Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
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1. FINANCIAL TIMES FEBRUARY 10/FEBRUARY 11 2007 ★ HOUSE & HOME 9
HO USE & H OME
A giant with an eye on ‘the little man’
In a new exhibition, Shigeru Ban pays tribute to his fellow architect and humanitarian Alvar Aalto, writes Nicole Swengley
F
inland’s Alvar Aalto was one of Examples of it are still produced and
the great 20th century archi- sold today.
tects. Japan’s Shigeru Ban is Villa Mairea epitomises Aalto’s sig-
one of today’s brightest stars. nature style in terms of space arrange-
Aalto, who died in 1976, worked ments, use of materials (forest-like
primarily in his home country through vertical wooden pillars) and its nod to
an age in which hand-craftsmanship traditional Japanese architecture,
segued into industrialisation. Ban, 50, rustic Finnish farms and continental
studied in the US and now works modernism. The architect aimed to har-
between offices in Tokyo and Paris, monise buildings within their settings
navigating an increasingly computer- and blurred indoor-outdoor boundaries,
ised and automated industry. often reversing convention. So the villa
The two men come from different living room became a forest space with
times and cultural, economic and tech- a corner garden gazebo. Furnishings
nological backgrounds. Their work dif- and lighting designed for the house
fers aesthetically and technically. Yet were later produced commercially by
they are united by a design philosophy Artek, the company that he set up with
that ranks humanitarian values above the villa owner’s wife, Maire Gul-
style. And that is why London’s Barbi- lichsen, and design critic Nils Gustav
can Art Gallery has asked Ban to co- Hahl, and which still exists today.
curate the first UK exhibition celebrat- Because Aalto hated the idea of mass-
ing Aalto’s work. produced houses, he strived for “flexible
“I hold Aalto’s compassionate standardisation” – a way of offering
approach to architecture in the highest maximum variation through different
regard,” Ban says. “His ultimate goal building parts, using them as “living
as an architect was to promote comfort cells”. This concept is exemplified by
and happiness to ‘the little man’ – to the prefabricated wooden AA System
ordinary people. His great innovations houses commissioned by the Ahlstrom
were not just intended for his own Corporation in 1940 and intended to
artistic expression but were an explora- relieve wartime housing shortages.
tion of ways to distribute better hous- Two other projects – La Maison Car-
ing and living conditions to the greater rée in France and Scinasoki, an Aalto-
part of society.” planned Finnish town – are presented
So Aalto worked not only on innova- alongside one another to show how his
tive private residences and civic and ideas about space, access and flow were
consistent, regardless of scale. The
house’s hall serves as a communal
space, much like a village square.
‘It was the kind of Tomoko Sato, the Barbican Gallery
curator, observes that Aalto’s civic
space that one wouldn’t buildings were also designed like com-
fortable houses rather than monumen-
be able to comprehend tal institutions. “His interest was to
make people feel at home, not to create
through photographs a hierarchy,” she says.
Aalto’s focus on lighting is highlighted
and text in a book’ by his Viipuri City Library reader’s
room, where rows of cylinder-shaped top
lights minimise the shadows cast under
cultural buildings but also low-cost readers’ hands, and the Church of the
housing and industrial estates. He Three Crosses in Imatra, Finland, where
focused on the details – furniture, skylights and sculptured white walls
light fittings, glassware, textiles, jew- transform the building into a luminous
ellery and book covers – as well as the light source. Aalto “explored the most
big picture – town and even regional efficient ways to take in natural light in
planning projects. Taking the environ- the northern latitudes,” Ban explains.
ment as an inspiration, he employed “When he designed a building, he always
or created organic shapes and pro- seemed to have been conscious of incor-
moted the use of natural and local porating an efficient system to diffuse
materials. His rational approach to [light] indoors.”
problem solving resulted in some won- It’s ironic that the venue for this
derful ideas. And a capacity to explore exhibition is the Barbican Centre – a
a structure’s emotional and psycholog- place that is architecturally uncom-
ical impact led him to believe that fortable, cluttered and not easy to use.
