concert hall and a 12,000-seat outdoor performance area. Facing the city, the project appears like a two-story curtain of architectural objects, with portals functioning as public plazas protecting views of the water. Containing a dense network of retail and restaurant ele-ments, as well as large cultural institutions, the most significant is a string of individual performance spaces between the auditoria, housing restaurants, shops, and a recording

studio at the tail end along the denser side of the city. These elements blend into a necklace of buildings that secure human activities on a 24-hour cycle, avoiding the ghost-town effect sometimes seen with similar projects after hours. Standing oppo-site, in a more industrial in nature area, is the Marine Culture Exhibit Center, a music innovation center and a leaning landmark “sail-like” observation tower that is the inev-itable new landmark on the city skyline.

Throughout the project, large curving sun canopies are covered with photo-voltaics to produce on-site energy. The existing curvi-linear railway line is used as a bicycle path, and the shape of the site itself triggers the fluid geometry of the final form.

Remember the last time you changed

your route to stop and visit a

particular building. You may have

wanted to see it for some time,

perhaps it is curiosity or a

reminiscence of your student days.

Emotion9[+3] about architecture

Remember the last time you changed your route to stop and visit a particular building. You may have wanted to see it for some time, perhaps it is curiosity or a reminiscence of your student days.

Emotion

Sea Song, Big Sur, California

Imagine you are there, entering the realm of its presence

with all the particularities of your own life. That architecture

is inevitable, substantive, impactful, consequential, and

undeniably timeless. What you are seeing, occupying,

savoring, in a word EXPERIENCING, is emotionally

meaningful. We hold this to be a primary aspiration in the

making of architecture.

Can emotions be conceived as a cognitive basis for design

rather than being unceremoniously dismissed as personal

opinions unworthy of consideration? Emotional meaning

in architecture occurs when the elements or the character

of a space arouse an emotional response in the user

which is meaningful, significant, and enduring. The 20th

century had the hard sciences triumphant. Yet, something

went profoundly wrong. Thinking took over from feeling.

Neglect of the emotions produced an architecture of

metrics, meaningless to its inhabitants, detached from

the world it was meant to improve. That cold rationality

left out the intangibles that make us human rather than

machines. Estrangement followed. Emotional meaning

aids in reconnecting the inner and outer dimensions of that

world. Design without rigor inexorably turns capricious;

on the other hand, design without heart lays out urban

cemeteries. When rigor and heart are balanced, they infuse

the city fabric with a sense of place.

There are grounds for treating emotions with suspicion.

They are the slippery slope for the opportunistic to

populate the environment with the unsightly. There are at

least four types of offenders every designer needs to comes

to terms with: a) The Nostalgic: a sentimental longing for a

past period; b) The Superficial: the cult of the physique; c)

The Commercial: unrestrained consumerism and transient

gratification; d) The Inauthentic: something that is not of

its time.

If Emotional Meaning helps to re-establish the general

public’s affection towards buildings and the built

environment at large, then it matters. In affording an

opportunity to reengage clients to the value of architecture,

Emotional Meaning resets the architect’s outlook to

design with people and art as indissoluble essentials of

architecture. Emotional meaning alone is not the basis

of design; but its absence renders architecture without

merit. It is the inscrutable raison d’être that links the act of

building to the sublimation of the inner self: a mixture of

pleasure, bliss, and rootedness.

Remember the last time you changed your route to stop and visit a particular building. You may have wanted to see it for some time, perhaps it is curiosity or a reminiscence of your student days.

Imagine you are there, entering the realm of its presence with all the particularities of your own life. That architecture is inevitable, substantive, impactful, consequential, and undeniably timeless. What you are seeing, occupying, savoring, in a word EXPERIENC-ING, is emotionally meaningful. We hold this to be a primary aspiration in the making of architecture.

Can emotions be conceived as a cognitive basis for design rather than being uncere-moniously dismissed as personal opinions unworthy of consideration? Emotional meaning in architecture occurs when the elements or the character of a space arouse an emotional response in the user which is

comes to terms with: a) The Nostalgic: a sentimental longing for a past period; b) The Superficial: the cult of the physique; c) The Commercial: unrestrained consumerism and transient gratification; d) The Inauthentic: something that is not of its time.

If Emotional Meaning helps to re-establish the general public’s affection towards build-ings and the built environment at large, then it matters. In affording an opportunity to reengage clients to the value of architecture, Emotional Meaning resets the architect’s outlook to design with people and art as indissoluble essentials of architecture. Emotional meaning alone is not the basis of design; but its absence renders architecture without merit. It is the inscrutable raison d’être that links the act of building to the sublimation of the inner self: a mixture of pleasure, bliss, and rootedness.

meaningful, significant, and enduring. The 20th century had the hard sciences trium-phant. Yet, something went profoundly wrong. Thinking took over from feeling. Neglect of the emotions produced an archi-tecture of metrics, meaningless to its inhabi-tants, detached from the world it was meant to improve. That cold rationality left out the intangibles that make us human rather than machines. Estrangement followed. Emotion-al meaning aids in reconnecting the inner and outer dimensions of that world. Design without rigor inexorably turns capricious; on the other hand, design without heart lays out urban cemeteries. When rigor and heart are balanced, they infuse the city fabric with a sense of place.

There are grounds for treating emotions with suspicion. They are the slippery slope for the opportunistic to populate the environment with the unsightly. There are at least four types of offenders every designer needs to

Emotion

Sea Song Big Sur, California

Emotion

It is a dream gift to be able to design architecture fused in the immeasurable natu-ral beauty seen on the California coast. This remarkable prospect is even more rewarding when the territory is Big Sur, that magical strip of land below the Monterey Basin hold-ing sparse traces of human occupation and much celebrated in 20th century American lit-erature. Legendary mid-century writer Henry Miller, among many others, made it the center of his inner world. It epitomizes wilderness, the manifestation of the sublime on earth. It inspires awe, commands undivided attention, instills devotion. Its grand presence is palpa-ble and emotionally overwhelming. Inhabiting this environment is a unique occurrence calling for an equally unique architecture.

