FACET STUDIO BLOG

Turning page

2012-02-27T18:18:00.000+11:00

Our project Streetology has been included in German magazine, Page, as a leading examples amongst other international projects to show how the celebration of a vending machine culture and a new creativity has taken the idea further into new sales concepts for stores, marketing and communication all over the world (projects from Amsterdam, Okinawa, Frankfurt, US to Sydney.)

Here is a translation of the article for the curious, courtesy of my lovely German friend Nataly:

"Analog Info Graphic"
The shop design for Streetology in Sydney makes reference to the vending machine concept. Olivia Shih and Yoshihito Kashiwagi who are running the Architecture Office Facet Studio in Sydney have come up with a concept where T Shirts are displayed in transparent tubes. They are sorted by colours and stacked in 2,550 vending tubes. When a customer buys a T Shirt in green all green T Shirts drop down a spot, effectively creating an analog info graphic display; the bar with the most purchased colour is decreasing the fastest.
The shop design, in cooperation with Simpson Design Associates and Agency babekuehl is celebrating a democratic attitude/ Zeitgeist expressing what is popular on the street - as the name says "Streetology".

Let there be light 2

2012-02-23T17:40:00.002+11:00

Following on from previous blog entry, we moved on to instal light fitting to the corridor.

from the day of photoshoot

The corridor has a finished ceiling of 3.4m, it is 1.7m wide and 11.5m long... something one would not expect in an ordinary house (but then again, who said Seatondale is an ordinary house?).

opening up the package to understand the wiring requirement

cutting the cable housing which was too long..it came with 2.5m and we only need 1m

threading through the base plate

fixing the base plate

the assistant has to hold the light fitting while the electrician does the wiring

assistant: "quick...I can't hold this anymore....!!"

the assistant also needs to stablise the electrician on the high ladder

finally the first fitting is up, then we need to ensure the fitting is levelled on all sides

"...a bit lower there..."

starting up the second fitting installation.. first measure the centre of the fitting

inside the ceiling there is no adequate structure to hold up the fitting, so we need to add an extra support (timber piece) to make sure the fitting is not only supported on the plasterboard (the plasterboard is not strong enough to hold the weight of the fitting)

making sure the timber is at the right place

this time the assistant knows to place the fitting on his head rather than holding with his hands..this way it is easier

this one was relatively fast in installation

two down, one more to go

cutting the ceiling

careful.. careful....

checking if all corners are the same distance from the ceiling (the red thing on the light fitting is the level)

...and if all corners are the same distance from the floor (with construction, especially old houses like Seatondale, it is very likely that walls are not straight ceilings are not levelled, to name a few)

lets tuck this wire in..

after almost 4 hours the 3 light fitting are finally installed!

Let there be light

2012-02-07T16:50:00.000+11:00

On Saturday we were finally able to instal light fitting to Seatondale.

To contrast and enhance the oldness of Seatondale, we have selected the sleek fittings from Kreon in the corridor, and modern yet soft fittings from Axo Lightecture range in the major rooms. Throughout all the rooms we have designed new joinery with integrated light....which shall be explained in another entry.

The entire installation took 5 very long hours........

So, on the day, we started out with the light fittings inside the major rooms.

first, remove the original light fittings..

make sure we have the right length of cable, so that the light suspends at the height we want (we decided that the bottom of the light is to be in line with the top of the existing doors)

do majority of the cabling first to minimise amount of work on the ladder

up it goes! Quick lets connect the cables

screw in the base plate through to the ceiling substrate

connecting the suspension wires and putting in the light bulb - the central cable is only for electricity, it is not strong enough to carry the light fitting.

wrap up the light again to make sure it stays nice and clean until the construction is over

Going on to the next room...

This time it is quicker because we have done it once already

Voila!

Up to here it took about 1 hour for the 2 fittings.

Installation for the corridor lights to be continued in the next post....

Deep..

2012-02-03T18:34:00.000+11:00

Streetology has been published in the Mexican lifestyle magazine, DEEP.

Cover

To see or to be seen

2012-02-01T00:59:00.001+11:00

After attempting to take photos ourselves, we finally decided to organize a professional photoshoot for Uchi Lounge.
Today we did the first round of the "empty space" shots, and will come back for "patronized shots" later in the week.

It is a bit of a dilemma...
We architects depend on photographers to record and showcase our architectural work, and we have certain visions we would like to present through photography. At the same time the same architectural work, when seen through different eyes, can be interpreted differently. There exists a fine balance between "make sure our vision is communicated" and "freedom of interpretation from fresh eyes".

I guess I am still curious about how others view our work.. Looking forward to the photos.

Painting and patching and painting..

2012-01-27T16:15:00.000+11:00

Slowly but surely, Seatondale restoration is approaching a project milestone.

Today (public holiday? What public holiday?!) the painters will wrap up by completing the 3rd coat of paint, leaving only the final coat and touch up to the timber work to do after the timber floor is polished.
Originally the interior was painted in a non-descriptive yellow, and touch of beige to the cornices.

The space was dim and aged.
We wanted a colour which will bring freshness and brightness into the space, something neutral to complement the new timber floor. After literally tens of colour studies, we settled on a subtle yet sophisticated combination of white and grey.

...Here began our quest of THE white and THE grey....

Before we paint the entire house, we asked the builder to test the colours on a small area.
Paint samples always look different on the colour chips, the A4 brush out, and an actual wall, albeit being the same colour... Unfortunately the result will not be known until the completion, but we do our best to avoid any (unpleasant) surprise.

Here we go, the base coat!
With such huge walls, the painters must be getting a good workout!

After the first coat, the painters went around the timber work carefully with a brush rather than roller.
Timber works required a different kind of paint, and generally with slightly more "sheen" than the walls for ease of maintenance (leaves less finger marks on doors etc).

So this is where we are at today, the 3rd (final) coat....
I can hardly wait for the next step: floor polish!!!

Seatondale calm

2012-01-26T01:12:00.001+11:00

We have been working on internal restoration of Seatondale for quite a few weeks now.
Today it was the third day of joinery installation. With a 200-year-old house and its 3.4m high ceiling, we designed 3.1m tall modern sleek joinery units to complement the scale of space, but contrast with the building's age.
This meant a longer onsite installation process due to the physical dimension and weight of the units; but thanks to the offsite prefabrication we are still in control of the timeframe.
The joinery doors will be installed after the timber floor is sanded and polished. This is to prevent any potential damage to the joinery door during the polishing process.

As the client is now in Sydney to celebrate Chinese New Year, we were invited to stay for dinner after a long day on site.
With the amount of time we have spent on site, the bond between us and the client's family has grown stronger... Just look at how the client's dog, Timmy, has befriended Yoshi....

Italian

2012-01-25T11:37:00.000+11:00

Our first publication in Italian!

Cover

First page of the article

Drawings turned red

2012-01-19T10:53:00.000+11:00

Over the holiday season we have worked from Sydney on an office fitout project - Connect Tokyo - located in Japan.

The approximately 2 weeks of continual correspondences with joiner regarding documentation, finally approached an end. The joiners had produced their own shop drawings for the joinery pieces they would be manufacturing, based on the documentation we had provided. To be honest, this had never happened in Australia. Even in Japan, it had never happened with other projects. As the result we were very curious about this process, and spent the time to check their shop drawings thoroughly. Obviously we needed to go over all the dimensions, on top of that we also needed to check many other important items such as the methods of timber manufacturing, and how those timber pieces would be assembled on site. The shop drawing set constituted of mere 8 drawings. Although it was physically not that many, we input dimensions and numbers from each drawing into our heads, and when we could construct the joinery pieces in 3 dimension in our headspace, we knew we were ready for construction.

