Task Architects has designed the Busan opera House. Busan is one of the most important Korean cities and its largest port. The project is located in the newly developed area of north port .

We wanted to create an Icon. A monument that would shift the vision of the world and create new experiences for each visitor while on the same time is welcoming and inviting. And can be the city's vision of future development.

Task Architects

Busan opera House, render courtesy TASK Architects

Theory: A New Paradigm of Contemporary Korean Design

Abstractness Directed toward “Chun”

The most remarkable characteristic of Korean philosophy is the thought of "Chun (heaven)". Koreans have a deep desire to become one with "Chun", and carry nostalgia for heaven. Thus, Korean art contains a spirituality directed toward "Chun".

Designs like "Chun" are like a design following nature, a design created by the "public self" without self-interest. This means embracing everything from a holistic standpoint transcending the individual standpoint, and putting public interest before private interest. Therefore, in Korean design, a design without a moral is meaningless. The recovery of morality in design is the discovery of "Chun", which is Korean originality.

Busan opera House, render courtesy TASK Architects

Sentiments of Human Nature

Korean design is warm. The warmth originates in the "In (benevolence)" of Koreans' personalities. A person that is "In" is "a person who practices love", "a person who lives by his/her nature", and "a person with spiritual culture." Such a person reveals "Eui (righteousness)", "Ye (propriety)", and "Ji (wisdom) based on "In". These four virtues form the fundamentals of the human being, and people set the basic orientations for their minds and shape their ways of life based on these virtues.

Abstractness, Life, Human Nature

In order to put the 21st century paradigm into practice, a philosophy is established by "knowing oneself, and maintaining the right attitude". Thus, Korean contemporary design will be able to acquire universal sympathy and competitiveness when designers fully understand Korean thought.

Busan opera House, render courtesy TASK Architects

Concept: Between Man and Heaven

The new paradigm of design based on the three concepts deducted from Korean thought – abstractness, life, and human nature – will proceed to a higher dimension of cultural harmony between East and West, maintaining a balance with the previous experience of Western material culture. Furthermore, the establishment of Korean design philosophy will provide principles to create new methodologies for Korean design in a new era.

Busan opera House, render courtesy TASK Architects

+ Architect’s statement

We started working on the project we wanted to create great memorable moments for the visitors from the minute they he approaches the project. We designed three main exterior spaces, the entrance space as the visitors paths under the huge cantilever, the main exterior plaza that's designed to be completely serine and can be an escape from the city life and the sky terrace right in the end of the cantilever which visitors can easily access from the exterior plaza giving them a new experience standing at its very end observing the new developments of the north port.

The project consists of 3 main halls the first is a 2000 seats great hall which was created form a one surface that was digitally manipulated and designed to match the project needs like acoustics design and the large number of seating while maintaining a sleek and simple look that's so defying to the classical over decorated opera hall vision. The second one is a multipurpose hall designed to be very agile with multi entrances and mechanized floor and the third is a small 300 seats theatre along with a large convention center. The whole components are housed under one large universal space.

Elevationconcept

+ About Task Architects

Taymour Senbil – Khaled ElAshry – Ahmad Badr ElDin – Aya Ibrahim

TASK is a new architectural firm founded in Egypt by a group of young Egyptian architects. The architecture ideology in Egypt is shifting along with all the aspects of Egyptian life. We wanted to start a firm to support the new generation of Egyptians architects and designers that can experiment on Architecture and design freely and without limits defying the old and generating new ripples in Egyptian architecture society.

Khaledelashry.blogspot.com

+ All images and drawings courtesy TASK Architects

TWO BUILDINGS – ONE PROJECT

The brief of the competition, held in 2003, was to transform the building of the former Hallemans breweries into 31 housing units for artists, including an in-house workspace. On top of the transformation, a new construction was necessary to provide the needed surfaces. This new wing creates space and views onto the courtyard and the surroundings. To improve natural lighting, the upper part of the new building is withdrawn from the property limit, this allows nothern light to enter in the workshops.

"CHEVAL NOIR", image courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

Starting from each wing, a network of staircases and corridors crossing the brewery and the courtyard reaches each doorstep. This outdoor circulation provides the courtyard with a dynamic. It is designed to enable spontaneous meetings between inhabitants.

A NEW LIFE FOR INDUSTRIAL INHERITANCE

The project seeks to integrate as much as possible all the structural and architectural elements that are characteristic of the old brewery. On this inheritance background, the necessary interventions for contemporary living are clearly identified. They create a dialogue with the existing building without imitating it.

