Jasmax, Auckland

1.The Jasmax office is spacious and bright which makes for a positive contrast to many working environments. I liked the exterior of the building but I have always been very partial to lots of glass and concrete. I was not so keen on the primary colours splashed through the interior but this is personal taste and would probably be dynamic and inspiring to the workforce therefore increasing productivity which is ultimately what management want.


2. After reading the powerpoints and discussing with people who attended the talk it seems to me that Tim Hooson is passionate about building a collaborative work space for Jasmax that is productive for people with a variety of working styles. The communal hub of creative and "big ideas" team members extending out to details oriented and individually focused team members. The radiation outwards of staff in various bands breaks down the silo effect of different departments and allows for a cross over of ideas and collaboration between once disparate teams.


3. Britomart Transport Centre

Jasmax have successfully used modern technologies and materials to represent the local environment and traditional Maori design techniques such as weaving metal fibres on mesh walls to achieve a woven basket effect. The integration of the large skylights into the design stops the location feeling like an underground bunker by letting in natural light and is also representative of the regions volcanic peaks. This combination of the old with the new provides a landmark transport centre that can compete internationally but retains a local feel.

A Modernist Interior

1. Extension to Gothenburg Townhall 1913 - 1937 by Gunnar Asplund

2. Formal design features associated with modernism in this space include;

• a mezzanine with exposed structural supports and a cantilevered staircase that appear to be suspended in the space, 
• recesses within walls to allow air-conditioning systems to work but remain hidden and creating a shadowy depth to the detailing,
• negative detailing between the old and new sections of the Town Hall to show the juxtaposition of the old and new materials,
• open plan layout allowing for multiple uses of the space, 
• floor to ceiling glass walls and glass panels in the ceiling to allow in plenty of sunlight,
• modular screens for partitioning the space,
• neutral colour scheme,
• furnished in pieces that bridge the domestic/commercial divide including loungers cum office chairs and dining cum board room furniture.

3. The design of this space is in keeping with the Scandinavian Modernist style of which the architect, Gunnar Asplund, was an exponent. 

Asplund and four other Swedish architects (Sven Markelius, Eskil Sundahl, Uno Åhrén, and Wolter Gahn),
co-authored a manifesto for a Scandinavian approach to modernist design called "Acceptera"  (1931).

Its overarching concept was of "beauty for all" taking a socialist view of the basic concepts of modernism. The architects believed that well made items and interiors, fit for purpose and beautiful should be affordable for all in society. They also championed the combination of industrial or man-made materials with traditional ones such as wood, of which there was plenty in Scandinavia, and more organic shapes derived from Swedish craft traditions than the streamlined metal shapes of German and French modernism.


4. An excerpt from the text can be found on the Museum of Modern Arts (MOMA) website where it is included in a MOMA publication - Three Founding Texts of Swedish Modernism.










5. Asplund's interior reflects his design principles through;

• the copious amount of wood he uses to line all the walls, apart from glass there are no other major surface treatments on the walls in the space,
• his use of mixed man made and natural materials in other features of the space, including the modular screens, the stair well and the support pillars,
• the space is a public one therefore accessible to all who would like to use it,
• the furniture in the space is organically shaped and sympathetic to the human form,
• the colour palette is restricted to neutrals and natural wood in keeping with the wider Scandinavian modernist aesthetic.

References

http://www.moma.org/learn/intnlprograms/publications/publications_swedish

http://www.erikgunnarasplund.com/eng/gallery8-tillbyggnadengoteborgsradhus.asp

Response to Imagined Interiors

Chapter 9, The Twentieth-Century Architectural Interior: representing Modernity
by Tim Benton

1. This essay focused on how the development of photography and the wider dissemination of architectural information in various reviews and publications changed the way architects presented their designs. This was because "...until the advent of photography...the audience of the architecture was the user. With photography, the illustrated magazine, and tourism, architecture's reception began to occur through an additional social reform: consumption." (Benton, 2006, p.221).