This time we had the pleasure to work with Mr. Nakano from Nakadate. We spent quite some time corresponding regarding the shop drawings. Shop drawings produced at Kasukabe City, were checked here in Sydney, and marked up on drawings to send over for instruction. The over 9,000km physical distance was not felt from both parties. Although we had not met Mr. Nakano until start of construction, not even spoken over telephone, simply by the numerous correspondences we felt somehow close. By the time we met on the first day of construction, we already felt like we have known each other for quite a while. Finally it was construction start - lets head to Tokyo!

Sydneysider's way of crossing over

2012-01-18T18:20:00.000+11:00

This is a little delayed, but definitely worth mentioning....
Sydney's fantastic New Year's Eve Fireworks!

Every year there are 2 sets of fireworks to celebrate the arrival of the new year: at 21:00 and 00:00.
This is taking into consideration families with children, so that the children can go to sleep earlier after the 21:00 fireworks, which lasts 7 minutes.
The 00:00 is an elaborate display of light, colour, texture, and sound in the night sky, lasts 12 magical minutes.
The fireworks dots along Parramatta river in several locations (I spotted 5 locations this year), and incorporates Sydney's iconic landmark - Sydney Harbour Bridge and its surrounding highrise buildings.

This year we gathered at the Facet Studio office for the 21:00 fireworks.
Thanks to the location and height we were able to see a good overview in the comfort of the office.

view from Facet Studio office window

But.. BUT!

Of course for the count down we need to be amongst the crowd!!

Here are some shots I took with my phone camera...it is really hard to convey the excitement..
May 2012 bring everyone happiness and peace.

Delaying "speed of consumption"

2012-01-11T18:24:00.001+11:00

Kicking start 2012 with an interview by Architype.

Architype Interviews

It is a time-consuming exercise to work on interviews, however it does provide invaluable opportunity for us to reflect and refine our thinkings.

Below I have included the text of the interview for the curious...

--------------------------------------------------------------

What was the most difficult issue about working within this building type or the most unexpected challenge that may have influenced new thought in your project?

We found to design a space which delays the “speed of consumption” in design style something challenging in retail design.

There is certain transience, fashion, and catchiness required of retail design. The investment in producing a retail design reaches its peak in attracting customers at the time of completion; slowly the attraction fades until a new design is required. The lifespan of this design may have been 2-3 years in the past, however it is now reduced to 6 months – 1 year, or less, before consumers start to require new excitement. This change of speed is most likely brought about by the surplus of information, the accessibility of design news and change of lifestyle in general.

For example, comparing the impressions given by a shop now and 6 months ago, somehow the shop seems to be out of fashion in the 6 months period, although it is exactly the same shop; this is simply because the person looking at the shop feels that it is “out of fashion”. The design of the shop is dependent upon the material and thematic trend as well as its connotation, hence when this connotation of trend changes according to time, it is without a doubt that the meaning implied by the design changes to cause a different impression.

Therefore we have decided to approach the design of Sneakerology, independent of this “connotation of the material and thematic trend”. By analyzing the naming of the shop, we discovered its underlying retail philosophy: “to express the merchandise (Sneaker) in a scholarly fashion (-ology)”. We placed our design emphasis on this philosophy, and tirelessly explored methods to give physicality to this philosophy. As a result, we reached a simple expression of “sneaker showcase”; it is in this kind of expression of design essence where we feel a longevity in design style, which will not lose its impressiveness within a mere few years.

Did this project expand or evolve your role as an architect in any way In general, do you feel that the role of the architect is changing on current projects?

Our projects come from not only in Australia but also from many different countries such as Japan, China, and France. Because of this global nature of our work, seems as though there is a variety of roles we are required to play as architects; however if we think further in depth, fundamentally “what we are doing” is not different from “what we have been doing”. As long as we are designing space for people, we believe our role is primarily the same.

How is your building possible today in a way that it may not have been before and how have trends in technology and society inspired new thought and solutions?

The genre and amount of available consumables are increasing at an immeasurable rate; it is a curious concern in the modern day that due to this immeasurable increase, it becomes ever so difficult for people to find what they really want. It is also more likely to find on the Internet cheaper price at any on time one wishes to shop. Although there are so many benefits brought upon by Internet shopping, we believe the biggest benefit amongst all is the convenience Internet shopping brings to the consumers in simplifying the process to “find what they really want”.

If this is the case, there is no reason why we should not be utilizing the Internet as interface of consumerism. The consumer who finds what he/ she wants on the Internet, visits the shop after checking merchandise size and availability on the Internet. He/ she then learns more about the merchandise in detail (such as design concept of the particular sneaker) through the touchpanels located centrally in the shop. It is important at this point to maintain a consistent numbering system managing the merchandises on the Internet, the touchpanels as well as the “sneaker showcases”. As soon as the consumer recognizes the merchandise as a sum of data, all he/ she needs to do is to search according to the number assigned to each “sneaker showcase” to be able to see the actual merchandise, and to physically be in contact with the merchandise. The journey of “find what they really want” in the virtual world is now concluded smoothly in the discovery of the actual merchandise in the shop.

In terms of retail design, we consider the potential of technology lies in its capability to help simplifying the discovery process of “find what they really want”.

In the context of this project, how is your office and design process being influenced by current trends in academic curricula and incoming young architects? In turn, how are current projects and processes guiding the ongoing reformulation and development of academic curricula?

The recent trend of BIM assisted design gives architects the sense of possibility in new design expressions, and to surprise spectators of the these forms created by utilizing this technology. However we would like to pause for some thoughts here: “Is it possible that we are simply amazed by our familiarity of this technology, and the complicated unique forms generated by it?” The foundation of our thinking should remain in defining of design meaning, and the user of the space – human. A space absent of these 2 elements can be referred to as a “selfish” space created solely by the ego of its architect.

What we have designed for this project is a simple 200mmX600mm “sneaker showcase”. If we put it in a simplistic manner, all we did was to repeat the “sneaker showcase” 281 times over. This modularized box was efficiently produced in the factory off-site and to reduce the material wastage as much as we could. On-site the assemblage is a continuity of simple repetition, with the construction process itself also being of simple nature. By doing so, the modularized box has a high level of built-in flexibility, which can easily adapt to the unique shape of the site. Although this space is a product of series of simple processes, the impact it gives people is nothing short of impressiveness.

We believe, this process of giving physicality to a simple idea is still valid in creating spaces that are capable to amaze people, and to touch their heart; we believe that fantastic spaces can still be created without the need to complicatedly design and compete with acrobatic building forms.

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-22T12:52:00.002+11:00

2011 has been an extremely special year for us..
With a little nervousness, we are stepping into 2012 with loads of excitement!

We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday.

xx Facet Studio

Happy Birthday Facet Studio!

2011-12-15T23:53:00.000+11:00

Today is Facet Studio's 3rd birthday!

Tofu and Sesame cake to celebrate .. how so Asian of us!

returning from the office birthday lunch in our work-hood, we chanced upon the giant Snowman existing from nearby shop

Yoshi: "Hello giant Snowman! Take care not to melt in Sydney's Summer Christmas!"

Happy Birthday!

As Yoshi is flying off to monitor a construction site in Tokyo tomorrow, the official birthday party (if we eventually get around to organising it) will need to wait until his return..... in the mean time, we will push the Sydney jobs forward!

Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) Gala Party

2011-12-09T20:29:00.000+11:00

Further from the last post on IDEA Awards, here is a bit more detail on the Gala Party.

Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) promotes and rewards recent work in interior design and product design in Australia. This year has been the biggest yet with over 400 submissions across all categories.

It is one of the most noted annual award program in Australia. The award ceremony took place at Ivy Sydney last year (2010), and ACCA Melbourne this year (2011). Names of the winners were kept secrete until announcement at the Gala Party, although the shortlisted submissions were published in (inside) Magazine since August. We flew down to Melbourne with two shortlists - Emerging Designer and Retail Design: Sneakerology/ Streetology - and were excited to be awarded Winner for the Retail Category!

