Symbolism, wayside stops, toilet design, public gardens, design issues to consider

I’ll never forget having the most bazaar meeting with a Project Engineer and a few others. The Project Engineer was deeply concerned about a proposed material for some toilet door in a public wash room facility.   His concern centred around whether the material would allow holes to be easily created – not by peeping toms – but by those seeking to engage in sexual acts. Our minds collectively boggled. We innocents were shocked and laughed in disbelief.

Upon looking at the design of these public toilets two thoughts came to mind. Are these architects playing around with symbols.  I must send these images to that Project Engineer.

Architects are Future Studio and their website is here http://www.futurestudio.jp/index.htm photos by Toshiyuki Yano.

Basket Weaving Buildings to Create Pavillions – Metal Wall Art Creates the Structure

Metal woven fabrics have been used for some time in buildings as a type of metal wall art (façade) treatment. I have seen the fabrics applied to the car park areas of multi-storey buildings and other areas that require visual screening. They are also used on interiors as a high end finish for vertical or ceiling surfaces.

I have always been slightly disappointed by the end result of metal woven fabrics as the weave is hardly visible. Furthermore if light does not penetrate the weave the material ends up creating a surface that appears solid.  Such a shame as the weaves are often very beautiful but need to be appreciated at close proximity.

In the last week I have seen two buildings that apply the concept of weaving metal with much greater affect than the woven metal fabrics. The first one is the garden shed that is built from a weave of reinforced bars. I briefly describe this building in my article on Working Garden Sculpture.

The second building is the Spanish Pavilion for 2010 Expo in Shanghai, designed by Miralles Tagliabue and is illustrated below. Both buildings have increased the scale of the metal weave which enables the pattern to read from a distance. The different designers of the two buildings have also used the weave to create curving surfaces giving both buildings a moving form.