Concepts from two architects

Concept of Tadao Ando:

Ando is impressed by the architectural power, which let people feel what they cant feel in natural environment.
He concerns about the importance of public area, it can be seen in the time's building in central Kyoto.

He opens the architecture to the river, let people engage to the natural environment. Although flooding issue is worried in Kyoto, Ando still make the stairs and public area near the river, trying to enhance the interaction between people and the architecture. The final design is appeared to be floating on a river, as if a big boat.

Ando also highlight the use of geometric shape. He thinks that this kind of architectural style can interact with natural environment. The shape can be a frame of space and the natural view around it. And so are the relationship with light. We can utilise light and shadow on the building to understand the hierarchy of intense and loosen space. After this design process the natural and architectural side can work together.

The Church of light

The cross hole on the wall promotes a speciaal light effect. It lets chritians to have a feeling to be closer to the god. The internal space impress people by overlapping different light and shadows strongly. The use of thick concrete creates a dark space to block the linkage to the external space. A powerfull contrast allows people to focus on the strong light beam lit out from the cross hole on the wall, the famous light cross.

Apart from the light effect, Ando suggests the fairgo of among everyone. His idea of moving down the priest stage to the same level of the audience is the main concept of the church of light according to Tadao.


Concept of Walter Burley Griffin

Griffin’s special achievement was the creation of a personal architectural style that in new ways combined functional compositional patterns, ancient and modern, occidental and oriental, thus enabling him to express universality.

In castlecrag design, Griffin try to let individuals to feel the whole landscape is his. There are no fences, no boundaries and no red roof to spoil the australian landscape.

Ideas shown in Castlecrag design:

1. Use simple, unified forms to reduce the visual business of the building.
2. Use flat roofs and try to use these roofs.
3. Open the living areas to the garden with “as continuous band of glazing as possible”.
4. Make the house subservient to the landscape.