DEMATERIALIZED ARCHITECTURE

You know how sometimes you find yourself drawn to something without even knowing it? Lately I realize I have been eyeing projects that tend towards dematerialization—mostly architecture that plays off the solid and the void and turns our idea of a building inside out. I know Philip Johnson did this years ago, but I thought it would be fun to share some fun new takes on it too.

Like this fabulous house (above) in Sweden designed by architect Elding Oscarson. I love that the timber second floor seems to hover over the transparent ground floor. Though it would be hard to pull off a Tom Cruise Risky Business move in that living room!

Or this crazy building, called the 'Sliding House', whose wooden exterior literally peels away to reveal a shining glass skin inside. Designed by dRMM Architecture, the double layer structure has the added bonus of regulating heating and cooling during the winter and summer. 

Or how about this cool place called the Mirror House?  The Danish-American firm MLRP  transformed a rundown park pavilion into this fabulously reflective funhouse. I love the undulating mirrors on either end of the building, turning the surrounding landscape into a twisting Van Gogh-like scene.

And it's not all about buildings. How about this incredible artist's book by Olafur Eliasson? Isn't it beautiful how it slowly reveals the empty spaces in the house, starting with the building's facade and delving into its inner sanctums? I would love to have that 908 page tome on my coffee table, wouldn't you?

And last but not least, I spotted this cool project by Alyson Shotz some time ago and have been dying to share it with you ever since. If you look very closely at the bottom photo above you can see how well the mirrored fence blends into the landscape (see it below the tree all the way on the left?). Stunning, right? Talk about dematerialization! I would love to see this in different landscapes: along a canal in Venice, on a dune in the desert, beside a mountain range. . . I bet it would have a completely different effect in each new location.

Any reflective/transparent/solid-void spaces I missed?

THILO FRANK

How cool is this? This tiny room, measuring a mere 12 feet x 12 feet x 21 feet, looks like an optical illusion. But its actually an art installation by Berlin-based artist Thilo Frank—a fully mirrored space inside and out—that reminds me of a combination of this and this. Installed at the Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark in 2010, it is further proof that all the coolest art projects are executed in Europe. 

Read more about the installation, entitled The Pheonix is closer than it appears, here.

(Thanks to Colossal for the tip.)

RING, REFLECTION, REFRACTION

Why do all the cool things seem to happen overseas (like this)? This stunning installation, created by French designer Arnaud Lapierre in collaboration with Audi, is called 'Ring' and is made up of numerous mirrors latched together vertically in space. It was temporarily installed in Place Vendome in late October but, thankfully!, will be reinstalled once more in Castellet, France and then will hit the art fairs and the art market. Wouldn't it be incredible to have someplace like Storm King buy this and install it permanently? I can only imagine it would look equally beautiful in an open green field as a French street.


Learn more about the artist here and the project here.


(Thanks to Yatzer for the tip.)