Stories on Design // Un-Walls.

Un-Walls. What exactly are those suckers? Well, not really sure how easily I can explain it in words, but I’ll give it a go. You see, walls are considered a fairly basic elements in interiors and architecture. A wall is like a line on a page. A letter that makes up a word. A basic building block. We often approach walls as barriers and dividers, or something that’s solid, that might be painted, or coated, or lined, clad, upholstered… You get the idea. But what happens when we start thinking about walls as something a lot more than just – you know – walls? What if walls were thought of as elements that unify spaces, cunningly adding a real sense of drama, having a much more complex and delicate function than simply providing division, partition or shelter? Well, that’s where Un-Walls come in.

Un-Walls are complicated beasts. They are a series of cunning stunts that act as a challenging element of modern architecture, often creating interiors that are more playful or open. Un-Walls can be living, breathing parts of a building. They might be structures and forms that grow out of a ceiling, that become a multi-purpose gesture in an interior – places where one might be able to sit, talk and play. They might be suspended, or open in certain parts, each one different in proportion thereby creating visible layers in a space. Or they could simply be a remnant of a wall that once was. Regardless of what form they might take, I hope that this story inspires you to look at your walls with a new awareness.

See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.

Photography © José Hevia.

Reform of Two Places by Cifuentes Olivier Arquitectes // The project consists in unifying two separate tenancies into a single space to be used as storage. The initial budget, calculated using the Spanish Architect’s association formula, was 60,000 euros. However the team worked to reduce it to 12,000euros.

Structural Engineer: “The cheapest option would be an arch. But usually architects don’t like them, so you can put an UPN beam at each side, or carbon fiber – whatever you want”.
Project Leader: “What are we talking about?”
SE: “Let’s say… one thousand five hundred bucks of difference.”
PL: “Arch for sure.”

Photography by Elena Almagro.

HUBflat Coworking Space by CH+QS Arquitectos // The designers removed some of the parts of the original 1950s apartment to create voids in the shape of a cone and two spheres, bringing visual connection between the different areas. This cunning stunt also acts as a challenging element to the modern architecture, making the interior more playful and more open.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Santos-Diez/BISimages.

A Cantina in Galicia Spain by Esudio Nomada // The tree-like sculptures growing out of the tables in this canteen by Spanish architects Estudio Nômada are meant to remind diners of eating outdoors. The organic wall openings provide interesting views through to adjacent spaces.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Peter Clarke.

Move-in Showroom in Melbourne by Elenberg Fraser // The design of the new Move-in showroom comes from the idea of the brick and the medium of the wall, in particular the point where the wall fails and becomes the ‘unwall’.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photo © invisiblegentleman.com

Braamcamp Freire Secondary School by CVDB Arquitectos // This school is located at the edge of the historical centre of Pontinha, Lisbon. The Square is open as an amphitheater, connecting it to the playgrounds in the northern part of the school grounds. This amphitheater is below the new classrooms building supported by a series of punctured concrete walls allowing students either to walk through them or to use them as places for sitting, talking and playing.

Photography © Iwan Bann.

Tama Art University Library by Toyo Ito // Toyo Ito’s library at Tama Art University is comprised of a series of concrete arches. The arches, which are of varying span lengths, are arranged in an irregular patterns driven by the slope of the surrounding landscape. The arches intersect to form slender, loosely cruciform columns which ever so gently connect with the earth.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Fernando Guerra | FG+SG.

Care Implant Dentistry in Sydney by Pedra Silva // The clinic is organised into two distinct areas: one dedicated to general practice, and the other to surgical procedures, which the project articulates through two reception areas with separate entrances. The articulation between both receptions is performed through a structure composed of suspended wooden blades, functionally separating both lobbies while maintaining a visual connection between them, and, simultaneously, concealing the infrastructures that run along them.

Photos courtesy of Hiroshi Kuno + Associates.

Brother House by Hiroshi Kuno + Associates // Large circular holes appear to have been punched through the interior of this boxy white house in Japan, creating a sequence of curvy partitions low enough for residents to climb over. Three curved partitions divide the building up into four main spaces, accommodating a living room and kitchen, a bathroom, and two spaces that can used as bedrooms or for other uses. Each of the partitions is slightly different in proportion, creating visible layers.

Photography by Tamas Bujnovszky.

Renovation of the Rácz Thermal Bath by Budapesti Műhely // Hungarian studio Budapesti Műhely has restored the interior of one of Budapest’s oldest bathhouses by replacing the vaulted walls of the warm water hall and shower room, leaving the bubble-shaped backs exposed. Parts of the building were destroyed in World War II and the architects decided not to rebuild the brick walls behind the new vaults, instead leaving them exposed so that visitors can see the curved structures lining the hallway.

Photography by Masato Kawano/Nacasa & Partners.

Hotel Nikko Kumamoto Bridal Salon by Ryo Matsui Architects // Curving walls rise from opposing directions to form an aisle through the centre of this wedding planner’s office in Japan by Ryo Matsui Architects. From one end of the space, the series of partial archways visually align to form an aisle. The tips of each curving wall taper off to rejoin the ceiling towards either side of the room.

Photo by Fumihiko Ikemoto.

House I by Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architect // Each living space is divided by the stone wall mined locally and by the radial walls that support a big roof – the interior has a formal quality due to the rhythm set up by the wall structure.

