Kunstlinie

The Kunstlinie(2006) designed by Japanese Architects, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, is a theatre located in Almere's city centre. The building is located on the shore of the "Weerwater" lake.

The building contains two large theatres, offices, and a number of ancillary spaces for smaller performances, rehearsals and administration. The planning of the spaces is achieved without the use of corridors or hallways meaning people pass through different spaces and functions to reach their destination. Throughout the building views to the water and various qualities of light are visible through the glass facades. The thinness of detailing that is typical of SANAA's work is noticeable in the Kunstlinie although the materials and detailing were made thicker by the Dutch construction company to satisfy dutch building regulations, satisfy acoustic and thermal insulation requirements and be suitable for the Dutch climate.

The building is a welcome and calming piece of architecture in Almere which exhibits considerably more restraint than it's neighbours. It successfully establishes a stronger relationship with the water and the various lighting effects and reflections that it causes than it does with the new city center.

The interior spaces are minimally detailed and predominantly white. Openings often replace an entire wall and load bearing walls leave the interior largely column free.
The overall impression is one of calm and a constant awareness of the lake, whilst the choice of materials and detailing leaves the spaces colder and more austere than poetic. The full height foyer spaces are impressive and clearly orientate the visitor within the building.

New Museum

New Museum by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA, 2007
235 Bowery New York NY

The New Museum is a contemporary art museum in New York City designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. A series of stacked boxes clad in aluminium mesh the building has an industrial and robust feel that complements the gritty character of the Bowery whilst simultaneously appearing delicate and clean. The shifting of the boxes allows natural light into the column free gallery spaces through skylights.
The museum contains 3 floors of gallery space, an educational centre, a 182-seat theater in the basement, a cafe and bookstore on the ground floor and a patio and event space on the seventh floor.

The bathrooms in the basement are clad in wild orange and baby blue tiles in floral patterns.

Small House

Due to the intense demands of space and astronomical costs of real estate in Tokyo SANAA’s Small House is an exercise in making the most with very little. Located on a 60m2 lot in central Tokyo, SANAA have managed to create a family home for a designer, his wife and their daughter.

In order to maximise the useable space of each floorplate each floor contains a single function. The partial basement level contains a bedroom and bathroom used by the whole family, the ground floor is a family room which will become the daughter’s bedroom when she grows older, the second level contains the kitchen and dining room and the top floor contains a soaking tub and terrace with city views enclosed in metal mesh.

The size of each floor plate is determined by each function creating the interesting form of the house, reflecting and making possible the internal organisation. The open stair provides the main circulation and structure that supports thin concrete slabs. Every element in the house has been reduced to a minimum to provide the maximum possible space and the organisation and construction of the house achieved with a minimum of means.

On the day I visited the house the curtains were closed and the building was unlike the pristine white renderings and models that are produced by the office. The fineness of the detailing and the thinness of the materials did not seem to be aging well. The extensive glazing on the façade makes it possible to see into most of the house and I was curious to know how often the curtains are open.

The Small House is an incredible exercise in creating such an open, spacious and interesting building within such tight constraints and it was interesting to finally see a Sejima building and how the pristine beauty of their renderings and models appears in reality.