Definite and Infinite
"People often advice you to choose him (Charlie Sutherland) for radical ideas and global conventional fees"
The talk started off with a brief introduction of Charlie Sutherland, introducing him not only in the field of architecture, but also the education field.
"Definite and infinite in the architecture point of view is between the real and unreal, and of course, we have to imagine a project, before it becomes real" mentioned Sutherland in his lecture.
From dictionary, definite means clearly defined whereas infinite means ambiguous and unlimited.
Definite and infinite, according to this lecture, i would define definite is what you see, what is built whereas infinite is the narrative behind every project itself and his endless trials to cope with different site context, as architecture has no limit.
An Turas, on the island of Tiree
This structure is designed as a 'shelter' for those intending to board the island. An Turas is made from three distinct sequential parts - a white walled corridor providing shelter and open to the sky and rain - a black, dark open ended box providing shelter from the light but with slats on the lower sides allowing the rocks below to be seen - and finally a reflective glass cube where, in silence, the visitor is offered wide views across Gott Bay. It is both a building and an art work, a landmark and a symbol.
What we see:
it seems to be a minimalist architecture. Once described by one islander as 'two walls and a telephone box with no phone'
Story behind:
It reflects the qualities of the island, the big sky and horizon, the white beaches, the monochromatic black houses dotted over the land -all distilled as a line in the landscape. Besides, the three sequential parts are built differently for a reason, not just for the aesthetic purpose.
The Love Shack-artist house on the shore of Lake Windermere
It is a RIBA award winning conservation project on a steeply sloping wooded copse by the edge of Cunsey village. The proposal is a replacement for the existing dwelling on the site which is of modest scale and accommodation, providing a compact retreat for two people. The existing cabin's 1960’s interior was intact when the client bought the property in 2003 but the cabin’s structure was very decayed. It was also used as a set of horror film by the film-maker, Steven Shell in 2006!
What we see:
A wooden cabin which offers direct rail connections to the Scotland -London main line. This means the journey for many will involve disembarking from Windermere station, a lazy ferry across the lake to Cunsey, from which it is a short walk to the entrance gatehouse of the shack.
Story behind:
Framing the precious views such as the views of Lake Windermere as well as private woodland, and more intimate ‘Zen’ views of moss and rocks closer to the house as the main design intention of this project. Besides, sustainability is achieved by reducing the carbon footprint and using sustainable materials. For instance, carbon footprint is reduced by using the local timbers and sedum roof is used both for environmental stability internally and to reduce the carbon footprint of the building.
Xi Ling National Park, at Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Xi Ling national park is a master plan project to establish the National Park and its surrounding area as a major tourist attraction, whilst promoting a clear framework for the preservation of a vital natural ecosystem of national and international importance.Future expansion on the master plan is requested by the client and it is a gentle architecture which respects the scale of the historic street pattern.
Picture above shows the gateway design by Charlie Sutherland and Charlie mentioned its a gateway of culture, which preserve and blend into the site surrounding context.
Besides these projects, Charlie also adapts and respects other sites' context in other projects such as Chengdu City museum, the LA Beach house, the Edinburgh Sculpture workshop and etc. He analyses the site, adapt and make use of every site. Behind every projects, they have their own narrative story either on the beauty of the landscape, the local materiality, the light or etc. Another thing that Charlie impressed me is that he has a DEFINITE reason for everything he designed, Everything is designed with a reason, nothing could be designed without a reason.