People attending the Gala Party have all dressed up beautifully for the event, and arrived early for a glass of champaign before the actual ceremony. I think we were the only Asians attending.

There were all these "mannequins" standing on poles while we entered the theatre for Award Ceremony..... then they started spinning as if there was no such thing as gravity! (ok by then I realised they were real people...) Not sure about the theme of this performance, but hey, it did a great job in hyping up the atmosphere!

The ticket was $145 per head, and was completely sold out with approximately 500 people attending. It was quite spectacular.

When the ceremony reached the peak, it was announced: "Winner for Retail Category is.....Sneakerology/ Streetology by Facet Studio!!"

We were so excited, shook hands with people sat around us and headed towards the stage... which was quite far from where we sat..... and I had to noticed that Yoshi was too excited and forgot to put down the beer bottle he was holding the entire time..... which followed us up the stage, went to photoshoot for the Winners behind the stage (the photo on the top) and back to our seat.

I think we were too nervous that Yoshi had forgotten how to smile and luckily I barely remembered...

Although the trophy is physically quite light, to us, it is as heavy as gold.

To find out more on Sneakerology/ Streetology, check out our website:

Sneakerology

Streetology

Sneaky Peak

2011-12-09T12:17:00.000+11:00

I have many magazines I like... Frame is definitely one of them... so I was super excited when our project was included in this issue of Frame magazine!

Check out the Nov/ Dec issue!

It's a Shoe-In!

2011-11-30T20:57:00.000+11:00

For some reason our contributor's issue of Singapore's prestigious "The Peak" magazine has only just arrived. Sure has taken some time, but it is better late than never!

Sneakerology is included in the October issue, with a concise write up covering a range from design of the shop to the story behind sneakers... I have a soft spot for concise, yet exciting, writings.

The Peak is carried in the First and Business Class cabins of Lufthansa Airline.

Winner of IDEA Awards 2011!

2011-11-29T18:28:00.001+11:00

Facet Studio has won the IDEA Awards 2011 - Retail category!

The winners of Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2011 were announced on November 25 at the IDEA Gala Party at ACCA in Melbourne.
We decided to attend last minute, flew down to Melbourne from Sydney at 6:45am..... very exhausted by the end of the night. Well, turns out it was all worth it!

It was an interesting experience, and I will try to cover more on the event in the following blog entries.

Announcement on Australian Design Review website

The trophy.. it says "Retail WINNER Sneakerology/ Streetology by Facet Studio"

Whilst I am still waiting on some photos from the Award organisers, feel free to check out the web coverage here:

IDEA Awards official website
Australian Design Review

Here is a little on IDEA Awards extracted from the Awards official website:

The Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) showcase the best of Australian design. The prestigious awards program receives hundreds of submissions from across Australia each year and is recognised by the design community as the country’s pre-eminent design awards program.
...

This year was our biggest yet, with over 400 submissions across all 14 categories.

We are very excited and honoured to have been recognised amongst all the great projects, and a big "thank you!" to everyone who has made this project possible. We will continue to deliver projects of high quality, and contribute to the architectural profession.

French

2011-11-22T17:18:00.000+11:00

Our first publication in French!

What is it with French? Somehow everything seem so much more romantic when written in French.... although regrettably I can not read French.

Cover - Sites Archi

"Streetology - The Tube of the Year"...sounds like we are getting some award!

and some mention of Sneakerology, as Streetology's minimalist sibling...

Uchi Shots

2011-11-21T19:21:00.001+11:00

We have tried taking some photos of Uchi Lounge ourselves this time.
These are trial shots, but we have not yet had the time to go back for a proper shoot so they are the ones on our website for now.
Ah it was difficult.... especially on a busy Friday night, all the curious patrons (some were very keen to be in the shot whilst some were totally unsure).. Although having people in the space really animated the atmosphere. I always think, if a space looks better without people, there must be some thing wrong - Good that it is not the case for us.

So here are the trial / semi permanent/ permanent shots......

From entry

From rear

Sometimes it is difficult to imagine the hard work behind the finished space; I mean, after all it is all worth it.

The 11m long steel beams look effortlessly elegant flying across the length of the space with a mysterious ribbon of light;

The huge concrete table look stern and anchoring.

Well, these photos are from the day the table top was delivered to site...

The concrete table tops arrived from Adelaide after an unexpected delay.
To be precise, it is a product called GRC (Glass Reinforced Concrete), which by incorporating glass fibres in the concrete cement mix, provides a denser and stronger concrete product - it is commonly used in public sculpture and prefabricated building facade panels. The huge table we have on site could not be manufactured in 1 single piece and was broken into 5 equal panels.

Each table top panel weighed around 200kg.
Due to the limited space, and narrow access way, the table tops were manually carried inside. Even with 4 grown men it was not a easy task.
I think next time we will construct this by casting in-situ (which was first rejected by the builder but then was much to his regret)... entire process took half a day.
Later that night we found out the 5 panels had a certain order (with edge conditions) and the builders had to reshuffle the panels the next morning........ oh joy..

Revitalising History

2011-11-18T13:05:00.002+11:00

In order to respond to the "oldness" of Seatondale, we went looking for some vintage recycled timber as an option for the flooring.

On top of timber, there are also recycled doors, recycled window frames, lead glass, etc... on display; makes me wonder who would be buying these?

But the surprising amount of timber being recycled and reentered into the commercial market!! It is indeed a system which is making use of existing resource, revitalising commerciality and most of all, sustainable to the environment.

The timber which caught our interest this time, is recycled from the oldest timber bridge in Brisbane, Australia. The timber bridge has been replaced by a steel bridge after servicing for over 100 years. The entire bridge was constructed of Tallow wood, in fact one of my personal favourite (S House was entirely floored and staired with Tallow); it has an elegant colouration more in line of "coffee", and beautiful linear grain. This piece in the photo has been cut from a much longer structure for sample purpose. This structure timber will be sliced into 10mm thick, 200mm wide planks, and fixed onto 15mm structure plywood substrate.

Comparing new (left) and recycled (right) Tallow wood. The recycled timber has weathered enough so that it has stopped the movement within the timber itself hence a more stable product. It was also more likely to be harvested from a larger, older tree back in the days, hence a deeper hue.

Other than Tallow wood we are also considering: Blackbutt, American White Oak, Spotted Gum.

We need to take the samples back to the Seatondale house for check on site; they need to be assessed more closely in its context.

Facet Studio Japan

2011-11-18T11:56:00.003+11:00

We have had this for a while now....but I have finally figured out a way to make a connection..... the bridge between Facet Studio Australia website and Facet Studio Japan website is now open!!

The way to access via Facet Studio Australia website is:

Enter http://www.facetstudio.com.au/, go to bottom right corner, click [STUDIO] > [WHERE] > [OSAKA JAPAN]..... Look below the photo of our Osaka office.......

........And voila! Click directly into the Facet Studio Japan website!

The content and the way we organised the Facet Studio Japan site is a cross between website and blog, have fun exploring!

A forgotten press..

2011-11-10T16:08:00.000+11:00

For some reason I have been forgetting to blog about this extremely exciting press coverage we had with Japanese retail magazine - Shouten Kenchiku.

Lately we have had some chance to reflect upon particularities of retail design.

It is interesting about the nature of retail design, which is highly reflective of the "trend" and material connotation in relevance to "time". However our approach to retail design has always been a dialogue between transience and timelessness, which (so we believe) prolongs the lifespan of the design.

This is our first printed publication in Japan.

Coverage on Habitat Antique

Subliminal

2011-11-08T21:46:00.000+11:00

We have received our contributor's complimentary copy of "Sublime - New Design and Architecture from Japan".
Here is an extract of the book description:

Sublime is a comprehensive collection of current Japanese architecture, interiors, and products that showcases and explores the country's uniquely elegant design aesthetic.

... Featuring visionary work by established names such as Tokujin Yoshioka, Kengo Kuma, and Toyo Ito, Sublime also introduces talent from a new generation that has found its own inspiring design style between a traditional Japanese approach and contemporary influences.