“architecture is not mere decoration; It’s a far cry from the “earthly para-
it is a deeply biological, if not a pre- dise” that Aalto believed to be “the
dominantly moral matter”. ultimate goal of the architect”. Still,
For Ban – who founded the Volunteer thanks in large part to Ban’s involve-
Architects Network charity in 1995 and ment, the show is an interesting one,
is known for designing emergency shel- that says as much about the future as
ters and temporary housing for survi- ‘Forest space’: the living room at Villa Mairea. Top, l-r, Alvar Aalto, details of his work and Shigeru Ban Eva and Perlti Ingervo/Shigeru Ban Architects it does about the past.
vors of wars and natural disasters in “I hope [it] will raise questions about
Rwanda, Japan, Turkey, India and Sri kind of space that one wouldn’t be able garden and front room are designed as House of Culture in Helsinki, famous dilemmas. Others include the Paimio architecture’s role today and generate
Lanka – Aalto’s ethos is deeply reso- to comprehend through photographs a single space. for its undulating brick walls, shows Tuberculosis Sanitorium, Villa Mairea debate about issues such as sustaina-
nant. In fact, Ban’s eureka moment – and text in a book; one would need to For the Barbican exhibition, Ban has not only their shape but also a cross- and the AA System houses, all of bility and resources that are common
his realisation that he could use light- experience it on the spot in order to created curving cardboard tube walls section of structural brick-work, while which are in Finland. to all of us,” Sato says. At the very
weight, low-cost paper tubes structur- understand the quality of it.” and platforms and undulating paper the Baker House model shows how The first project embraced numer- least, visitors can observe the interplay
ally – happened during his involvement Although Ban’s architecture is differ- ceilings, transforming the gallery inte- light was diffused within the Massa- ous humane concepts – splash-free between two architectural soulmates.
with an earlier exhibition of the archi- ent from Aalto’s, it is clearly fired by rior. He and Juhani Pallasmaa, former chusetts Institute of Technology dormi- sinks for patients’ rooms, mobile side
tect’s work at Tokyo’s Axis Gallery in it, with natural shapes and innovative director of the Museum of Finnish tory. Alongside these are specially com- tables that double as patients’ dining ‘Alvar Aalto: Through the Eyes of
1986. uses of materials. Aside from the inter- Architecture in Helsinki, have selected missioned photographs of Aalto build- tables, sloping floors near windows to Shigeru Ban’ runs from February 22-
This came two years after his first national aid work, he has been lauded 15 key projects to chart Aalto’s career ings that highlight the beauty of his avoid an accumulation of dust and May 13 at the Barbican Art Gallery,
in-person exposure to Aalto-designed for private homes, including the Cur- and designed analytical models to show shapes, textures and details. double-glazed windows to keep out London. A rare talk by Shigeru Ban
buildings as a photographer’s assistant tain Wall House, which has glass walls how he used materials, handled space Ban thinks the chosen projects are cold air. Aalto’s attention to detail about his work and Aalto’s legacy will
in Finland. “In Aalto’s architecture I folding back to open the rooms, ele- and dealt with details. fundamental to understanding Aalto’s meant finding the exact angle for a take place at 7pm on February 20.
found a space created to complement mentally, on two sides, and the Picture These sectional models are, in them- architectural philosophy and directly birch bentwood chair that would best Tel: +44 0845-120 7550; www.barbican.
its context,” Ban recalls. “It was the Window House, in which a terrace, selves, quite beautiful. The one of the relate to contemporary building aid a sanitorium patient’s breathing. org.uk/gallery
WORK IN PROGRESS
Taking the wraps off an ancient art
In the first of a series, Janice Blackburn talks to Indian designer Gunjan Gupta about modern furniture inspired by the opulence of the Mughals
In some respects, Gunjan to Delhi, where she discov- designs, she enrolled in Lon- Russia, Elle Décor gave her the business came from her
Gupta’s career mirrors the ered Sharma Farm, a vast don’s St Martins College of an award for her Dining interior design career savings
progression of India from a warehouse complex packed Art. This was not an easy Throne, a wooden chair and from family.
