Stories On Design // Wrapped Buildings.

Well, well. What have we here? – I hear you ask. Or perhaps you’re saying – What the actual fukkkk, Dana? How is a story on Wrapped Buildings going to help my work? And the answer is, I don’t know. And if this is truly what you’re thinking, please don’t be so dull. Wrapped Buildings are awesome. Why? Because they are just like giant Christmas presents, except way cooler because you get to keep them forever.

Also, it’s not that often one can see buildings which challenge the conventional to this extent. I mean, I personally always thought curtains belonged on the inside of buildings, but many architects behind these projects clearly had a moment that went a little something like this – “Dude, I’m bored. Let’s do something fun. Ok, how about we wrap this building in… ummmm, a woven fabric…? No? A metal mesh blanket? You reckon it won’t work? But who says curtains always have to be on the inside of the building? Let’s play decorators and chuck some fabric on the outside…” Are these architects simply a bunch of frustrated interior designers? Perhaps. But who would have thought exterior curtains and woven screens would look this good? Certainly not me.

On that note – drumroll please – I give you twenty six wrapped buildings that articulate their facades by using unconventional materials in unexpected and interesting ways. Boom!

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Textile Installation Art.
String & Thread Installations.

See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.

Photography by Åke E-son Lindman.

Juniper House in Gotland by Murman Arkitekter // Stockholm-based office Murman Arkitekter designed Juniper House for a small clearing in a grove of juniper trees on Gotland island. Hoping to blend the small, 50sqm home with its natural setting, the architects devised a double facade. The building’s timber construction is concealed on three sides with a screen-printed vinyl textile depicting photographs of trees, intended to serve as a camouflage. Genius!

Photography by Bas Princen.

Dar Al Jeena in Bahrain by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen // Dar Al Jinaa is one of two centres of traditional music designed and built by the supremely talented http://www.officekgdvs.com/ in the old city of Bahrain. The project, which consists of a ‘Majlis’ (‘collective room’) added to an existing community centre called a ‘dar’ (‘house’), gives a public face to the ancient community of pearl fishers, who use the building for music performances. The simple structure of concrete columns and floor plates is ‘veiled’ with a fine steel mesh. The metal veil functions as a solar protection, designed so it can be lifted to allow by-passers a look inside when the building is in use.

Photography by Iwan Baan.

Kukje Art Centre in Seoul Korea by SO-IL // Chinese craftsmen welded and filed 510,000 stainless-steel links by hand to make the mesh blanket that fits precisely over the protruding lift shaft, stairwell and entrances of the Kukje Gallery in South Korea designed by New York architects SO-IL. Ummmm… WOW!

Photography by Edmund Sumner.

Guy’s Hospital in London by Thomas Heatherwick // Occupying a central London site next to London Bridge Station, the approaches to Guy’s Hospital were confused and congested resulting in the main entrance being hard to find. The scheme by Thomas Heatherwick, commissioned in 2005 and completed in 2007, captured a scope of works to address a range issues for the benefit of patients, visitors and staff. Much of the scheme consists of functional, pragmatic moves, which create space for a focal point, in this instance provided by Boiler Suit – a bespoke tiled cladding system wrapping around the boiler house.

Boiler Suit is fabricated from high grade stainless steel frames, with braid woven through as the “warp”. The 108 tiles are geometrically identical, with 17 variants required to accommodate specific junctions. The tiles are a secondary façade system that is demountable and allows the machinery to vent through, whilst framed reveals shade the large windows on the south façade to reduce solar gain.

In 2007, the project won the Building Better Healthcare Award for Public Space, and the FX Magazine, Judge’s Special Award.

Photography © Sylvia Volz, 1995, courtesy of Christo.

Photography © Wolfgang Volz, 1995, courtesy of Christo.

Photography © Wolfgang Volz, 1995, courtesy of Christo.

Photography © Wolfgang Volz, 1995, courtesy of Christo.

Photography © Wolfgang Volz, 1995, courtesy of Christo.

Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin by Christo and Jeanne Claude // Of course, we cannot possibly talk about Wrapped Buildings without bringing Christo into the conversation. Christo and Jeanne-Claude conceived the idea of wrapping the Berlin Reichstag back in 1971, but it took until the summer of 1995, when for two weeks the German capital was at the very centre of the art world, for the scheme to come to fruition.

More than five million visitors witnessed the final making of one of the most exhilarating artworks ever created — a work that had been 24 years in preparation. Until this day, Wrapped Reichstag represents a vision that took the world’s breath away, remaining one of the most memorable public art events of all time. Goosebumps.

Photography © Kurt Hoerbst.

Aichinger House in Kronstorf, Austria by Hertl Architekten // Thow two storey apartment building which once housed a restaurant, appears more as an example of a temporary art installation rather than a permanent piece of architecture. Sure, the fabric is probably going to be quite difficult to keep clean, and there will possibly be all sorts of problems which may arise with dirt and insects getting trapped between the fabric and the facade, but what a joyous example of what is possible when creativity is allowed to run its course, and the client agrees to take the risk.