It is our first appearance in a book.
I must admit, it is extremely humbling to be included in a publication amongst so many excellent designs.

Habitat Antique

Tea Room

"Sublime - New Design and Architecture from Japan" is published by Gestalten, Berlin, available from Amazon.com.

After Image

2011-11-01T16:23:00.000+11:00

Facet Studio is involved in the After Images, an exhibition and auction of sketches primarily by Australian architects of Japan, in support of the Tohoku region's recovery from the devastating earthquakes and tsunami of March this year.

The exhibition is until 12 November at Boutwell Draper Gallery, 82-84 George Street, Redfern.

Our works on exhibition (clockwise from top left): M House interior, M House exterior, Tea Room, Habitat Antique.

Exhibition Catalogue on sale for $15 donation

A buzzing atmosphere and great involvement at the exhibition opening night

Seatondale gearing up

2011-10-25T18:59:00.000+11:00

We received a call from our client for Seatondale out of the blue end of last month.
(Previous entry on Seatondale HERE)

End of 2010 the project was left in a hopeful note, only to come back to a quiet 2011 due to the client's family matters while we marched along with other projects... and suddenly Seatondale is in full gear!
Since the call on late September, we have met the client a few times, met with Council a few times, and will be meeting with potential subcontractors tomorrow.

Lets see how it goes.

Here Yoshi is playing with his new camera at the site meeting... beautiful colour definition and details! But personally I have some problem with the extra extra wide angle....

Contemplating "-ology"

2011-10-12T21:40:00.000+11:00

We have received our copy of the very first issue of Casa+Living magazine from Malaysia! With both Sneakerology and Streetology included.

I quite liked the way Angeline from the editorial has written about and annotated our projects.. The article is titled: "Because Sneakers Are a Specialised Study of Their Own - 因為運動鞋也是一門學問", which captured the idea behind Sneakerology.

Basically, we were quite stuck for inspiration at the beginning of the design process. Back then, the shops had no names, we were obscurely designing a teeshirt shop and a sneaker shop. It is when we pressed the client to name the shops, and he decided on "Sneaker-ology" for the sneaker shop, we were finally able to capture a glimpse of a world that we were about to create - where sneaker advocates can learn about history and design of their loved sneakers, much like a museum, where knowledge can be gained. Therefore each shoe is displayed in their own box, equipped with their own light and own assigned number, to draw attention to their individuality yet together the 281 shoes in a homogeneous system create a space of illuminance and euphoria.

From there we also named the teeshirt shop "Streetology". It is a shop to reflect the study of street trends by visualising the commercial activity within the store - the stocks are on display; when one item is bought, it disappears from the display, hence creates a pattern as the result of demand.

Thank you Casa +Living magazine for the opportunity to participate in your very first issue ever, and I wish all the best to your publication!

Are you in Tokyo in the coming weeks?

2011-09-26T11:15:00.000+10:00

The 10,000 World Architects Exhibition has now been set up at Tokyo International Forum!
Facet Studio is exhibiting amongst architects from all over the world... which is an exciting yet humbling experience.
Please visit if you are in Tokyo!

Here is an extract from the 10,000 World Architects website:

The UIA2011 Tokyo: The 24th World Congress of Architecture, held in conjunction with UIA2011 Tokyo, will take place in Tokyo, Japan from September 25 to October 1, 2011.
This will be the largest international architectural congress in the history of Japanese architecture, bringing together an estimated 10,000 architects from 128 countries around the world.
To mark the significance of this event, we are hosting the 10,000 World Architects Exhibition. Symbolizing UIA2011 Tokyo, this exhibition will convey the messages of architects from around the world through the medium of one project image per architect. Japanese and international architects are invited to participate in the creation of this exhibition, which is open to all architects regardless of affiliation.
The exhibition seeks to promote understanding of cultures in different countries through architecture, as well as to convey the architects messages and their works across a broad spectrum of society.

Paddling under water

2011-09-20T16:53:00.000+10:00

With the media coverage we have been thankfully receiving, seems as though the architectural profession is a lot more glamorous than how it really is!

Well, lets not get too ahead of ourselves.. architecture is a tough profession and will always be. Continual stubbornness in digging further and further for the right answer, and the endurance required for this perseverance, is something we never forget and always puts in practice.

Last week we have submitted a competition entry (details will be disclosed next month).

After days and days of long - at times seemingly endless - hours, we have achieved a scheme we believe answers the brief and locale, with a right amount of poetry to finish off with a sweet aftertaste.

JJ had the biggest workspace in the entire office, taking over every available flat surface for model making

Yoshi taking photos of the model for presentation boards

ok, something was wrong with the camera setting, everything came out over-exposed.. I was not intentionally hiding images of the model!

Glossy Streetology

2011-09-19T16:59:00.000+10:00

We have received a somehow peculiar coverage for Streetology in Gloss Magazine, Brazil.

It is not our usual market or media of promotion, but I must say, I am really glad that our projects have good appeal to a wide range of people and markets!

One of our concept for Streetology was to "visualise commerciality", and to have the shop as a visual reflection of the street trend - This in a way reassures us what we were doing was on the right track.

Did you check the post?

2011-09-06T13:22:00.000+10:00

Is it already Christmas?
Magazines rolled out of our mail box yesterday!

These were magazines featuring our projects, and the nice publishers have kindly sent us our contributor's complementary copies....yai!

hmmm.....?

Oh!

I opened up Urbis! - New Zealand lifestyle magazine

JJ took his pick....

It is Surface - New York based lifestyle magazine!

Well Yoshi's pick is kind of transparent....

It is Surface Asia! Younger version of Surface magazine catering for Asian distribution.

Yet another happy day at Facet Studio - except we are in need to watch our over consumption of dessert in the office...

Excuse the mess in the office as we are working frantically towards a few deadlines ...I mean, comparing to this, which is its (more) normal state:

sparkling clean! the way we like it.

It's a wrap! at Uchi Lounge

2011-09-04T15:05:00.001+10:00

After the wrap-up dinner at Uchi Lounge on Friday, I felt we can finally call it a completed project.

(Read more about Uchi Lounge HERE - I aim to write about it more in the following few entries)

The team (from left): Raymond (electrical), Jackson (electrical), JJ (FS), Olivia (FS), Yoshi (FS), Charles (builder), Ken (builder)

A few Facet Studio members worth mentioning, and have sadly left Facet Studio before the wrap-up party, are as below.

Big "Thank You!!!" to you all:

Disheng Neo (left), Benjamin Chan (right) - on site light testing

Neo and Ben testing out the lightbox prototype in Facet Studio office

SooJin Hwang - brightening up the construction site with her pink jacket on the right..

Multiple Dimensions

2011-08-27T17:49:00.001+10:00

Here comes our complementary copies of Hinge magazine, all the way from Hong Kong, covering our projects Water Moon, Habitat Antique, Phamish, and S House.

I liked the short description Hinge poised to introduce our practise;

...Growing in recognition, the duo (Olivia Shih and Yoshihito Kashiwagi) is poised to break into the relative 'medium-time' [someday bigtime...] ... Their work is clean and quietly imaginative, avoiding histrionics and not afraid of proposing practical, cost-efficient solutions to a client's brief. Nothing wrong with simplicity....

Although I would not necessarily say that we intentionally avoid histrionics; the simplicity in our works is more so a reflection of our perspective on space and architecture.

Maybe it is more appropriate to say that we avoid creating spaces that could be "consumed"?

We aim for a beauty in the simplicity, which could be embedded in the materiality, the logic, the construction, and/ or the philosophy.

The physical space is the outcome of series of decisions we repeatedly examined throughout the design process, in order to reassure that we have not deviated from what we set out to do for each project.