third-world country stuck in with antiques and exotic arte- leap. She had a two-year-old wrapped in gold leaf and The next big step will
its past to a sophisticated facts from every corner of daughter, Sitara, at the time thick sheets of pure silver, come in May when Gupta
society competing on a glo- India. She describes it as and so negotiated to study and Eastern Recline, a low presents her work at New
bal stage. inspirational. “It put me in for a two-year research-based Indian-inspired lounging York’s International Con-
Gupta grew up in subur- touch with the idea that there masters degree, juggling her chair. Pamploni, the Florence- temporary Furniture Fair
ban Mumbai and after high was a history to many tradi- time between London (four based silver manufacturer, with the support of the Brit-
school studied interior tional skills,” she explains. weeks each semester), Delhi, has asked her to design a ish European Design Group.
design at the Sophia Poly- She began to travel around Jaipur and Udaipur. With the collection and well-known Polly Dickens, design direc-
technic, a school famous for the country seeking out support of her husband and New York interior designer
textiles. She says the pro- small artisan workshops and mother and the encourage- Peter Marino is interested in
gramme “wasn’t great” but rare materials and, in ment of Simon Fraser, course her making reflective wall
she parlayed it into an Jaipur, unearthed a tech- director at St Martins, she tiles for him in gold and sil- Aston Martin has
apprenticeship with Varsha nique that intrigued her. Sil- also developed prototypes of ver. Maithili Ahluwaliea,
Desai, a leading interior ver and gold wrapping was a silver-wrapped furniture. owner of Mumbai design even contacted
designer in India with many type of ornamentation his- At her graduation show in space Bungalow Eight, has
prominent industrialist fami- torically used on Mughal July 2006, she showed three commissioned an exclusive her about a
lies for clients. thrones as a way of display- stunning, minimal, silver- range to launch this sum-
Although the “tradition- ing their value while also wrapped pieces. Luckily, she mer. And Aston Martin has silver-wrapped
ally opulent old style” was demonstrating attributes of says, “people loved them” even contacted her about a
not exactly one Gupta purity in a socio-religious and in September she silver-wrapped car interior. car interior
wanted to replicate, the context. It is documented as launched her newly formed Gupta now has two full-
experience gave her an being the oldest form of fur- company Wrap at London’s time employees working in
opportunity to “explore the niture design in India 100% Design trade fair. It her Dehli design studio and tor of the group, also wants
world of luxury”, travelling (referred to in sacred Hindu was an ambitious first step. has linked up with a team of the designer to explore
to top furniture fairs and texts such as the Rig Veda, But “I wanted to test carpenters that makes the cheaper forms of the craft
poring over the best cata- Mhabhatara and Ramayana) whether there really was a wooden frames for tables and using brass and white metal
logues. This bought her but most modern-day exam- market for something as chairs. These are then sent to instead of silver and gold.
some time since she was still ples “are very degraded and insane as gold- and metal- be wrapped by a community Gupta is talented and
“figuring out what to do” of poor quality”, Gupta says. wrapped furniture,” she says. of skilled artisans in Jaipur. savvy, a woman focused on
with her own career. Having decided that she The gamble paid off. Fol- Production takes six to eight building a profitable business
In 2000 she married and would revive and reinterpret lowing favourable press cov- weeks and the pieces are around an ancient art. Just
relocated with her husband – the craft by applying it to her erage not only in the UK but priced from £500 to £1,500, like India itself, she is a work
an environmental engineer – own contemporary furniture Gunjan Gupta, and, left, some of her work Amit Bhargava/WPN also from as far afield as although the seed money for in progress.