2. I was interested to learn that the history of photography runs almost in parallel with that of Modernist design and the two have had a symbiotic relationship. The change in focus to the design and presentation of interiors that showed up well in black and white photographs became a key focusing point for architects essentially removing the 'decorative' and 'lived in' elements from the presentation of the finished works. This pared back visual aesthetic dovetailed with with streamlined tenets of modernism, "...forms of representation developed by Modernism not only excluded children (and people in general) from photographs but also any messy signs of their presence." (Benton, 2006, p.226)


3. The focus of the essay is on exhibition spaces and the domestic interior as as exhibition rather than a lived in environment. Primacy was given to demonstrations of the architects adherance to modernist ideals such as the structural rationalism of the space and its social utility. This was displayed through (usually white) uninterrupted facades, exposure of structural support, streamlined and industrial furnishings and the absolute exclusion of the human presence.

There is a tension in modern architecture that is described in the article by Benton as "...the eternal conflict in architectural interiors between 'Art' and Life', that is, between the expectations of, and aesthetic ambitions of the architects and the lived experience of the inhabitants." (Benton, 2006, p. 223) Benton saw this manifesting as  "...success for an architect in the twentieth century depend[ing] more on on creating exhibitable or publishable plans, renderings, models, installations and above all photographs than on meeting the practical and psychological needs of clients." (Benton, 2006, p. 223) 

There is a hangover in this form of representation to this day in which homes photographed for interiors and architectural magazines are styled and often redecorated for shoots and the detritus of everyday life is swept away. However, there are often shots of the owner and interviews with them about the space as the commitment to an unyielding architects vision for the overall design of a space has given way to a more personal vision than values the aesthetics and belongings of the owners as much, if not more, than the imposed style of an architect or designer.


4.  A move toward rationalism and secularism that began with the enlightenment came to fruition in the twentieth century. The beginning of this century saw rapid increases in technology and industrial processes that shaped the modernist aesthetic and responded to the rationalism of scientific and social thought in a concrete manner through the production and dissemination of modular and ready made building materials and furnishings. In this way the stripped back, rationalised  interiors reflected wider social norms of the time.



References

Aynsely, Jeremy & Grant, Charlotte (eds.) Imagined Interiors: Representing the Domestic Space since the Renaissance. London: V & A Publications, 2006, p. 220 - 242.

Introductions

1. What are your favourite contemporary art / design / craft / interior magazines?

Urbis - New Zealand interiors/architecture/product/fashion

World Sweet World - New Zealand craft/design/diy mag

Vogue Living Australia - Australian interiors & lifestyle mag

Frankie - Australian fashion/art/diy

Inside Out - Australian interiors & lifestyle mag

Time's design issue - USA design overview (annual)


2. Why do you read these particular publications?

I enjoy reading both local and international publications. The above magazines are easy to access in New Zealand and relatively inexpensive. To follow European trends I prefer to follow blogs as imported magazines are much more expensive and harder to come by.

They cover a good mix of accessible design that is easy to replicate in my own home and inspirational work that can act as a catalyst for my design work at school. Many of the objects and interiors are aspirational on my student budget!

I am particularly interested in wallpaper/textile design and ceramics and these magazines often feature work in these fields. Reviews of local stores, exhibitions and shows are great because I can go out and see these for myself.

Time and Urbis are critical and evaluate the design showcased whereas the lifestyle magazines are much more descriptive and privilege the image over analysis.


3. Who are your favourite designers? Why?

Herzog & DeMeuron



I enjoy the strong external silhouettes these architects create in their work and the relationship this has with their interiors. An example of this is the Vitra Haus museum they designed in Basel, Germany. Set in countryside that changes from a summer pastoral paradise of undulating fields to bitter, windswept and snow covered in winter the setting is as important to their work as the structure itself. Block outlines of different traditional 'house' shapes project out at different angles, stacking one on another like a precarious stack of Monopoly houses. The external shape is mirrored inside the building in high loft shapes, but where the outside is made of heavy industrial materials and creates a dominating, almost threatening silhouette, the inside is clean lines, brightly lit, of white plaster and bleached wood. Huge windows contrast the interior view with the external silhouette and when viewed from the outside creates an interesting visual tension.


Frank Lloyd Wright



I particularly like Lloyd Wright's residential architecture. Like Herzog & DeMeuron I like that the shape of the structure is sympathetic to its setting. However, Lloyd Wright is much more consistent in his use of materials from the exterior to the interior. One of my favourite designs is his winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona 'Taliesen West'. A long and low structure it is built of materials extracted from the local landscape and blends in with it beautifully.