There are times that we were distracted and lost... but then I always remembered that when we set up Facet Studio, we told ourselves that we will be creating meaningful design; when there is meaning behind our design, there is beauty in what we do.

parcel from Hong Kong!

Water Moon to the left, Habitat Antique to the right

Phamish to the left, S House to the right

Friday afternoon tea thanks to Soo Jin, who will be heading back to UK to complete her study shortly

Celebration for..?

2011-08-16T23:13:00.000+10:00

Seems like we have started another Facet Studio ritual here since JJ has joined us.

Yesterday we had another afternoon tea session with his weekend creation - a lovely pumpkin and coconut tart!

Soon we may need to start a new section in our blog for his baking recipe...

Anyhow, in search of a reason to celebrate, SooJin nominated the Korean Independence Day, August 15th...

So here we go! Celebrating the Korean Independence Day!

beautiful pumpkin and coconut tart

...together with SooJin's cookies...

yum!

Here is a little extract on Korean Independence Day:

The official Independence Day of South Korea is celebrated on 15th August, though the actual day of independence was on August 13th 1948. The official date which is 15th August, 1945 was not the day the South Koreans attained final autonomy from Japan. It was only on 13th August, 1948, that South Korea was fully liberated from any sort of outside administration. For political reasons, first President of the country I Seung-man, chose 15th August, instead of 13th as the official Independence Day of South Korea.

It is interesting how the boundaries between countries are becoming less and less defined. I take it as a positive movement forward.
And how do we incorporate the different cultural backgrounds, and influences, to form a new thinking process hence a new design approach, is something we contemplate a lot here given the multicultural nature of our office.

Anyhow, lets enjoy teatime!

To read more on Korean Independence Day, here are some links:
123 Independence Day
Wikipedia
A Global World
Arirang

Beginning of another Skype habit

2011-08-11T19:43:00.000+10:00

Working towards another deadline for Qingdao 15th Street... look at these serious faces....

Following our successful Concept Presentation (see HERE), we are submitting material for a Concept Development meeting, which will take place over Skype tomorrow with clients in China.

This is to address some ideas sprung from the previous presentation, and to develop / strengthen the design concept further.

Thanks to the internet technology...

That we are able to manage project in Japan from Australia (see M House HERE), and attend meeting in China without flying over every 3 weeks!

Happy Day at Facet Studio

2011-08-08T19:07:00.000+10:00

Today we have received ANOTHER parcel from Korea...!

me and SooJin trying to pull the snug-fitted content from its envelope..

It is the Korean magazine - BOB!

Sneakerology + Streetology.... woohoo~

Sneakerology and Streetology have been featured in the Korean Magazine, BOB, under the "New & Spot" section.. check out p.114-115!

Beautiful coincidence is that our new staff JJ, with a commendable hobby of weekend cake-baking, has brought in one of his creations.. just in time for celebration!

fresh lemon zest and cheese cake.....

pretty

yummy! Thank you JJ (left)!

Korean love

2011-08-05T19:05:00.000+10:00

We have received a parcel from Korea the other day.....

O..!

WOW!

WOWOW..!

So this is how "Facet Studio" looks like in Korean!

The parcel was from Korean publication, Maru.
In the latest issue vol.113 we had an 8-page feature on Sneakerology + Streetology.... yaiii!!
This is the first feature on Sneakerology and Streetology in print, very excited!

IDEA 2011 Awards - Shortlist announced!

2011-08-02T17:57:00.000+10:00

We have just received an email from nice people at (Inside) Interior Design Excellence Awards 2011, notifying us of our shortlisting in the Retail category, and the Emerging Designer category.

How exciting!

The shortlisting can be viewed HERE and HERE.

Sneakerology web-based publicity round up

2011-08-02T11:45:00.002+10:00

Here is the round up of publicity received by Sneakerology in the cyber world, on top of the previous entries I have already made...

Again, I have only taken the few influential online trendspotting/ design magazines/ blogs, which were then fed to numerous other online magazines/ blogs.... which means there are most likely articles in the cyberspace that I am unaware of...
Click on the individual magazine names in photo captions to access the original article.

Thanks everyone for all your support!!!

Fast Company

Architizer

LS:N Global

Both Sneakerology and Stretology are on Architonic

Streetology web-based publicity round up

2011-08-02T11:29:00.002+10:00

Instead of doing one-by-one blog entries I thought it is better to do a round up of publicity received by Streetology in the cyber world, on top of the previous entries I have already made... I will do another entry to round up for Sneakerology too.

These are a few influential online trendspotting/ design magazines/ blogs, which were then fed to numerous other online magazines/ blogs.
Click on the individual magazine names in photo captions to access the original article.

We felt very privileged and will continue the good work!

Dezeen

Swedish design blog www.inredningsnyheter.se

Interior News

Both Streetology and Sneakerology in Architonic

Dreamy light

2011-08-01T15:30:00.000+10:00

Lin House is a straight forward project - house renovation for a friend's family of 5 to relocate to Sydney from overseas.

It is straight forward until we took the wall boards out, only to reveal the poor state of the original building fabric...I tend to believe that buildings are made to last, and it makes me start wondering about the reasoning behind building solutions which are in for temporary fixes.
Anyhow, as the result we had to pull out all the wetareas in the house, on top of the other bits and pieces we had to patch up... and I am glad we did what we had to do.

Here are some photos of before and after (whilst still completing..) the main bathroom renovation... one more week and the clients are moving in to the house!

Current state (ignore the newspaper wrapping on the bathtub...)

Before

Cover!!!

2011-07-29T19:24:00.000+10:00

Facet Studio is on the cover (oh my goodness!) of the August/ September issue of Monument Magazine!!
We just received our complimentary copy in mail today, this issue will be available in newsagencies next week I think....I need to find a way to calm my excitement!

I just noticed that we are even on the spine of the magazine..!

Railway Parade finally seeing the light!

2011-07-28T17:30:00.000+10:00

We are finally granted approval by Council for our Development Application for Railway Parade project!
As we have lodged a combined DA and CC application, hopefully the next phase will be less time-consuming...

Ohh that little stamp on the drawing....and the letter in the mail....how we have been waiting

Voting Time!!!

2011-07-26T15:39:00.000+10:00

Time is running out!

Facet Studio is entering Intergrain Timber Vision Awards 2011 this year with our project Sneakerology, and it is now open for People's Choice category.
The voting is closing on 31 July.... have you voted for Sneakerology?

Click HERE and HERE, and rate the photos 5 star (what can it be other than the best?)!!

Qingdao 15th Street

2011-07-26T13:25:00.001+10:00

Is this a cake?

...If it is, after flying across half of the world I think it may not taste that good...

We are recently engaged to work on Qingdao 15th Street, in the town famous for Tsingtao Beer in China (Qingdao is an alternative spelling for Tsingtao).

A *very rough* idea about the project, is to create a "Japan Town" in Qingdao, which boasts a Japanese population of some 30,000.

It is funny in a way; the other day we have just made an observation that in Sydney, there are "hubs" for people with different cultural backgrounds (eg, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Greek, Lebanese.. the list goes on) owing to the multicultural character of Sydney, but Japanese tend to be a lot more dispersed. I wonder why.

Anyhow, this is what is in the box...

1:50 partial model

Aerial view of the 1:50 model

1:200 overall model

This is JJ who recently joined the Facet Studio team, these beautiful models were crafted by him

carefully packed for transport, to take to initial concept presentation at Qingdao... cotton balls all over the place....

Viola! Wish us luck!!

Japan 10,000 World Architects

2011-07-22T18:20:00.000+10:00

Facet Studio is participating in Japan 10,000 World Architects Exhibition online at the moment.
Our work will also be exhibited at the Tokyo International Forum from September 26 to Oct 2 so if you're in the area come have a look!

Link to Japan 10,000 World Architects Exhibition

Sneakerology is also on FRAME!

