I'm home (NEWS / ENGLISH)

On May 21st, 2007, the event, "World of Calvin Klein" was held in front of Meiji-Jingu-Gaien Seitoku Kinen Kaiga-Kan in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo. This was a one-night event, held in a building with a "home" theme, to introduce Calvin Klein's '07 autumn/winter collection. Calvin Klein is expanding upon its fashion line to include items related to lifestyle. Therefore, "World of Calvin Klein" was an event dedicated to giving the public a better understanding of Calvin Klein brand by showcasing "fashion" and "architecture" together.
An architect, Shinichi Ogawa, was appointed and created a space for the event that was consistent with the minimalist, simple, and modern aesthetic of Calvin Klein's image. He constructed a space that was white in color, and used horizontal and perpendicular lines.
"World of Calvin Klein" was held in a glass-walled one story building so that the collection could be viewed from all angles. Ogawa used the biggest sized glass to avoid blocking the view of the audience. Dimensions of the glass were finally decided to be 36m x 6m x 3m, taking into consideration the presence of the art museum in the background. Within this glass-walled building, 6 different areas were laid out, including a living room and special room. By locating only 36m walls on the north side and the south side, the planning was made to be connecting each space as much as possible with minimal partitions. This event was one night only so the method of relocating a prototype which was constructed prior to the event was applied.
In the minimal glass-walled box with a glorious building in the background, amiable and relaxed parties are held in the dining and the living rooms. In the bedrooms, models were individually spending their relaxed time reading books. The table wares on dining tables and bed linens that stress straight lines are the ones of "Calvin Klein Home". This season's "Calvin Klein collection" consists of chic color and lean line. 20 models wore those elegant clothes. Fashion and architecture are the same in terms of internalizing people. Ideal lifestyle that Calvin Klein puts up, tells us the true meaning of high-quality life.

Architect : Shinichi Ogawa & Associates

Niigata city is a part of the Koshinetsu district in Niigata prefecture, and faces the Japan Sea. The Hasegawa Residence is a renovated apartment that is about a 20-minute drive from the center of the city. The owner of the residence is a lumber dealer who runs an interior design shop. He asked furniture and product designer Makoto Koizumi to design his residence. Since working together over the years, Hasegawa and Koizumi have developed a good, trusting relationship with one another.
Hasegawa has lived in his apartment for the last 10 years. Before renovating, each room of the apartment was divided by walls, giving the space a dark and closed impression. In order to create a more comfortable space, Koizumi established an 660 mm clearance gap in between the ceiling and the wall, making the entire residence breezy and light. Moreover, to avoid mildew on the windows (caused by strong winds from the ocean and the severe cold in the winter), heat insulation material was set up on the exterior walls. The windows were also changed to double-glazed glass with an empty space in between the two pieces of glass. A panel heaters was installed to accommodate the owner's initial wishes.
The living and dining rooms, in order to create a more relaxing atmosphere, have a muted color palette, and are made with walnut wood. The "core" of these rooms is the 3m-long dining table, designed by Koizumi, and made with one solid wood panel of Japanese red pine purchased by Hasegawa more than 10 years ago in Yoshino city, in Nara prefecture.

Architect : Koizumi Studio

Cape Schanck is a one and a half hour-drive south of Melbourne, Australia. It is a resort, located in an area filled with nature amid a rocky, undulating landscape. In 2002, Paul Morgan, a prominent architect in Australia, purchased approximately 1,122m2, of land, upon which many tea trees grow wild, and built a weekend home for himself and his sister, Anne.
Because Cape Schanck is near the shoreline, it receives cold wind from the South Pole, but the sun still shines brightly. To maximize efficiency of the site he was to build his house on, Paul meticulously measured wind direction, wind pressure, and sunlight. Using these measurements, he constructed a model of the wind flow on his computer, and based on the results of the data he collected, Paul decided to make his home into a T-shaped building. One of the main points of interest of this house is the "Bulb Tank" located in the center of the living room. This tank holds four functions: it acts as a reservoir of rain water to later be used for daily life purposes, it provides structural support for the roof, it functions as a cooling system by helping lower the temperature of the living room, and finally, the "Bulb Tank" is a symbol of Paul's home. In addition to the "Bulb Tank", there is a piece of equipment installed on the outside wall of the house called the"Wind Scoop", which shuts out the strong afternoon sunlight that pours into the house, and at the same time, functions as a device that tracts the wind and leads it into the house, cooling it. Therefore, by fully utilizing the power of nature, Paul has been able to constantly attain a comfortable room temperature in his home without relying on air conditioners. But perhaps more importantly, Paul has created a residence which harmoniously coexists with nature.

Architect : Paul Morgan

The town of Sorrento is located at the tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Australia. Modern-looking cafes and restaurants line the coastline of Sorrento, which is located in the center of the Mornington beach resort. A bit inland of Sorrento, upon a hill, stands landscape designer Fiona Brockhoff and her family's weekend home. Fiona's garden is right next to Mornington Peninsula National Park. On the other side of the garden, with no border separating the two, lies Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait. Fiona was committed to emphasizing the beautiful view this landscape had to offer. When she purchased this plot of land in 1995, there were no houses. Instead, there was nothing but a forest of tea trees (Leptospermum laevigatum). So first, the land was flattened with a power shovel. Fiona asked her acquaintance and Sydney architect, Thomas Isaksson, to design the house. Thomas agreed to design the house in a way that would use solar energy, and therefore be environmentally friendly. Indoor walls made of limestone were extended to reach the terrace and therefore accentuate the linkage between the outside and inside of the home. Garden constructor, David Swann, who is also Fiona's partner, constructed this limestone wall. The limestone for the wall was excavated in the Sorrento area. Both the designing and landscaping of the house took place simultaneously.
Fiona's garden utilizes the different levels of landscaping. A number of different areas to entertain were created, including a terrace to enjoy barbecues, a cottage for guests, and a garden complete with swings and slides for children, all of which are surrounded by various plants. Highlighting the garden is an art piece, which rests on a hill, and was created by New Zealand artist Chris Booth. Fiona selected 1,639 kinds of plants that now grow wild in the garden area. Moreover, she arranged topiary of swamp oak (Allocasuarina verticillata), which stand approximately 1.5 m tall, but usually grow to be 5 - 8m tall. Fiona varied the plants of her garden to give each area a very distinct feeling. She also studied Sorrento's native ecosystem and topographic background to help design the landscape with her own style, while still managing to maintain the authenticity of the plant's original habitat.

Landscape : Fiona Brockhoff