The Horse on the Ceiling by Zauberscho[e]n

This glass library by new studio Zauberscho[e]n stands in a former stable yard in Münster, Germany.

Entitled The Horse on the Ceiling, the structure is located on the Leonardo campus of The University of Applied Sciences and serves the schools of art, architecture and design.

The roof is supported by columns with forms derived from photographs of horses’ legs, while a gap between the new building and the existing stable block illuminates the older brickwork.

Rainwater is collected from the roof and cascaded in a curtain of water over the windows.

The project was completed while the architects were still studying, in collaboration with Professor Herbert Buehler of Buehler und Buehler.

Photographs are by Roland Borgmann.

Here’s some more information from Zauberscho[e]n:

---

the horse on the ceiling

Library for Architecture, Art and Design, Leonardo Campus, Muenster

The New building stands in front of the stables of the Leonardo Campus in the north of Muenster and joins with the academy of art, the muenster school of architecture and the all three institutions are merged in a library and stand behind the walls of a part of the former horse stables. The shelves required more space. But where?

In the past horses stood in front of the stables, now the books are going to stand there.

They are framed by a glass facade whose large-sized glass panels are reinforced by glass fins. This façade, made out of especially clear glass, shapes the building through its great transparency. The books so become during daytime and especially at night from the outside an important focus of the university campus and so form a memorable sign of education.

The space is divided into three parts and offers different working atmospheres to the students. Up front the facade develops into three study-carrels for an undisturbed learning, in the rear stands a large table for groups, separable as required through an acoustic curtain. As a transformable element it can form an individual thinking-zone or open up a larger area. The outside is printed with a digitally generated motive on the basis of the “School of Athens“ by Raphael. Through its indifference the curtain gene- rates a constantly changing relation to space.

Gottfried Sempers postulate for polychromy and his conclusion that colour has a less bawling effect than glaring plain white becomes clear in the interaction of intense green ceiling and black floor with the chromaticity of the trees outside and the brick color of the surrounding buildings. Looking through the facade the surrounding appears in high gloss, much more colourful as this can be experienced outside the building.

In the rear of the building the wing-like roof rests on three columns. Their form is orientated on a moment of movement of the leg of a horse who has been moving there in former times. They are digitally generated and a product of a computer supported, modern steel technology.

In Muenster it rains a lot. Along an open cullis the entire length of the building the rainfall is being staged and becomes a spatial experience as it drops down like a curtain in the form of a second layer in front of the glass facade. The rainwater is being collected in an infiltration ditch in front of the building and returned ecologically to the terrain.

Between the new and old roof a light gap illuminates the historic stable wall. Stairs and openings in the wall prevent standstill and contribute to an interconnection of historic building and new extension.

Client: Land Nordrhein-Westfalen
User: University of Applied Sciences Muenster, Academy of Art Muenster
Function: Library for Architecture, Art and Design
Location: Leonardo-Campus Muenster
Programm: 400sqm, 1450 shelf-meter, 3 studycarrels, singleworkingzone, conferencezone
Architects: Planungsgemeinschaft zauberscho(e)n, Muenster Buehler und Buehler Prof. Dipl. Ing. Architekten BDA, Muenchen
Team (design): zauberscho(e)n: Mathias Horstmann, Andreas Schuering, Stephan Weber Buehler und Buehler: Prof. Prof. h.c. Herbert Buehler
Team (realization): zauberscho(e)n: Andreas Schuering, Stephan Weber Buehler und Buehler: Prof. Prof. h.c. Herbert Buehler

Structural engineer: Ingenieurgemeinschaft Fuehrer Kosch Juerges, Aachen
General contractor: Averbeck Bau GmbH, Ostbevern
Steel construction: Bentheimer Stahl und Hallenbau, Bad Bentheim
Facade planning /-construction: Josef Gartner GmbH, Gundelfingen
Planning + construction time: 2008-2010
Completion: April 2010

House in Hamadera by Coo Planning

Japanese architects Coo Planning have created this house in Osaka, Japan, with an interior on stepped levels entirely finished in timber boards.

The residence, called House in Hamadera, has a kitchen and living space on the ground floor with a double-height ceiling.

Above this is a mezzanine floor broken up by retractable partitions on rails.

Half a level up from that is the master bedroom with a balcony and en-suite bathroom.

Metal railings lead from one level to the next and outer walls of the main space have been lined with bookshelves.

Photos are all by Eiji Tomita.

Here’s some more from the architects:

---

Outline of design

‘Space done that the ceiling is high in a relaxed manner”Material that increases depth at time.’ It is a house built in Osaka Prefecture Sakai City.

An old station and tram named beach [hamaderasuwanomori] remain, and it is still located in a residential area.

It is one stroke of land for sale in lots where the depth is a little long against width.

It narrows almost in due north and the frontal road and the east and west of four meters narrow in the neighboring house.

It confronts and rich green though the Suwanomori Shinto shrine is small a place is produced in the south.

Composition of skip floor where ‘Height’ and ‘Material feeling’ were made the best use of in maximum.

Wall bookshelf used for full wall on zonal side.

Rich green from Shinto shrine that reaches cross from framed window.

It wishes the depth or more to be increased with the family as time passes.

Click above for larger image

DANCING LIVING HOUSE

Located in Yokohama, Japan, the ‘Dancing Living House‘ is a fitting name due to the client’s love for dance. Junichi Sampie, of A.L.X. Architects, planned the design of this house with open space and large rooms in mind. Several rooms were combined to produce this capacious effect, including the living and dining room areas.

The peculiar cube-like structure is made of reinforced concrete, and sits on top of a smaller base due to property constraints. The 155.47m² house also exhibits creative utilization of natural light. The angular window, seen on the Dancing Living House’s upper-corner, converges into a longer strip of glass that overlays the ceiling, creating a sky-light of sorts.

Although the house is relatively small, the layout, lighting, and use of mirrors all contribute in making the home look and feel spacious. The exterior, as minimalistic as it is, is thought provoking and inspirational to me.

suppose design office: house in minamimachi 03

'house in minamimachi 03' by suppose design office in hiroshima, japan
all images courtesy of suppose design office


japanese architecture firm suppose design office has recently completed a three-storey house 
in hiroshima, japan. typical of modern japanese practice, 'house in minamimachi 03' stands 
snugly in between two other residential plots, an unassuming structure made entirely out 
of reinforced concrete. 

contrary to how the design may be read from the outside, the exterior shell is a separate layer 
from the interior space. the design essentially utilizes a box-within-a-box scheme: the concrete 
skin acts as an urban fence, providing privacy for the residents, while the interior box sits 
in an offset orientation to create angular lightwell cavities in between the two layers. 
in addition to creating privacy, the concrete box also acts as a structural armature for the inner 
framework, enabling the house to be constructed largely out of glass curtain walls. the interior 
is treated with light-coloured wood and white paint to maximize on the natural daylighting effect. 



street view


concrete facade and entrance


interior lit by the lightwell cavity


kitchen and living area



light wood treatment in the flooring and cabinetry


washroom


stairwell also acting as a lightwell for the lower levels


(left) washroom
(right) retractable windows in the living area