2011-07-04T13:17:00.000+10:00

Following Streetology's appearance (read HERE), Sneakerology also made appearance on the famous FRAME magazine!

Read the article HERE.

Frame is the world's barometer of interior design. The magazine shows you what's happening and where to find it. The latest interiors and products, spiced up with some art, shop windows and sets: that's the essence of Frame magazine.

Sneakerology and Streetology both on Archdaily!

2011-07-04T11:51:00.001+10:00

Our projects Sneakerology adn Streetology have both been published on Archdaily!

(Read the original articles HERE and HERE.)

ArchDaily was founded in March 2008 with the one mission of delivering the most complete information to architects around the world; every week, every day, every hour, every moment: as soon as it is happening. It is the online source of continuous information for a growing community of thousands of architects searching for the latestarchitectural news: projects, products, events, interviews and competitions among others.

Manpower! #2

2011-06-28T18:47:00.001+10:00

Following the last post, here is the process of hanging the extra extra long steel beams.
...did I mention that the steel beams weighed roughly 200kg each?......

one is up on one end..

..then the other end...

second one is up on one end...

temporary props. the beams can not be fixed to the wall directly at this moment as the junction between beam and wall is not right-angled - the beams need to be levelled as designed prior to permanent fixture

getting the other end up

firstly on the ladder (I remain amazed that the ladder did not collapse under the weight!)

1...2...3...!

slowly.......carefully......... (notice the temporary prop at this end)

builder Charles can even spare a hand to wave at the camera!

once both beams are propped up, our curious client Ohuchi had to come in to experience how the space would potentially feel like...

permanent fixture to one end

fixing to the other end

longgg....... builder Ken checking our drawings to make sure things are done correctly before all fixed (before all is too late!) - good to cautious than sorry!

well.. from the outside you can't really tell what is going on inside hey!

Streetology is on FRAME!

2011-06-24T16:06:00.001+10:00

While Sneakerology is enjoying some attention, its sister store, Streetology is making appearance on the famous Netherlands based FRAME magazine!

Read the article HERE.

Maybe learn Russian too?

2011-06-24T15:37:00.002+10:00

Sneakerology has been published on Russian online lifestyle magazine: ETODAY.
The article can be viewed HERE.

Russia......land of mystery.......

Etoday.ru is an illustrated online magazine, dedicated to presenting the top news stories and current events around the globe. The informative content of the web ezine is presented to its readers in combination with high quality, eye catching photos and illustrations.
Etoday aims to offer news highlights from the world of celebrities, fashion, cinema, music and art as well as sports, technology, automobiles, architecture, art, design and other hot areas of interest.

The need to learn German...

2011-06-23T17:25:00.000+10:00

Our project Sneakerology is posted in the German online architecture magazine, ca-mag.de.

I must admit, it is interesting to see our project described in a language no one in our office can speak - considering we have a fairly broad linguistic capability this is a rather foreign, but pleasant nonetheless, experience...!

The article can be viewed HERE.

Sneakerology is on Dezeen!

2011-06-22T01:25:00.002+10:00

We are very excited that our project, Sneakerology, was published on Dezeen!
Read the actual article HERE.

Dezeen is UK based online design magazine with 2 million monthly visitors, and included in Time magazine’s Design 100 list of the most influential forces in global design, and in Design Week magazine’s Hot 50 list of key figures in design.

Manpower!

2011-06-17T23:14:00.000+10:00

Referring back to the previous entry, this is how the extra extra long steel beams got through the narrow door at Uchi Lounge.....

truck delivery......

builder Charles: "... (what did I get myself into?"

builder Ken: "ok lets make sure it really is as long as it looks..."

LIFT!

TURN!

"sorry people...we will be quick!"

little rest

...so we can keep going...!

narrowly passing the internal staircase to reach the restaurant space

tight squeeze!

careful.....lets not damage anything......

the little trolley was indeed very helpful!

one in, one more to go..

all in! just how do we store this for the time being?

Yoshi happily filming away

the FS clam...yaiii!

One day outside Facet Studio

2011-06-15T17:37:00.000+10:00

Today we made a visit to The Brick Pit to pick some recycled bricks for Uchi Lounge project.

Uchi Lounge is a 2 storey restaurant, whilst ground floor is under renovation, the restaurant operates as normal on the upper floor, and vice versa. Now that we are very close to the completion of ground floor, we need to start firming up on a few things for the upper floor design - brick selection is one of them.

As we are keen to continue the organic, deep atmosphere of existing Uchi Lounge within our new design, we proposed to use recycled brick which affords a sense of artistry and individuality.

So here is our day today..

upon arrival we were greeted (and overwhelmed) by tonnes of recycled bricks...being hand cleaned and slowly compiled into pallets.... how are we to find the bricks we want from here?!

we were shown around the compiled pallets; these yellowish sandstock bricks were from the Merrickville area - each area has different clays and as the result produces different characterised bricks

....there we ventured into an interesting world of recycled bricks.....

Keith from The Brick Pit was very passionate when it comes to the difference between modern bricks (the ones behind him) and the recycled bricks

Keith was very kind in showing us photos from some of their past projects

With the help of knowledgeable staffs, we were able to find from towering pallets of recycled bricks....

....our dream bricks for the project (by the way, these bricks are original sandstock from late 1800's, with a beautiful deep red hue... Can't wait to see them in Uchi Lounge!).

Afterwards, with full brain-ful of new brick knowledge but empty stomachs, we made a pitstop at Chinatown for Yum-Cha refuel session......

.....and back to the high-density FS office!

Vivid Sydney 2011

2011-06-14T11:07:00.001+10:00

Vivid Sydney has drawn its curtain for 2011.

It has been a wonderful 2 weeks of festivity, turning the iconic buildings - Sydney Opera House and Customs House - into canvases for international artistic collaboration. The play of light and effect on architectural perception is truly wonderful.

Here are some photographs of Opera House... we live in such a beautiful city.

excitement along the walk leading up to Sydney Opera House

(Additional information June 15 2011)

Here is a realtime video of Custom House light show..... it is truly amazing!

Many thanks to our friend Matthew Ho for filming and editing the entire show, and generously allows us to embed in our blog.

Customs House, Vivid Sydney 2011 from Matthew Ho on Vimeo.

Meter for meter

2011-06-10T16:38:00.001+10:00

Here are some photos we have of Uchi Lounge construction...it was so cool we had to especially call in our photographer to take some professional shots before the project is finished.

Uchi Lounge has a long and skinny floor plate, very narrow access.
The restaurant area on ground floor, where we are working on at the moment, is 11m long and 4m wide but with an unusually high ceiling of 3.5m.
So here we have 2x 11m long steel beams penetrating the entire volume, supported off the end walls at either side of the 11m without extra support inbetween, exerting tremendous sense of existence within the peculiarly proportioned space.

Anyone curious about how the steel beams got into the restaurant in one piece through a very narrow door way?

Photo (c) Katherine Lu

The entry door way is to the left on the furthermost corner (spot the green exit sign?); the bright square in the centre of the photo is a bay window with fixed glass fronting the street. Photo (c) Katherine Lu

M House - DONE!!!!!

2011-06-02T19:37:00.001+10:00

We are proud to announce...... M HOUSE IS COMPLETED!! (*scream with excitement*)

M House has successfully obtained 確認済証 ("kakuninsumi shou" = Occupational Certificate in Australia) on May 27th, and construction team has cleared out of the house completely.
Construction was officially launched October 23rd 2010, the entire construction period was 7 months despite the heavy snow and earthquake.
It feels a little sentimental, especially with a project which has been around for such a long time (it is as old as our practice!) to see it finally becomes an individual identity; I guess this feeling will be even stronger when the M family moves into their new home!

Here we have some photos taken by our multi-talented builder, Otsuki san.... they are so good that we can probably save on professional photography?!

our familiar shot. Question: "where was Otsuki san standing when he took this photo?"

view from inside the entry box ("genkan") to the outside through main entry door

the deck viewed from outside entry door

view from the street (compare this with the last photo)

view of the deck at night

view from street

good bye! old M House!