"CHEVAL NOIR", image courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

The new openings in the old walls are radical but necessary to create a part of the new façade after demolitions or to open the southern wall. They bring a maximum of light and create views.

The old chimney is transformed into a barbecue to serve as a possible meeting place for the inhabitants.

The new building is clearly different from the old brewery, both by its contemporary architecture as by its zinc facade.

"CHEVAL NOIR", image courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

A NEIGHBOURHOOD IN SEARCH OF NEW BREATH

The insertion of the project in its urban environment can be summarized in two words: openness and visual presence. Since the site is situated between two public spaces (a street and a square), both have an entrance to the building which makes a visual connection between the two spaces. The combination of the old and the new building – both higher than the industrial halls along the Canal – can be seen from the right bank of the Canal and participates in the skyline of Molenbeek.

"CHEVAL NOIR", image courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

QUALITY OF SPACES/ECONOMY OF THE PROJECT

In a limited budgetary context (about 1100 €/m2), we wanted to insure the quality and durability of the building (big surfaces of the openings, aluminium frames, collective ventilation system and boiler room) while using the existing or new raw materials for their aesthetic qualities (apparent bricks, vaulted ceilings, concrete) and for their technical qualities (re-use of the existing bearing system, thermal inertia of the existing brick walls).

"CHEVAL NOIR", image courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

The choice of standard sanitary and technical units (bathroom and kitchen) follows the same line of thought.
19 of the 31 units are interlocking duplexes, which permits privatizing the apartments by detaching one of the floors from the circulation core (which is then reduced).

"CHEVAL NOIR", image courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

The sanitary blocks are concentrated in compact modules, gathered around a minimum number of vertical sleeves.
Except for the bathrooms, the apartments are delivered without internal partitions, allowing maximum flexibility for the users.

"CHEVAL NOIR" - 3D section, drawing courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne

Resulting from a competition launched by the Woningfonds of the Brussels-Capital Region, the housing units/studios for artists participate in the urban morphology of the Canal surroundings. After two years of works, the first inhabitants are now ready to move in.

With the spatial and economical challenges of the architecture fulfilled, it is now time for other challenges: the management of public housing with an artistic dimension and its integration in the social context of the Molenbeek district.

"CHEVAL NOIR" - Floor plans, drawing courtesy L'Escaut-Gigogne

+ Project credits / data

Project: Housing Units/Studios for Artists “CHEVAL NOIR”
Design: L’Escaut-Gigogne (in Momentary Association for this project)
Website: http://www.escaut.org/architectural-projects/cheval-noir/
Photograph credit: Marc Detiffe

+ All images courtesy L’Escaut-Gigogne | Photo by Marc Detiffe

For decades, the residents of Yountville, California, a rural town in Napa County, relied on a small 1920s-era community hall and a hodgepodge of rented spaces to host community events. The hall was in need of renovation, ill-equipped to support art classes and lacking in outdoor recreation spaces. In addition, the town had outgrown its library. In 1998, after surveying residents' needs, the municipality embarked on a planning process for an expanded town center at the heart of town.

Yountville Town Center, image courtesy David Wakely

Yountville Town Center - Site plan, drawing courtesy Siegel & Strain Architects

Yountville Town Center - Floor plan, drawing courtesy Siegel & Strain Architects

The Yountville Town Center opened in November 2009, weaving new and existing buildings and outdoor rooms into a place designed to enrich community life. Designed by Siegel & Strain Architects and located on a 2.5-acre site on Yountville's main street, the town center consists of a new 10,000-square-foot community center, the renovated 4,800-square-foot community hall, and the addition of a sheriff's substation to the adjacent post office. The new community center houses a branch library, multipurpose room, teen center, and meeting and program spaces. It opens onto a new town square framed by the existing community hall and the post office.

Yountville Town Center, image courtesy David Wakely

Building exteriors blend with the rural character, while inside the spaces are light and airy. The large multipurpose room, 80 feet by 50 feet, is day-lit along the roof's spine by a ridge skylight, which has splayed walls that soften the light as it enters the room. A unique combination of Douglas fir trusses and cables enables the roof's structural support system to have a minimal presence in the room and avoids blocking daylight from above. A large, covered porch of red cedar on two sides of the town square connects the community hall and community center, providing shade in the summer. Barn doors extend the multipurpose room onto the adjacent barbecue patio.