Catherine Martin

I've loved Martin's work since seeing Romeo + Juliet. She works with her husband (Director Baz Luhrman) to create entire worlds for their film's characters to inhabit. The attention to detail and sophisticated use of colour and texture is phenomenal and a modern approach to the German notion of 'gesamtkunstwerk' or total work of art.

I admire her blending of models, large sets, painted backdrops and CGI to create the worlds and particularly the strong use of light and filters to acheive different effects.

She has branched into pattern design and interiors which makes her film aesthetic accessible in a home environment. My favourite copy of Vogue Living is the one that she guest edited and designed the cover for. She blew up and repeated an image of Florence Broadhurst's 'Cockatoo' design (another designer I admire) - which in itself was a cheeky reference to Broadhurst's modus operandi when it came to designing. It is great to be inspired by Antipodean, female, talent.

 Amy Wells

I do not watch television but I have seen every episode available of Mad Men and the work of Amy Wells is the main reason. Wells is the set designer on this show and recreates different aspects of the American interior in the early sixties.

Like Martin it is the attention to detail, colours and textures which are so appealing. The colour palette of the sixties is very different to that of our contemporary interiors, however, Wells recreates so that it does not look dated and retro but fresh and current. Many of the design objects from this era are undergoing a resurgence in popularity which helps and is in no small part probably due to her beautifully detailed and put together sets.


George Nelson


I enjoy Nelson's philosophical position but not necessarily all of his designs. For example, I appreciate the political comment he is making with his 'Atomic Clock' without wanting the piece in my own home but adore his 'Onion Skin' lampshades on a purely aesthetic basis.

Nelson made a film 'Elegy in a Junkyard' which reflects upon the consumerist society and that everything once complete is almost immediately obsolete. This resonated with me and has led to my interest in designers and installation artists that repurpose derelict items or spaces to give them a new lease of life or celebrate their transitory nature, what the Japanese call 'wabisabi' an aesthetic of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete." (Pallassma, 2009).


Claire Coles



Coles is a designer who repurposes vintage wallpaper to create unique installations and decorative spaces. Similar to Nelson's philosophy I enjoy that she is giving new purpose and meaning to old and usually discarded items. Her subject matter can be somewhat cutesie and banal but the overall purpose behind her design of recycling and repurposing appeals to me.

I particularly like her use of colour, she has a strong grasp of how colours work together and whether a pieces is of complementary hues within a particular shade or an interesting contrast the overall effect is harmonious to the eye.


Hanna Werning



Werning is graphic designer who has turned her skills to creating unique patterns for wallpaper and textiles. Her designs blend the traditional with the modern, for example she will take an old pattern (eg: Fleur de Lis) and recreate at a much larger scale than is usual using a modern, bright palette of high contrasts.


4. If you were on a desert island, what five design objects would you take with you, and why?

Kindle
I love to read and one book would not be enough, so thank goodness for this cunning design in which I can store countless books to wile away my days.

Canon's DS EOS
A fabulous opportunity to document a totally different environment cannot be missed. I love my Canon camera and would ensure this was in my backpack.

Coast's Marine Bean
A desert island seems to insist on some down time and so a spot to relax in the sun, shade or at night is essential. A New Zealand design it is a giant beanbag shaped like an armchair with a matching ottoman that can double as a table. It is covered in weather proof fabric so would be ideal for any of the extreme weather conditions the island might throw up while I am stranded there.

 

Sun Power Port (solar power generator)
The inclusion of two design objects that require their batteries to be recharged necessitates another design to power them. After some research this power generator seemed ideal - self contained, easily transportable and generating power through the sun.

Fish Eagle (luxury tent)
I like my shade and shelter to come with a wooden raised platform floor, full height roof and walls, mosquito netting, electrical inlets for lights and cooking and enough space to walk around in. The verandah with drop down net 'windows' is a bonus.




References

Pallasmaa, J. The thinking hand : existential and embodied wisdom in arthitecture. Wiley Books, Chichester, U.K. 2009.