A R C H A D E 0 1

Being a novice blogger, I’m still dithering over the style / content /direction of this thing. I started it because I’d love to work in architectural journalism, and I thought I could do with having a space where I could record everything and write for other people rather than just myself. And if I write regularly, I’m more likely to keep on top of what’s going on in the design world, rather than just dipping my toe in every few weeks then panicking when I get an interview for something! I can’t seem to find any other blogs similar to mine (if there are please show yourself!) so either that mean it’s wonderfully innovative or there isn’t really a market for stuff like this. Either way, I will just keep blogging away, I don’t mind too much if it’s just me! Having looked at other blogs, I thought it might be a good idea to give my blog some structure, with some different articles to the usual isn’t-this-a-pretty-building pieces. My first one is this, and will be an arcade of architecture that is local to me (Scottish), that I would like to visit in the near future. Other ones could be defined by the country, use or architect etc. I hope you enjoy! 

Not to sound like X Factor, but these are in no particular order...

01 – Ferry Shelter / Tiree / Sutherland & Hussey

02 – The White House / Isle of Coll / WTArchitecture

03 – Ericht Visitor Centre / Blairgowrie / Sutherland &Hussey

04 – Transport Museum / Glasgow /  Zaha Hadid

05 – Culloden Visitor Centre / Inverness-shire / GarethHoskins

N E S T I N G P L A C E II

Source

Another day, another Bird’s Nest – I think everyone's been reading ‘The Magic Finger’ a bit too much! This one, by Swedish designers Inrednin Gsgruppen, is the most literal to date, and it is just one of 25 hotel room ‘nests’ planned for the surrounding area. The building is held up by existing trees and is clad in sticks, whilst the small peephole windows are pretty much hidden by branches. The staircase from the ground is retractable, allowing the inhabitants to close off the world completely. Unfortunately, I think the concept is betrayed slightly by the modern looking interior, which doesn’t really unite with the rustic-neanderthal-man vibe going on outside. I imagine it more as a bothy, which is a basic shelter usually in a remote area, that’s left unlocked for travellers to use for overnight stays. I should also say I've never actually been to a bothy, I think I would get a little freaked at the possibility of someone else showing up in the middle of the night!            

M R M U S C L E

Mr Chair by Soojin Hyun

This chair makes me LOL. At first glance, it just looks like a regular leather armchair - until you clock the pecs and six pack emerging from the leather back! According to the designers, the aptly named Mr Chair reflects the common features of armchairs and men, but replaces skin with leather and muscles for cushions. I suppose it's the equivalent of using a hansome male model to sell your product, except it's already incorporated. My Men's Health reading boyfriend is in love with this chair, I on the other hand would feel guilty eating chocolate in it's presence.   

T A S T E T H E R A I N B O W

If only all banks looked like this...

Today has been fairly rubbish, as I’ve been blown around like a tumble weed and I’ve failed in finding a suitable winter-come-summer jacket. I’m beginning to think such a thing doesn’t exist! Back to design, this pretty little thing brightened my day just a little, not least because it’s actually a bank! Built in Tokyo by French architect Emmanuelle Moureaux, this building has several wonderful features including the sculptural coloured canopies of the exterior and the Tyo Ito-esque light wells that penetrate the floors, providing natural light and ventilation throughout the building. The interior is equally beautiful and decorated with dandelion motifs (even the ATMs!) which, according to the architects, create a ‘refreshing atmosphere’ and a ‘sense of nature’. It may sounds like a spa retreat, but maybe the benefits of these relaxing techniques will reveal themselves in the bank’s profits...

T O L O S E F A C E

Robert Adams's Palace Front Facade, the Bedroom and Dining Room

So, as I wrote about Gladstone’s Land yesterday, I thought it was only fair that I did a short piece about the property that I volunteer at – The Georgian House. This year is my second season at the house and I absolutely love it, it beats my actual job hands down! I’m a property assistant so I get to meet and greet everyone, as well as doing a bit of guiding, helping out in the shop and other admin pieces when it’s needed. What I love the most is the stories about these properties, mostly because I’m a total gossip fiend. If I was around in Georgian times I’d definitely be an old fish wife sat at the windowsill or one of the servants selling on the household gossip for a bob or two! 

Back in the 1700s the Old Town had become overcrowded and filthy - so to prevent a mass exodus of the rich to London, a competition was held to design an elite ‘new’ town on the north side of the castle. James Craig won this competition, and his proposals for two squares (Charlotte Square and St Andrews Square) linked by large, linear streets were developed by master architect, Robert Adam, who’s designs for Charlotte Square would set a new standard in the city from then on. The first residents – The Lamont Family - moved in around 1796 and the house is furnished to reflect how they would have lived. Unlike the cramped conditions in the Old Town, this home is spacious, bright and lavished with money – although all is not as it seems. Pine has been painted to look like Mahogany, the ‘silver’ is actually Sheffield Plate, and the Malachite cutlery isn’t Malachite at all, but stained Ivory. It seems that, in keeping up appearances, the Georgians really were tremendous fibbers! They were also extremely innovative, and the very first Cheese Toastie Maker can be seen in the Dining Room.

