LAB #6(45) 2008

project _ LAB

the authors twofold, it might seem ‘spatial crazi- ness’. But hardly anybody can be amazed by this in modern society where a lot of types of craziness are made legal, let alone things like creativity, free genius of architect and personal tastes of the client. The union of these two forces brought into reality the dream of an eccentric space that is absolutely so in everything: in its openness, asymmetry, whiteness, freedom of movement among floors and areas and in the space that corresponds to the inhabitants’ own original design. The architects faced an ethical question: should they partly reveal the mystery of the inner world and personal character of the house owners by reflecting the inner rhythm in the outer appear- ance of the building? Sometimes the architecture needs a kind of a ‘mask’. Actually sometimes it is better to pretend to be a nice decent neighbor so that nobody could recognize your true personality behind the indifferent face of silence. Europeans use this method pretty frequently. Japanese architects, though lured by the opportunity to play a double game, decided to honest with the neighbors. The inner content of the house is not only reflected in the eccentric appearance, all the piquant parts of the interior are visible through the glazed apertures in the walls. NOVELA is an entirely new ‘sincere’ urban architecture with individual culture inside, based on personal traditions and rituals.

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№6 _ 45 _ 2008