Wardrobes!

2011-05-23T19:46:00.000+10:00

Admittedly I have been too carried away with site(s) in Sydney lately and have slacked off updating on M House....these photos are from Yoshi's last visit (beginning of May)....oops!

M House is raised off the natural ground level by 1m, and with an entry door of a rather modest dimension.
In order to move in the wardrobes which are prefabricated in factory, this is what has happened.....

delivery truck has arrived outside M House

...careful.....

wow...this is a big one.....

.....more careful......

man... this is HUGE!

Come everyone!
(later on the joiners put a large piece of timber to span between the truck and the house over the fence......and "walked the plank" with furniture pieces)

all sitting silently in the bedroom

just installed. looking very pretty (my nerdy love for plywood is showing..)

...open this way.....

...or open this way....!

Can 100% sure be sure enough?

2011-05-19T16:59:00.000+10:00

After we have built the part mock-up of Uchi Lounge and tested in office, in order to be more sure and lighting effect, we built a full scale lightbox with cardboard to test the effect on site after majority of the wall painting was completed.

Our mock-up was one section of the actual lightbox, approximately 1.1m (L) x 1.4m (W) x 0.3m (D)....it was transported by cab from office in parts and assembled on site... does that sound like some DIY off-site prefabrication?!

Ben working away on the mock-up in the meeting room..... where is the meeting table?

on site we emerged from the dark....

Who designed this cool shop?

2011-05-05T21:08:00.000+10:00

Sneakerology (photo: Katherine Lu)

ok...WE did...!

This is Sneakerology in the new Westfield Shopping Centre, Sydney.
We completed the design and documentation of it, and its sister store Streetology adjacent to it, end of 2009. The two stores completed construction and opened end of 2010.

Yesterday we went in for a photoshoot.... I was feeling so proud....
I will talk about them in more details in a later post!

photoshoot in Streetology; our photographer Katherine looking through the finder

photoshoot in Streetology; there I was looking rather nervous.

Studio SPEC published in Malaysia!

2011-05-03T14:40:00.000+10:00

Our project, Studio SPEC, is published in Space Magazine, Malaysia!

I am not sure if Space Magazine is selling here in Sydney (we have received our copy from the publisher in mail today), but if you happen to spot Issue 2011 #2, check out p114 - 117!

Embodiment of Light

2011-04-29T18:34:00.001+10:00

Today we did a small experiment on the lighting effects for Uchi Lounge.

We made a 1:1 sectional model of the lightbox we are designing, organised large scale sample from fabric supplier, borrowed light source from electrician (don't we love our team!), and tested the effect of light if the light source is at different distance and direction from the fabric.

The difference is subtle at this scale but will be magnified once built.... can you tell the difference?

light source at the furtherest point in the lightbox from the fabric

light source at half the distance in the lightbox from the fabric

We did similar experiments for the Water Moon lightbox; but it was to test out the clarity of shadow projection from within the lightbox.
We had to go for the compact fluorescent rather than the linear fluorescent as the result (the linear fluorescent produces very diffused light and was not projecting much of any recognisable shadows...).
There was also a rather sensitive relationship with the interrelated distance between light source, bottle, and fabric......well, we had a lot of fun and are happy with the result!

Initial concept stage, when testing with paper lampshade material

During construction, testing with actual fabric sample on site

Freshly installed...the day before Water Moon opened for business

Professionally photographed (c) Katherine Lu

Water Moon has been widely recognised:
> Restaurant & Bar Design Awards UK - International Lighting Design Category - Shortlisted (refer HERE)
> Intergrain Timber Vision Awards 2010 - Commercial Interior Category - Winner (refer HERE)
> IDEA Awards 2010 - Best Hospitality Design - Shortlisted (refer HERE)

Nostalgia nostalgia

2011-04-28T13:16:00.002+10:00

It is always a challenge, to work on something that is already very nice in a non-descriptive way... Here we have one.

We were approached by Uchi Lounge in Sydney to work on the interior renovation, so we went for dinner to observe how things are.
It is tucked away in the lane way for people who are looking for somewhere to temporarily hide out from the noise of the world. The inside space is architecturally unadorned, but the atmosphere is organic and relaxing, somewhere really comfortable and safe, with a sense of nostalgia...I guess that is why it is where local celebrities chose to hang out.
The owner of Uchi Lounge is an artist who produced most of the artworks in the space. Oh and have I mentioned the food? ...man... so good....

Now we are faced with the challenge to create something sensitive and just as "comfortable".....Well, guess we will know soon enough as we are going into construction next week!

Here are some photos of the existing condition..

the street facade

entry stairwell

the unusually large, long bar

looking back out to the street

Let there be light

2011-04-28T12:28:00.000+10:00

Today the triangular glass infill is installed ...finally.....
M house is suddenly filled with such gentle glow, and the roof structure sits silently in its fine repetition.

2011 April 28 - approaching completion

2010 November 11 - study model

2011 March 22 - sealed triangular infill with plywood during construction

2 More Weeks to go...

2011-04-18T12:57:00.000+10:00

We have had a crazy April so far.... M House is approaching the completion in 2 weeks time, Yoshi is actually flying off in 2 days to Japan for project completion.

So here is the round up of site progress for the past 2 weeks....

external rendering started from the Northern facade

Look at the beautiful texture and subtle colour variation of the Shirazu rendering.. the colour pigment is already in the render mix, so this will be final finish

Relocating the electricity pole outside the house to somewhere closer to the boundary with neighbour (it was closer to the house). We were concerned if neighbours were going to complain, but luckily they agreed in the end

Internal wall lining in plasterboard

......and internal wall undercoat painted (in the bedrooms)

View from main entry door. We designed a small enclosure for "genkan" (the entry) where people can take their shoes off. This space also provides thermal buffer between inside and outside, as it tends to become quite cold and windy in winter. The genkan space is relatively small with a lower ceiling height, this is intentional to give a contrasting experience to the volume of the house.

Genkan box is to the right of this photo (the side wall will be installed later for ease of access during construction), it also becomes the back of kitchen joinery. Bookshelf to the left is now complete. To the floor on the right, holes along the wall can be seen; these are for underfloor heating and will be eventually covered up in fine timber slats.

Staircase between the genkan box and bookshelf, to go up from the main floor to the study space half a storey higher.

Scaffolding off!!!!!
The entry is 1.2m off the ground so they rely on the little temporary stair to access the inside. This makes the scale of the building difficult to perceive at the moment, the full height glass doors look like windows, and the timber garage door towards the foreground looks like a trap door......

The underground chamber

2011-04-04T10:11:00.001+10:00

A while ago I put out this quiz on the concrete block enclosure under the finished floor level (see HERE....and the answer HERE)..well, here it is, finishing up.

tipping sand into the enclosure under bathroom floor

the plywood floor structure "lid"

concrete over

the same is being done at the entry "genkan"...packing the sand in

....adding reinforcement steel...and concrete...

Good day for site measurement

2011-03-29T15:53:00.000+11:00

Today we went to take site measurements at Blue Eye Dragon, a Taiwanese restaurant at Pyrmont.
...I was a little concerned about the weather, as we would be measuring the outdoor courtyard... viola, what a beautiful day it turns out!
After measurement we were invited to join the staff members for lunch...such a treat...lucky us!

...work...

...meet...

...eat...

Span of time

2011-03-28T15:49:00.001+11:00

It seems like yesterday that we were still struggling with the concept design and brief clarification with the client for M House.... This must be how it feels like for the bride's father at the wedding... well, not quite, but close enough.