What’s otherwise a super simple and a fairly ordinary example of architecture has become a talking piece, simply due to turning the inside-out concepts on its head. Ten points from me.

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

Photography by Kouichi Torimura.

Tokyo House by A.L.X. Architect // Designed to exploit the constraints of Japanese planning laws, this corner dwelling by A.L.X. Architect guarantees its inhabitants more living space than they had originally thought possible. Located in a residential suburb of Tokyo, the design by architect Junichi Sampei encompasses three storeys, with the internal layout carefully considered throughout. The building’s reinforced concrete frame occupies the plot’s maximum footprint, and is finished with a thin coat of insulation. In order to ensure privacy, all apertures have been covered with perforated metal screens.

Photography © Hampus Berndtson.

The Orangery by Lenschow & Pihlmann + Mikael Stenström // This temporary pavilion stands distinctively as a delicate, white structure, with it’s form heavily influenced by baroque architecture. Illustrated by the curving oval and circular forms, the pavilion follows a similar floor plan of a church in Italy. This reinterpretation sees the contemporary form being made from a steel structure wrapped in a strong white plastic used to protect large objects during transportation.

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

Photography by Brett Beyer.

Manus x Machina by OMA // OMA New York has used translucent textile to create a “ghost cathedral” for ‘The Met’s Manus x Machina’ exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which focused on the convergence of fashion and technology. Led by architect Shohei Shigematsu, OMA New York transformed what was previously an underused hallway into the exhibition space using scaffolding wrapped with a white perforated PVC fabric.

Photography by Iwan Baan.

Blueprint at Storefront for Art & Architecture in NYC, 2915 by SO-IL // Curated by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu, and artist Sebastiaan Bremer, Blueprint at Storefront for Art and Architecture invited artists and architects to reflect on the theme of origination through the medium of the blueprint. The notion of the blueprint – a nostalgic medium (a bit like Yellowtrace!) – implies a plan and intention. The show is an assessment of the past and suggests a trajectory for the future.

Realised as part of the exhibition, the installation shrink-wrapped the gallery’s façade of varied and irregular openings, transforming the Holl-Acconci exterior into one continuous and undulating surface.

Photography by Simon Wilson.

Te Kaitaka: The Cloak by Fearon Hay Architects // Te Kaitaika ‘The Cloak’ by Fearon Hay Architects is situated in the heart of the growing urban environment at Auckland International Airport. A contoured living green roof is established over a shaped engineered timber frame. This shape provided the shoulders from which an encircling & distinctive woven mesh screen forms ‘The Cloak’.

The architecture is a combination of readily available construction approaches, layered with a degree of craft & legible materiality to showcase New Zealand sustainable design, materials, & innovation.

Photography by Daisuke Shimokawa /Nacása&Partners Inc.

MoyaMoya in Japan by PHENOMENON // The stainless steel veil is the hero of this otherwise fairly ordinary building, creating an illusion of being inside even if one is still outside. The veil moves with the wind, reflecting sunlight and responding to different times of the day with it’s changing reflections and moire patterns.

Photography by Ryota Atarashi.

Sakura in Meguro, Tokyo by Mount Fuji Architects Studio // Hidden behind two walls of 3mm thick lace-like steel that filters light like sunshine through foliage, the facade features holes punched out in a floral pattern depicting cherry blossoms, a traditional Ise paper stencil motif. Simply sublime.

Photography by Peter Bennetts.

The Toy Management House by Austin Maynard Architects // Austin Maynard Architects‘ renovation and extension of a single storey weatherboard terrace in Melbourne features a perforated metal screen, used externally to control and filter direct sunlight. Internally, the same material was applied to the new stair which has been designed to feel “light like lace”. Perforated steel sheet is folded allowing light to be shared while also enabling conversations from one level to the other. Openings and windows have been designed to optimise passive solar gain, thereby reducing demands on mechanical heating and cooling.

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

Photography by Alexander Jaquemet.

Gupa Gurten Pavilion by MLZD ARCHITEKTEN // MLZD ARCHITEKTEN‘s design competition winning entry is a pavilion wrapped in an external solar blind. Three sections of the north-side façade can be opened up so that on balmy evenings guests can sit outside and take in the breath-taking panoramic view over Bern and The Alps. The black-metal modest structure is made festive by the gleaming golden floor-to-ceiling sunshade curtains and the monumental sliding brass gates.

Images courtesy of Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates.

Wengawa House, Japan by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates // Obscured by gloriously simple white fabric, Wengawa House interior gains an element of privacy without becoming disconnected. The curtains move and sway in the gentle breeze whilst allowing natural light to softly filter through. With the Architect stripping everything back to basics and applying a exquisite eye for texture and functionality, the owners have found themselves with a little piece of perfection.

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

Photography © Lindman Photography.

Garden House in Mälaren, Södermanland by Tham & Videgard Arkitekter // Stockholm-based Tham & Videgård Arkitekter‘s single family residence is clad in a timber lattice for climbing vegetation. The dwelling is conceived as an integrated vertical addition to the garden, where indoor and outdoor spaces gradually blend and interact.

