molo, a Canadian based design and production studio, accounted for the talented group of designers behind the Nebuta House in Japan. Led by Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen, molo designed this head turning museum in the Northern Japanese city of Aomori. The inspiration for the design came from the city's winter Nebuta Festival, honoring traditional Japanese storytelling in which "heroes, demons, and animals from history and myth come alive as large scale paper lanterns (Nebuta)"[via].
The structure itself is enclosed by twisting, powder coated ribons. Each of these ribbons was handcrafted and installed and adjusted manually, like many of the finest Japanese artistic creations. Also--notice the snow lanterns...so very cool!
The variation created by the steel ribbons allow amazing possibilities for light, shadows, and an overall, incredibly unique spatial experience.
The ribbons are attached to structural columns and exceptional system of glazing, making the whole structure seem visually light weight.
The palette of the interior is extremely simple! Black, red, and what ever colors are created by the reflections of the steel and glass. Simple, but amazing...
Check out the reflection on this floor. Wow! Amazing. And the naturally occurring differences in opacity created by the openings between the ribbons...thank you.
It's incredible how a Canadian design team created such an amazing structure to honor an ancient Japanese tradition using materials typically thought of as modern--steel, glass, and concrete. With design, the possibilities are really endless!
Images by Iwan Baan [via]
DESIGN.INSPIRE.REPEAT.
Amazing darling! Love the material choices.
ReplyDeleteNow, on a different note, what are you doing up so late? Don't tell me you are in a lab!! :) xx