Discontinuous Unity
involves investigating the natural laws, autonomy, and individuality of the
systems and construction of all of nature for the incomplete
separation of spaces from one another including the
cosmos and discovering the relationship rules and patterns between these things
and humanity and human living environment. This ‘incompleteness’
of space, interior and exterior, permits the user to fill in the gaps with the
act of dwelling and activity, a kind of liberation for the user by an
un-prescribing, open-ended architecture. Attempt to apply
this as a basic ideology to all design and planning included in the human
environment: architecture, town planning and even cosmic spaces.
Architecture develops
the long-standing tradition of significant garden buildings as transparent
enclosures with dramatic internal volumes and a strong sense of indoor-outdoor
connection. Physically it means no
thresholds and doors are hidden and making open-ended rooms. Walls aren't
wholly devoted to enclosing space but to create pauses in a larger journey. Importantly, the strong presence of the building acts as a
focus for the garden and landscape, so
the journey along the edges of the building permit varying places to experience
the mountain valley. The exterior of the
building is a sculptural form in the site's topography.
Original Articles
The geology and landscape of edges,
cliffs, caves, and ponds of the Blue Mountains and the valley form inspired the
design. The building is designed for passive solar performance. It unfolds is a
last step in a series of landscape spaces from the valley to the verandah.
The owner and I shared an admiration
for the early timber and corrugated iron buildings of the Blue Mountains and
wanted to continue this Australian pallet with high passive solar performance
and functional internal space.
The Leura house is sketched
out in sedimentary compressed sandstone walls. It uses a Japanese method called
'discontinuous unity' brought to light in the 1940’s by Japanese architects
Yoshizaka and Sakakura for the incomplete separation of spaces from one
another. This ‘incompleteness’ of space, interior and exterior, permits the
user to fill in the gaps with the act of dwelling and activity, a kind of liberation
for the user by an un-prescribing, open-ended architecture. Physically it means
no thresholds and doors are hidden and making open-ended rooms. Walls aren't
wholly devoted to enclosing space but to create pauses in a larger journey.
The materials are limited in number
and low embodied energy. The ‘rammed sandstone’ walls are crushed sandstone
with 10% cement compacted into forms with chips of iron stone and quartz.
The house is designed for the
owners, their children, grand children and friends. The loft is designed to
sleep 12 grandchildren with boys and girls on separate sides.
The intention is to address
warmth/cooling, ventilation and acoustics with simple passive methods
backed up by sustainable [hydronic] heating/cooling. Aesthetic solutions like
plywood ceiling strip panels work also for acoustic performance. The house
produces its own power and water. 20 PV panels producing .5kw each/day in Leura
are installed and a 100,000lt water tank is built under the bedroom wing.
The garden and landscape are
most important so the journey along the edges of the building permit varying
places to experience the mountain valley.
The Village Centre is the main point of arrival for
the National Arboretum Canberra, and provides a full range of visitor facilities
to complement the outdoor experiences of the Arboretum. The Centre's
architecture develops the long-standing tradition of significant garden
buildings as transparent enclosures with dramatic internal volumes and a strong
sense of indoor-outdoor connection. Importantly, the strong presence of the
building acts as a focus for the Arboretum while the trees are immature.
The exterior of the building is a sculptural form in
the site's rolling topography, contrasting low stone-clad wings with a high
arching roof clad in weathered zinc, the form of which is inspired by the
fronds of the adjoining forest of Chilean Wine Palms, and by the ribbing of
many tree leaves. The interior subtly recalls the branched forms of mature
trees.
Discontinuous Unity involves
investigating the natural laws, autonomy, and individuality of the systems and
construction of all of nature including the cosmos and discovering the
relationship rules and patterns between these things and humanity and human
living environment. Yoshizaka and his team then attempt to apply this as a
basic ideology to all design and planning included in the human environment:
architecture, town planning and even cosmic spaces.
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