Yountville Town Center, image courtesy David Wakely

Targeted to achieve a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and to achieve energy savings of 44% over Title 24, the design integrates a range of green features. Walkways and bike paths connect the center to surrounding neighborhoods and main street activities. Exterior sunshades, a highly insulated building envelope, and "cool" standing seam metal roofs reduce energy use.

Yountville Town Center, image courtesy David Wakely

Energy-efficient mechanical systems are integrated with ground-source heat pumps for heating and cooling. A building integrated management system takes advantage of the temperate climate by opening skylights and windows on days with mild temperatures. Operable skylights, controlled by CO2 and rain sensors, and operable windows provide natural ventilation and balanced natural illumination.

Yountville Town Center, image courtesy David Wakely

Roof-mounted photovoltaic laminates on the new and existing buildings supply energy. Water-conserving plumbing fixtures, harvested rainwater, drip irrigation, subsurface irrigation, and drought-tolerant native plants further reduce water use. The existing parking lot was regraded to slope naturally so that rainwater could be harvested in a bioswale. Overall, site design reduces storm runoff by 40% over preconstruction conditions.

Building materials were selected to minimize life-cycle impacts and provide light and airy interiors free of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds. Buildings feature durable, recycled content cement-fiber shingles and metal roofs. The new building's red cedar cladding and Alaskan yellow cedar sunscreens and entrances are regionally harvested. Slatted wood ceilings are locally sourced white pine, and the existing community hall's oak floor was reused. Over 75% of the wood is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Yountville Town Center, image courtesy David Wakely

Sustainability may not have been stated as part of the original vision, but the desire to incorporate green design grew over time as the project developed, championed by both civic leaders and the community. Now Yountville has a new "front porch," bringing together residents of all ages while blending an agrarian vernacular with time-honored sustainable practices.

Key materials

Wood
Over 75% of the wood used in the project is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and for the most part from within 500 miles of the site. The buildings are framed with FSC lumber and plywood. The wood for the slat acoustical ceilings and wall paneling comes from a certified forest in Chester, CA. Western Red Cedar used at exterior porches is also FSC from southern Oregon. The wood sunscreens are Alaskan Yellow Cedar from Washington, chosen for durability and coloring; it weathers to a light silvery gray, reflecting daylight into the buildings and porch ceilings. While not regional, the hardwood maple flooring in the multi-use activity room is also FSC certified.

Recycled Materials
High-recycled content materials include cement fiber siding, recycled metal roofing and structural steel, cellulose insulation, carpet tile and acoustic ceiling tiles.

Concrete
All of the concrete on the project contains slag, a waste product of the steel industry, which replaced more than 60% of the Portland cement. The high slag mix results in a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional cement mixes, and yields a much stronger concrete.

Low VOC and Non-Toxic Materials
Materials were selected throughout the project for their low VOC and non-toxic attributes.
All paints, coatings, applied finishes and sealants meet or exceed the air quality standards of the Southern California Air Quality District, and are formaldehyde-free. Composite wood products have no added urea-formaldehyde.

+ Project credits / data

Architect: Siegel & Strain Architects
Location: Yountville, VA
Client: Town of Yountville
Date of occupancy: December 2009
Gross square footage: 20,000
Construction cost: $9.8M
Contractor: Swank Construction
Photographer: David Wakely Photography

Awards/Certifications:
› AIA San Francisco Citation Award for Energy & Sustainability
› 2011 California Woodworks, Green Building
› 2010 Savings By Design & AIA California Council Award of Honor

+ Project Team

Structural Engineer: Endres Ware Architects Engineers, Berkeley, CA
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing: Timmons Design Engineers, San Francisco, CA
Civil Engineer: Coastland Civil Engineering, Santa Rosa, CA
Landscape Architect: John Northmore Roberts & Associates, Berkeley, CA
Lighting: Alice Prussin Lighting Design, Berkeley, CA
Commissioning: Enovity Inc. San Francisco, CA
Specifications: Topflight Specs, San Francisco, CA
Construction Manager: Pound Management, Oakland, CA

+ All images and drawings courtesy Siegel & Strain Architects | Photo by David Wakely

Vasiliy Butenko has recently created the Seed Light. It would seem flat lamp, in profile is a interesting form of seed, half of which are connected by zipper. Zipper is not only design in addition, it simplifies the process of replacing light bulbs. Material lamp-pressed paper.

+ Designer: Vasiliy Butenko

Seed Light, image courtesy Vasiliy Butenko

Seed Light, image courtesy Vasiliy Butenko

Seed Light, image courtesy Vasiliy Butenko

Seed Light, image courtesy Vasiliy Butenko