Photography by Takumi Ota.

Japanese Disco Becomes an Offices with Floating Walls, designed by Sasaki Architecture // Sections of wall appear to hang from the ceiling of this former warehouse club in Tokyo, which was converted into offices by local studio Sasaki Architecture. Slices of glazing inserted between the base of the thick walls and the concrete floor are designed to make the partitions look like they are levitating, while allowing natural light to filter into the centre of the space.

Photos courtesy of Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates.

House in Hanekita by Katsutoshi Sasaki Associates // Waist-high partitions divide up the top floor of this mostly windowless house in Japan, framing different activities without cutting off light to any of the spaces. The lower level of the house has a simple layout, with an open-plan living and kitchen in the centre and narrower rooms along the edges, but the upper level was designed with a more flexible layout, divided up by what the architect calls “spandrel walls”.

Photography © Daici Ano.

GC Prostho Museum Research Center by Kengo Kuma + Associates // The architecture behind GC Prostho Museum Research Center originates from the system of Cidori, an old Japanese toy. Cidori is an assembly of timber sticks where joints have a unique shape, which can be extended merely by twisting the sticks, without any nails or metal fittings. The tradition of this toy has been passed on in Hida Takayama, a small town in a mountain, where many skilled craftsmen still exist.

See other work by Kengo Kuma + Associates on Yellowtrace.

Photography by Xia Zhi.

Hongkun Art Gallery by Penda // A sequence of arches creates topsy-turvy openings and curvy doorways through the spaces of this art gallery in Beijing by design collective Penda. The designers based the forms on the mountains and valleys depicted in typical Chinese landscape paintings, tying in with the artworks that comprise the gallery’s main exhibition.

Photography by Dinis Gilbert.

Bishop Edward King Chapel by Niall McLaughlin Architects // And so to Britain, where Niall McLaughlin Architects has added the Bishop Edward King Chapel to the cluster of buildings at Ripon Theological College nestled in the countryside north of Oxford. The chapel provides space within space – a ring of columns bend inwards and enmesh, referencing an existing forest glade, within the masonry and glass superstructure.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Peter Bennetts.

Baker D Chirico by March Studio // Australian practice March Studio conceived this Melbourne bakery as an oversized breadbasket. The undulating timber slats that cover the rear wall and ceiling of the shop function as shelves for storing and displaying breads of different shapes and sizes. A timber chopping board spans the length of the bakery to create a countertop with integrated pockets for scales, knives, crumb-catchers and checkouts.

Images courtesy of Olivier Ottevaere.

The Pinch Pinch Library & Community Center by Olivier Ottevaere & John Lin // Children can clamber onto the curved roof of this community library in China, which architects John Lin and Olivier Ottevaere designed for an earthquake-damaged village in Yunnan Province. The library features a twisted shape that bends out to meet an elevated stretch of pavement, allowing visitors to walk over the roof and look out towards a new basketball court. Inside, rows of books sit on shelves made from interlocking timber frames, which are suspended from the ceiling and hover just above the floor.

Photography by Kenichi Suzuki.

Geo Metria by Mount Fuji Architects Studio // This little two bedroom house on a sloping site in the Kanagawa Prefecture is by Mount Fuji Architects Studio. Two sets of gridded roof beams intersect at different heights, the lower ones sailing across the entire length of the house. The higher beams come to rest on top of these and somewhere in between the distant skies and the structural jointing, magic happens. The planks of the roof beams fold down and divide the pavilion up into little open rooms. Bookshelves are slotted in between.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Images courtesy of Hotel Hotel.

Hotel Hotel Canberra // Greeted by a staircase of stacked recycled timber, it’s not just architects that look up with jaws dropped. Shooting timber lengths form the stair treads and wrap up the walls and ceiling. It’s a grand and dynamic gesture that marks the entry to the hotel. Fender Katsalidis were responsible the masterplan and the architecture, and March Studio for the staircase and lobby interior.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography by Kotaro Horiuchi.

Fusionner2.0: Paper Cave by Kotaro Horiuchi // Japanese architect Kotaro Horiuchi has created a white cave-like space in his office by hanging sheets of glass fibre paper from the ceiling. Each layer is curved in a different way to create the sense that the ceiling is rippling.

Photography by Akumi Ota.

Kolmio+LIM Nail Salon by Yusuke Seki // The zigzag triangular wall of the Kolmio+LIM beauty salon is made from white-painted timber that looks as though its been crimped. Seki points out that the design refracts sun streaming in through the back windows in much the same way that glitter nail polish catches light.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Tom Ferguson.

Sheats Goldstein House by John Lautner in LA // This well known John Lautner house in Beverly Hills was originally built for the Sheats Family in 1963, and is currently owned by James Goldstein who purchased it in 1972. Goldstein engaged Lautner to make alterations and additions to the house which had fallen into some repair, and the two remained close until Lautner’s death in 1994. The roof structure is integral to the design of this home, folding down in parts to create walls and delineate the edge of the building.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photography © Marcelo Cáceres.

Pullpo Advertising Agency by Hania Stambuk // Located in Santiago, Chile, an abandoned salt factory was transformed into a creative workplace for an advertising agency Pullpo. This image of the vista through a partially demolitioned wall… wow! What a gutsy move. It’s just superb. I also love the approach of using freestanding self-contained boxes to house various activities within the larger volume.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.