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Great Compositions: Heavy and Light
Contrast in mass, delicacy, color and texture creates unforgettable design
Urban and Rural Residential design, Houses, Barns and Landscapes
http://www.joshmccullar.com
I am a native of the southern Virginia Piedmont region and grew up in a handful of small towns throughout both Carolinas and Virginia. The rich vernacular landscape of the region's old mills, tobacco barns, railroad tracks, verdant forests, rivers, streams, and dusty fields have been the backdrop of my life. So for me, architectural design begins with the premise that the act of building is a negotiated engagement with the land and should endeavor to create a sense of place. The origin of this value is that architecture at its very best, strengthens and amplifies the inherent qualities of the landscape, and so the craft of building must begin and end with a respectful stewardship of the site.
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Urban and Rural Residential design, Houses, Barns and Landscapes
http://www.joshmccullar.com
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Contrast is the most potent of design tools. The genius lies in how and when to use it. It is often said that music is born in the space between the notes. Similarly, architecture is not found in the making of things, but in the residual space between those things. The philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, “moulding clay into a vessel we find the utility in its hollowness ... therefore the being of things is profitable, the non-being of things is serviceable.”
I am interested in the edges of rooms, the space between spaces, and the mass of thickened walls. The edge condition has a profound impact on the character and utility of architectural space. It can be porous or solid, translucent or opaque, thick or thin, and so on. The act of creating contrast is the purposeful juxtaposition of things to reveal and amplify the existential qualities of both. Here are some amazing houses that use contrast as the primary design tool.
I am interested in the edges of rooms, the space between spaces, and the mass of thickened walls. The edge condition has a profound impact on the character and utility of architectural space. It can be porous or solid, translucent or opaque, thick or thin, and so on. The act of creating contrast is the purposeful juxtaposition of things to reveal and amplify the existential qualities of both. Here are some amazing houses that use contrast as the primary design tool.
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by Cottam Hargrave
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| This home in Texas makes a striking figure on the land. At a glance it appears as a reinhabited primitive ruin or an archeolgical site encased in protective glass. A great sheltering roof hovers over a delicate frame anchored to the solid mass of brick walls punctuated with arched openings. The design is mysterious, heroic, reverent and confident. I dream of houses like this one. |
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by Hufft Projects
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| I would never imagine seeing this in the American Midwest, but here it is. A smooth dark gray brick serpentine wall slides in and behind a red cedar wall. The color and material contrast is bold and intentional. Nothing here is an afterthought. The opacity of surface begins to dissolve into the gauziness of Ipe wood screens. |
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by Hufft Projects
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| And here is a look inside the inner sanctum of the compound on the private side of the Ipe screen wall layered upon simple posts supporting a flat plane overhead. |
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| Ever since Pierre Chareau built the Maison de Verre in Paris in 1928, architects have been smitten with the use of glass block as a monolithic expression. This home in Austin, Texas uses glass block along a wall facing a hillside for faceted texture, light, solidity and translucency. Just the right amount of wood and nature complement the palette, and the effect is beautiful. I'm imagining the darkness of night with a thousand candles lit on the hill. |
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| Here is an Acropolis-like expression of a heavy plinth from which springs a temple. A raised glass house with a view of the trees is grounded to a solid masonry garage below. A delicate slatted canopy crowns the composition very effectively and balances the ground plane. |
A long wall on one side anchors the contrasting glassy walls which spring from it towards the landscape. The lines of wood roof purlins extend the rhythm of window mullions, and a solid base in a neutral tone merges with the stone terrace.
Salvaged wood for this garage door makes a nice textural contrast with the Corten-steel wall cladding.
Corten steel, a type of weathering steel in which natural rust actually protects the steel for the long term, is used very effectively in this design as a frame around a large window wall, and as a perforated skin in front of the other glass opening. The deep rich color evokes a minimal and monumental presence in this urban streetscape.
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by Workshop/apd
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| Again, perforated Corten steel makes a beautiful veil like privacy scrim over this glassy urban facade slipped between two traditional masonry buildings. |
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by Fatima McNell
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| The ever-changing mood of nature itself paints the walls of this gallery connection to a house beyond in an example of contrast at its finest. |
| Just squint your eyes to get just the essence of this house, and you'll see it appears as stone ruins as the darker infill recedes. As in the first image, the poetic narrative of a reclaimed and reinhabited ruin is a powerful architectural essay in heavy and light. Contrast in design may just be the secret ingredient that makes something good into something unforgettable. More Great Compositions: Lower-Cost, Low-Tech Modern Homes The Dogtrot House The L-Shaped House Light and Private Courtyard Houses |
Comments
Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects Great collection of architecture!
18 months ago · Like
Josh McCullar | SMBW Yes indeed. I could live in this collection!
18 months ago · Like
none Great collection of architecture alright. However I think both of them are ugly as ugly comes. Just not my style at all. I I ever won one of these homes; the first thing I would do is find a good realtor and put them on the market.
18 months ago · Like
Ideabook updated on Dec. 23, 2011.
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