The architects eliminated the typical north-facing-facade approach, enabling sunlight to reach all three facades, in turn helping plants climb the encompassing trellis. The screen intermittently overlaps windows providing additional privacy to inhabitants.

Photography by Peter Clarke.

SAHMRI Research Institute by Woods Bagot // Woods Bagot worked with the South Australian Government to establish the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Inspired by the skin of a pine cone, the building’s unique triangulated dia-grid facade responds to it’s environment like a living organism, acting as an articulated sunshade. Following an intensive environmental analysis with consultants Atelier 10, Woods Bagot used parametric modelling tools to integrate environmental, programmatic, and formal requirements into the facade.

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

London 2012 Basket Arena by Sinclair Knight Merz // Designed by Sinclair Knight Merz with Wilkinson Eyre and KSS for London 2012 Olympics, this temporary ‘PVC tent’ featured a distinctive rippled outer skin created by stretching the plastic surface over arched frames. Two thirds of the structure was reusable after the games were over, after which the building was dismantled. The building was the largest single temporary structure ever created in Olympic history, and was the third largest of all the venues at the London Games.

Photography by Michel Denancé © Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Pathe Foundation Building in Paris by Renzo Piano // Renzo Piano’s headquarters for the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé in Paris, France looks like an extra-terrestrial spaceship from a 1960’s sci-fi flick. The building has been designed to preserve Pathé’s historic film archive and to promote future cinematographic art. Enclosed within a transparent skin of glass and steel cladding, the structure surprisingly improves it’s neighbour’s access to daylight.

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

Photography by Nicolas Borel, courtesy of Christian De Portzamparc and Dior.

Inside The House of Dior in Seoul // House of Dior in Seoul, South Korea is one deliciously curvalicious building. Alive with delicate movement, vitality and striking monumentality; this resplendent boutique is the work of Pritzker Prize winner Christian De Portzamparc.

The building composition is made up of two opposing forms; one feminine and one masculine and the dichotomy is stark. The feminine half is embodied by the asymmetrical draping form with delicate folds that appear to rise from the earth. These panels are made up of resin and fibreglass and represent toile fabric used in Dior designs. Architect Christian De Portamparc also explores the idea of light and lightness as intense and dappled shadows dance on the smooth rounded surfaces. The curves and counter curves were constructed out of large moulds and woven together on site.

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

Photography by Yong Gwan Kim.

Hanil Visitors Center & Guest House Maepo Korea by Nicholas Locke // Wavy walls forms the east facade of an information centre designed by BCHO Architects at a Korean concrete factory. Called Hanil Visitors Center and Guest House, the information centre aims to educate visitors about recycling concrete and demonstrates different options through its own construction.

Photography by Nacasa & Partners, courtesy of Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP.

Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura NAP // The Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP presents itself to the street with a dynamic 8.6 x 8.6m facade consisting of 6,000 pure glass blocks that reveal and conceal in equal measure. The facade was designed to provide soundproofing from the outside world, and at the same time allow abundance of natural light into the immediately adjacent interior garden which acts as a transition between the exterior and interior.

Read more about the project and see more images here.

Photography by Archive ADR.

Tavaru Restaurant and Bar in Maldives by ADR // This radical building sits in stark contrast with Maldives vernacular. Instead of employing traditional natural materials, reinforced concrete monolith was used on the face of the building, serving as a bearing tube around which a veil of light grey semi-transparent curtain is stretched.

Tower of Winds in Tokyo by Toyo Ito Associates // Completed in 1986, this project speaks of Toyo Ito‘s belief in the importance of technology, and its vital role in the future of architecture. During the day, perforated aluminium clad tower reflects the city via its reflective surfaces. By night, the Tower of Winds takes a more proactive role, translating sound and wind into light with the aid of two computers sensing the varying wind and noise levels. The tower responds accordingly by powering 1300 lamps, 12 neon rings, and 30 flood lights at its base. I think we can all agree this project was well ahead of it’s time.

Photography by Laszlo Csutoras.

Indonesian Open-Air Cinema by Csutoras & Liando // This temporary open-air cinema in Jakarta, designed by Indonesian studio Csutoras & Liando, was constructed in just 10 days using scaffolding, plywood and industrial fabric. A scaffolding system provided the structural framework, while the outer walls comprised nothing more than a translucent curtain, made from a perforated fabric commonly used in agriculture.

Photography by Shigeo Ogawa, courtesy of Frank La Riviere.

Nebuta-no-ie Warasse by Molo, d/dt & Frank La Riviere Architects, in Aomori, Japan // The Nebuta-no-ie Warasse building is dedicated to all aspects of the Nebuta Festival. A screen of 12m tall steel ribbons wraps the whole building and encloses an outdoor walkway – a threshold between the mythical world of Nebuta and the contemporary city. Each ribbon is twisted and bent to form openings for light, views and passageways.