The vast plane of the Pacific Ocean and the ruggedness of the coastline set the stage for this gentle architectural insertion. Unobtrusive by design, it is both private from the main road and utterly transparent to what lies ahead. Many descriptors capture what holds togeth-

er this composition: a trio of gliding Manta Rays, expressive cellular design, a parallel topography to the existing one, sail-like roofed pavilions, a village of transparent huts, the list goes on. The birth name of this design is Sea Song, a poetic heading to match our heartfelt poignant reaction to this arresting site. These pure shapes are biomorphic, evocative of sea shells, crustaceans, and other creatures of the water world, responsive to the rock formations and the existing ecosystem. Its environmental footprint is virtually null. They are soft on their footprint, being raised on a cantilevered podi-um, of minimum disturbance on the site.

Consistent with our commitment to environ-mental stewardship, Sea Song is an architectur-al creature breathing with its natural surround-ings. This trio is designed to be self-sustaining, net zero energy, and aims at LEED Platinum certification. The full array of sustainable techniques is employed consolidating that the architecture is a natural extension of this site. Photo voltaics ease off-the-grid living. Self-cleaning glass, rainwater retention cistern,

and xeriscape secure the sensible use of water sources. And the landscaping is intentionally kept non-formal, to reinforce the intent that Sea Song has always belonged to this site. Mecho-shades screen light passing through the wide expanses of glass, while the buildings cocoon themselves against unwanted changes of the elements.

A curvilinear sensibility informs the shaping of the three pavilions. The geometry of the architecture remains fluid, unbroken, and in motion. Their arrangement on the ground and the delineation of each enclosure provide a continuum with no set boundaries between the inside and the outside. Internally, it is an immaterial enclosure with no corridors, all living spaces. The three structures are alike in mass and architectural elements, but scaled dif-ferently to adhere to the specific of program requirements. Materials alone tell the story of the house. Concrete baths anchor forms to the earth, where the programmatic part resides. All else floats in inebriating lightness. In each, the enclosed concrete split core holds service

functions (bathrooms, walk-in closets, laun-dry), giving maximum open areas to the mostly column-free surrounding vistas, the deter-mining experience for occupants and visitors throughout. Two bedrooms are clustered in the outer cell at the opposite end of the access road, whereas the master bedroom and a studio are located in the middle building. Point of arrival from the main thoroughfare is the bigger volume containing the public quarters, where guests can lounge in one uninterrupted flowing space.

Every chance to open the sightlines to the ocean was taken in these natural lyrical forms. In entering each pavilion at midpoint, a gap gives glimpses of the vastness that to expect beyond that threshold, anticipation and reward upon coming in. The interior surfaces exhibit warm natural materials and carefully posi-tioned art pieces, yet are purposefully left plain to become background to its majestic outside.

Team

Robert J. Giannini, President

John Marx, AIA, Design Principal

Paul Ferro, AIA, Principal

James Tefend, AIA, Principal

Steve Ryder, AIA, Associate, Principal

Form4 Architecturewww.form4inc.comForm4 Architecture in San Francisco, CA, strives to create architecture that is rational, empowering, and dynamic. Embracing col-laboration and teamwork as the cornerstones of success, they believe in designing wel-coming environments that are fundamentally sustainable and accessible. As collaborative partners in the design process, their princi-pals personally lead every project from con-cept to completion, bringing the collective wealth of years of expertise and knowledge to each client’s vision.

Arianna DeaneAlex JeongcoAlexandros IoannidisChad HarriesColin SpeerCyndy AlfaroFred JohnsonHien NguyenHo-Man Wong

James AbeytaJane GyulingJon SwainJoshua PhanMichael RizzaNicholas PratoNicole CarnathanRico NappaSteven King

Conversations

9[+3] about architecture

John MarxDesign PrincipalJohn Marx, AIA, is the founding design principal of Form4 Architecture in San Francisco, CA. He advocates Philosophy, Art, and Poetry in the thoughtful making of place through the compelling power of form, aware that architecture is a bal-ancing act between self expression and collaboration.

He has widely lectured on the topics of Design, Placemaking, and Cultural Vibran-cy in Silicon Valley, in places as diverse as Korea, Italy, Austria, Australia, Canada and Isreal. He is the recipient of numerous international design competitions and over 65 awards.

Conversations

9[+3] about architecture

CreditsNarrative CollaborationJohn Marx with Pierluigi Serraino, AIA

Poem Graphic Arts CollaborationJohn Marx with Jeremy Mende, Mende Design

Photography/Rendering CreditsBalance, Avo/Advo-cation, Epiphany, Diversity, Organic, Lyrical, Emotion, AspirationalRenderings by Tomasz Miksa/Downtown

FluidityTop row and bottom row (left & center): Renderings by Tomasz Miksa/DowntownBottom row: (right) Form4 Architecture (Arianna Deane)

ScaleTop row: Bruce Damonte Photography Inc.Bottom row: (left aerial) Pixeldo Media, Pune, India (center & right) fotohaus

PlacePhotos by John Marx, AIA Renderings by Tomasz Miksa/Downtown

CollaborativeTop row: Stephanie Dewey, Reflex ImagingBottom row: Steve Whittaker

Graphic DesignWendy Goodman

www.form4inc.com

Form4 Architecture

126 Post Street, 3rd FloorSan Francisco, CA 94108

[t] 415.775.8748 [e] info@form4inc.com