Park 'N' Play, by Danish firm JAJA Architects (Image: JAJA Architects)

Multi-story car parks are ubiquitous, necessary, and almost always boring. Danish firm JAJA Architectshopes to do something about the latter with its Park 'N' Play project. Located in the Nordhavn area of Copenhagen, it's a multi-story car park that features plenty of parking space, but also some greenery and a kid's playground up on the roof.

JAJA Architects was given the nod to go ahead with Park 'N' Play after the firm won a competition hosted by developers By & Havn. The project is part of a wider scheme to redevelop the local harbor area and features a facade of red-brick concrete and a frieze that depicts major local historic events, in addition to scattered greenery.

While most inner-city multi-story car park staircases tend to have that smell and a distinctly sinister "about-to-get-mugged" atmosphere, JAJA Architects cites Paris' iconic Centre Pompidou as inspiration, and envisions its staircase as an attractive feature that will also offer views of the surrounding area.

The stair's handrails are dubbed the "red thread" and include a continuous bar that leads up to the roof, before twisting into some rather cool-looking playground equipment. There are also benches and viewing points for the grownups.

Park 'N' Play is scheduled to be completed in late 2015.

Sources: JAJA Architects, By & Havn via Arch Daily

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JAJA Architects aims to make car parks a little more interesting

The New Clark: A Conversation with the Architects
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[FR] Pier Solar and the Great Architects - MD [Odysse - Chapitre I]
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Published on August 10, 2014

Japan architects make it big on world stage, not with monuments but with a natural sensibility

TOKYO - A new generation of Japanese architects believes the world has fallen out of love with the 20th century steel and concrete skyscraper. They are pushing a human-friendly alternative that some say has roots in the elegant simplicity of the traditional Japanese tea house.

Instead of pursuing monuments that cry out with a message of economic power, these Pritzker Prize-winning architects are scoring success with a uniquely Japanese reinterpretation of the past.

Unlike their predecessors, who modernized Japan with Western-style edifices, they talk of fluidly defining space with screens and sliding doors, innovatively blending with nature, taking advantage of earthy materials and incorporating natural light, all trademarks of Japanese design.

Their sensibility is also a hit abroad, said Erez Golani Solomon, professor of architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo.

"Food and architecture," said Solomon, stressing how the two are Japan's most potent brands. "They are powerful Japan's strongest cultural identity."

___

Kengo Kuma, one of the star architects, finds he is in demand not only in Japan and in the West but also in places such as China, which has tempestuous relations with Tokyo but now boasts a growing fan base for Kuma's works.

Among the major China projects for Kuma are the recent Xinjin Zhi Museum, whose sloping angles and repeated tile motifs are characteristically Kuma, and the Yunnan Sales Center, a sprawling complex of shops, housing and a theatre, where wooden lattice decorates the main structure overlooking a pond.

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Japan architects make it big on world stage, not with monuments but with a natural sensibility

TOKYO A new generation of Japanese architects is scoring success by reinterpreting the past.

Unlike their predecessors, who modernized Japan with Western-style edifices, they talk of fluidly defining space with screens, innovatively blending with nature, taking advantage of earthy materials and incorporating natural light, all trademarks of Japanese design.

And their sensibility that speaks to a human-oriented yet innovative everyday life is proving a hit abroad, said Erez Golani Solomon, professor of architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Food and architecture, said Solomon, stressing how the two are Japans most potent brands. They are powerful Japans strongest cultural identity.

Kengo Kuma, one of the star architects, finds he is in demand not only in Japan and in the West but also in China.

Among the major China projects for Kuma are the recent Xinjin Zhi Museum, whose sloping angles and repeated tile motifs are characteristically Kuma, and the still ongoing Yunnan Sales Center, a sprawling complex of shops, housing and a theater, where a wooden lattice decorates the main structure overlooking a pond.

He also designs private homes for affluent Chinese who admire Zen philosophy and want to incorporate that stark aesthetic into their daily lives, he said.

Japanese architecture offers warmth and kindness as it is adept in the use of natural light and artisanal craftsmanship, such as bamboo and paper. It is working together like music, to create a comfortable and luxurious spot even in a cramped space, the basic principle of a Japanese tea house, Kuma said.

Its part of our genetic makeup, Kuma told The Associated Press, sitting in his Tokyo studio and pointing with disgust at the vaulting skyscrapers visible from his window.

People all over the world are sick and tired of modern monuments, he said. The desire for the human and the gentle is a backlash to the globalization that brought all these monster skyscrapers.

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Japanese architects embracing tradition

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Home Architects BluffMouintainVideo 8 6 2014
Home Architects Bluff Mountain Lodge animation. Sevierville, Tennessee, USA, in the Smoky Mountains. Home Architects designs custom home architecture across the USA, with a specialty in mountain...

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Architects - Naysayer guitar cover by (HEI LAU)
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By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) - A new generation of Japanese architects believes the world has fallen out of love with the 20th century steel and concrete skyscraper. They are pushing a human-friendly alternative that some say has roots in the elegant simplicity of the traditional Japanese tea house.

Instead of pursuing monuments that cry out with a message of economic power, these Pritzker Prize-winning architects are scoring success with a uniquely Japanese reinterpretation of the past.

Unlike their predecessors, who modernized Japan with Western-style edifices, they talk of fluidly defining space with screens and sliding doors, innovatively blending with nature, taking advantage of earthy materials and incorporating natural light, all trademarks of Japanese design.

Their sensibility is also a hit abroad, said Erez Golani Solomon, professor of architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo.

"Food and architecture," said Solomon, stressing how the two are Japan's most potent brands. "They are powerful - Japan's strongest cultural identity."

___

Kengo Kuma, one of the star architects, finds he is in demand not only in Japan and in the West but also in places such as China, which has tempestuous relations with Tokyo but now boasts a growing fan base for Kuma's works.

Among the major China projects for Kuma are the recent Xinjin Zhi Museum, whose sloping angles and repeated tile motifs are characteristically Kuma, and the Yunnan Sales Center, a sprawling complex of shops, housing and a theater, where wooden lattice decorates the main structure overlooking a pond.

He also designs private homes for affluent Chinese who admire Zen philosophy and want to incorporate that stark aesthetic into their daily lives, he said.

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Japan architects sell a lifestyle on global stage - NBC40.net

Filipino architects are to be commended for their contribution to the Kingdoms development, said Ghazi Al-Abbasi, an architect and secretary-general of the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE). It goes without saying that the contributions of Filipino architects in national development during the past decade is well-recognized, Al-Abbasi said when he recently graced the induction of new officers of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP). The event was attended by some 100 Filipino architects who are UAP members. He added that Filipino architects have participated in the development of various projects in the Kingdom. Mario A. Balboa, an electronics engineer and chairman of the Philippine Council of Engineers and Architects, also delivered an inspirational message. Filipino architects have participated in various global projects so that UAP members could take pride in their talents, he said. Labor Attache Resty Dela Fuente also attended the induction ceremony and also talked on the occasion, noting that architects are one of the key partners in nation-building. The new UAP officers, headed by Clamor Lecitona, were presented by Eldrid B. Refil, 2009-2011 charter president, and inducted to office by Labor Attache Dela Fuente. Asiddin K. Arabain, immediate past president, presented UAPs activities during his term, which included seminars, workshops and social services.

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SCE head lauds achievements of Filipino architects