Looking Out: Week 6 (NICOLAS GOMEZ)

This Wood Block House by Tadashi Yoshimura Architects showcases an interesting implementation of wood as an interior element. Behind the exterior facade made out of glass and stone, a basket-like wooden texture of timber envelops the interior spaces.

This structural shear, as the architects call it, is easily assembled and stacked. The fact that this does not require skilled workers makes it a very accessible design element for many architects.

Kirk Newton: Looking Out Week 02

The 9by4 is an innovative light fixture designed by the Amsterdam design studio Waarmakers, taking advantage of new advances in lighting technology to allow bring in somewhat unconventional materials into scalable office lighting. Rather than use a fluorescent bulb, Waarmakers opted to instead use an LED tube that creates no heat, allowing for wood to be used for the body of the fixture. Small touches, like including the textural quality of wood in commercial lighting is the kind of detail that can humanize generally unconsidered, mediocre spaces.