G A R D E Z L O O

The Painted Room and the Arcaded Entrance

Although I work for the National Trust for Scotland, until yesterday I had never visited Gladstone’s Land, which is the sister property and polar opposite of my gaff (the Georgian House). Situated in the heartland of Edinburgh’s Old Town at the top of the Royal Mile, this wonderful tenement property was once the home of a prosperous merchant in the 17^th century and is furnished to reflect this. Outside, the ground floor arcade is original and is the only surviving element of something that, incredibly, once covered the whole street. Unlike the Georgian House, each room reflects a different era for the merchant, Thomas Gledstane, as he built upwards and outwards to make the most of the property’s tiny footprint. It's quite interesting that the rich and poor used to live alongside each other in houses like this, before the development of the New Town began at the turn of the century.

The highlight of Gladstone's is the Painted Room, which faces onto the street and is home to a beautiful timber ceiling decorated with fruit and flower motifs. We were told this was only discovered when the NTS were restoring the house, as up until then it had been concealed with an artificial ceiling. When I asked why anyone would want to cover up such a work of art, the guide said that it was painted in the style of the Jacobites – the Royal House of Stuarts - who had been in exile since 1689. As bedrooms were often used for entertaining as well as sleeping, it was in the family’s best interests to keep their allegience a secret.

V A V A V O O M

Japanese Practice Kengo Kuma and Associates have unanimously won the highly-contested battle to design the new V&A Museum in Dundee. Beating off competition from an impressive six-strong shortlist, the landmark building is at the forefront of the city’s Waterfront regeneration project and is hoping to replicate Bilbao’s ‘Guggenheim effect’ in Scotland. The stone building takes its elegantly splayed form from the meeting of tourism trade with the city centre, and will seemingly ‘float’ on the banks of the River Tay.  Building will commence in 2012 and the museum is expected to open in 2015.

A B O T T L E A N D A F R I E N D

He may be regarded as Scotland’s most famous son, but the first contemporary museum in honour of famed poet Robert Burns has only just been realised. Spread over 10 acres, the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum encompasses the cottage where Burns was born, several landmarks from his most famous works as well as the rambling Ayrshire countryside from which he found his inspiration. Designed by Simpsonand Brown Architects for the National Trust for Scotland, the building combines locally sourced timber and stone with a curvaceous grass roof, and is a blueprint for sustainable Scottish architecture. I will post more once I've visited!

T H E L A S T S T R A W

Thatching has been around since the Neolithic period, and in that time the straw and reed based material has been both a symbol of poverty and of wealth. Due to more recent interest in the preservation of historic properties, thatching has enjoyed a renewed popularity but that said, it is still a rarity to see it used in contemporary design. This home by Dutch architect Arjen Reas does just that, combining the traditional thatch with a smooth white render and elegant glazing to add a modern touch. Utilising the archetypal house form popularised by Herzog and de Meuron and MVRDV, the property is situated on the cusp of the city and is designed to reflect the meeting of rural and urban.  

B L U R R E D B O U N D A R I E S

It could be straight out of the Black Swan set...

With its blurred walls and atmospheric fog, you would be forgiven for thinking this image of ANZAS Dance Studio had been digitally enhanced. It is, however, a striking optical illusion devised by the architects - Beijing based Tsutsumi and Associates - who have created the impression of mist simply by painting thousands of tiny graduated dots onto the mirrored walls. The design challenges our perception of space, and uses curves in the apex of each corner to further blur the distinction between floor and wall. Disorientating and intoxicating, the effect is nothing short of dreamlike.

S N A I L T R A I L

Must have Disney on the brain today!

J U S T L I K E T H E M O V I E S

Haven’t we all wished at some point that life was like a Disney movie?  Patkau Architects may have more than most, having realized these Skating Shelters in Canada’s Winnipeg that bear more than a passing resemblance to the dancing mushrooms in the Disney classic Fantasia. Located along the city’s skating trails, these elegant, temporary shelters provide comfort and shelter from the harsh winter winds that can make minus 30 feel twenty degrees colder. Formed from thin, flexible plywood and rotated to counteract allsorts of solar and wind conditions, these nifty little structures create a community in the most unlikely of places.     

N E S T I N G P L A C E

It may be a phrase perpetually linked with the Beijing Olympics, but now UID Architects have created a bird’s nest of their own, in Hiroshima, Japan. Taking inspiration from the handiwork of our feathered friends, UID’s family home reflects the orders of the environment, relative to the ground, trees and sky. Instead of compromising the surrounding forest, the building is integrated by the architects in the form of tunnels, a lower level planted garden, and moveable, flexible space. Wide openings in the walls and floors blur any distinctions between the various levels, whilst still allowing for interaction and intimacy.