Bookshelf in M House is reaching completion, together with flooring and bedroom enclosure. Suddenly we can visualise the finish line of the project which has gone through a 2 year design phase.
Truth is, despite the natural disaster and subsequent nuclear threat in Japan recently, the construction is on schedule, and looking at finishing off in end of April - in one month time!

structure of the mezzanine floor a.k.a. bedroom ceiling

looking down from the study room, which is half level higher, down towards the living/ dining space

from inside the guest room through to the study room

slowly the bookshelf is filling in.....

junction at the bookshelf and bedroom ceiling

gap in the floor to allow for heated air by underfloor heating to come through and heat up the house

with the multitude vertical supports in the bookshelf to hold up the mezzanine, the structure appears to be much more delicate and refined.

the gap at bottom of the bookshelf is also for underfloor heating

plywood flooring for the mezzanine over the floor structure

bookshelf becomes balustrade for the mezzanine

looking up the plywood from inside the bedrooms (below the mezzanine). The plywood floor serves as the ceiling for the bedrooms

...... now the builders on site need to take their shoes off to enter the construction site, like entering into someone's house!!

From shell to house..

2011-03-22T14:37:00.000+11:00

Welcome to Facet Studio's new blog site! We have now moved everything from our previous Wordpress site, and will move older contents from the even earlier FC2 (Japanese) site so everything will be consolidated.

It was terrible news about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan....our construction site located at Niigata (north of Tokyo, on the west side of the island facing Japan Sea) experienced a 6 degree shakedown, fortunately all workers on site were uninjured, and building fabric intact.
We called the construction site thinking that there will be at least a day off for people to recover from the shock of earthquake.....well.....everyone was on site working as usual......

Here are some site photos from March 11 before the earthquake... M House is now slowly transforming from a building shell into a house with spatial definition. We are very excited about the bookshelf construction - it is the structural element which in fact holds up the mezzanine level floor, hence defines the sleeping quarter within the otherwise open house.

Internal perspective presented to client - the bookshelf is in the centre, running the entire length of the house. It supports the mezzanine floor to the right, which also serves as the ceiling for the sleeping rooms below

Starting from building the main beam. Again all hand notched for precise connection...

Main beam in the middle of the space...

Secondary beam between the rooms; it spans between the main beam and the perimeter wall.

The vertical elements of the bookshelf actually hold up the main beam as structural support

knocking the beam junction into place

where the main beam joins....

inside the sleep quarter. Floor to the mezzanine above will for the ceiling.

Restaurant & Bar Design Awards UK - Water Moon shortlisted

2011-03-11T10:26:00.001+11:00

Our project Water Moon Japanese Restaurant is shortlisted in Restaurant & Bar Design Awards UK - International Lighting Design category.

Shortlist was announced today, and winner will be announced in July 2011....feels so far away...I want to know now!

You can view the shortlist HERE

View our entry HERE

More about the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards HERE

walk about

2011-03-10T03:09:00.004+11:00

Our builder has taken a walk around about M House.

It has been weeks since the building envelope is up, including walls and roof...heaters have been on inside... not just for the workers' comfort in the snowy cold weather!

The heaters were on because the building needs to be warm - concrete has high moisture content when first poured, over time the water slowly evaporates. At first a process called "curing" will take place to ensure that moisture does not evaporate prematurely to reduce the strength of concrete, then a process called "drying" will slowly stabilise the moisture content, and eventually reach equilibrium with external environment. Because it was unusually cold during this process for M House, heaters were used on site to help control the environment in which the concrete is drying.

So.....Our builder can now walk around the house, after weeks, with a concrete moisture meter to measure the concrete moisture content, and determine if it is dry enough to apply finish to internal walls.

meter readings all around the house

More readings on concrete:

Wikipedia

Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The answer to the previous quiz....

enclosure in under floor space

The concrete block enclosure in the underfloor space has few purposes:

1. structural support to the space above - in this case the block work is supporting the bathroom above.

2. creates an enclosure to contain water leakage in case of pipework failure - especially here the underfloor space is used for heating.

3. this enclosure will be filled and packed in with sand, to create bedding for the localised concrete slab underneath the bathroom - this is happening in 2-3 weeks time, I will post the photos when it happens!

Did you guess it right?

Snow catcher catching snow

2011-03-08T05:59:00.003+11:00

Further from our previous quiz (read HERE), here is a follow up from our builder on site.... who is also a reader of the blog, thinking that he should send this photo through to demonstrate how the snow catcher works in the snow!

snow catcher in action on M House

Have a guess!

2011-03-04T22:26:00.002+11:00

Moving along...moving along..... M House is taking shape quickly, even in challenging weather conditions.

view from the neighbouring community farm. the top triangle in timber will be installed with glass once construction has progressed further (just see how the vegetables in the community farm are struggling in the snow....)

copper pipes connecting under floor radiators are being installed...

almost done with copper pipes. I can just imagine these radiators sitting quietly below the floor once completed, doing their job in the dark...... but anyway, hot water runs in the copper pipes and the heat is radiated by the radiators, heating up the under floor space, which then emits the heat into the entire house evenly

coming out of under floor space and looking to the glazing between rafters. we have originally specified single fixed glazing for ease of construction but the builders upgraded to double glazing units (DGU) for better insulation....woohoo~! problem is, DGUs come completely sealed, with a rather prominent black rim of silicon all the way around in proportion to the glazing size, which disturbed the visual continuity of the rafters from inside to outside..... we had to decide on site to build an extra small timber frame to cover up the black silicon (test piece in the centre)...which works ok because the timber frame is camouflaged by all the timber planes around so is not so noticeable.

So here is the question today..............

What is this concrete block enclosure doing in the under floor space?

Have a guess!!

how about this for a site?

2011-03-03T21:43:00.003+11:00

We have a nice little project on the way.......

view from the site

Not bad hey!

I will tell you a bit more, later.

Artichoke interviewed Facet Studio on "A Day in the Life"

2011-02-25T21:27:00.000+11:00

Facet Studio is on Artichoke magazine issue 34 - Q and A'ed about our practice and how we work, who we are etc.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Artichoke is a design magazine which covers interior architecture and design, textile design, product design, exhibition design and graphic design, and provides designers with news and information on current trends and projects.

Another day on site

2011-02-25T02:46:00.003+11:00

Some M House updates from Yoshi, who is now in the snowy weather of Niigata, Japan ....looking out our office to see the perfect blue sky in Sydney, I don't envy him..... at all.....

out of Facet Studio office window....perfect blue sky in Sydney today

what a stark contrast with the Northern hemisphere winter! Yoshi was having meeting with our builder, Mr Otsuki, on M House site discussing about window frame details (see the sketch book in the foreground)

comparing the different grade of timber floor - there is a definite difference, although all samples are from the same timber specices

inside the house. Timber sub structure is installed for plasterboard wall finish installation later. The floor level inside the house is raised, and the heat generators will heat up the space below floor for even heat distribution in winter (the bottom of the timber sub structure is where the floor will be)

ArchDaily likes us too!

2011-02-23T21:48:00.001+11:00

Our project, Habitat Antique is on ArchDaily!

(Read the article HERE)

ArchDaily is one of the leading and most influential architectural website, with a single mission: the best architecture around the world, as soon as possible.

It has over two million visits and eighteen million page impressions per month.

milestone on Railway Parade

2011-02-22T21:34:00.003+11:00

We have successfully submitted combined Development Application and Construction Certificate for our project, Railway Parade .......yaii!!

Every building project goes through a process of birth pain, now we have just past the first trimester for this project pregnancy - with all the brainstorming, explorations, and endless studies...at last! we can feel a little more safe about this baby.

submission materials in piles....

Railway Parade is heading into tender phase, and looking at completion towards end of 2011.

Looks like designboom likes us!

2011-02-21T21:10:00.001+11:00

Our project, S House, is on designboom!

(Read the article HERE)

What a great way to start a week!!

designboom is a web-based magazine on art, architecture and design, with 4.2 million readers per month.

It was selected by TIME Magazine in 2007 as one of the top 100 design influencers in the world.