This building is designed after the Hanshin earthquake in 1995. it is a 4 story building with 4×4  dimensions. house is encased in concrete. The bedrooms are located on the middle floors, and the kitchen and living room are located on the top floor. It is placed in this order not without meaning. It could be said it is an example of Jataku houses. The design of the last floor is a 4×4 cube that is off-centered by 1 meter towards the water. After the first one is built the neighbor asked Ando to build one for him, so Ando designed the same house but it is made with different materials.

I really like how the house looks like it has a modern feel and same time it feels like there is not a lot of room. I would like to visit the building if I have a chance and look out into the ocean from the top floor. 

I visited this beautiful place in 2011, was able to witness the changing of the guards. My unit was in Poland training Polish Soldiers and Officers before we left for a mission to the border of Turkey and Syria. We were able to get a day off and bus to downtown Warsaw. The Architecture there was amazing but what made the place even more unique was some of the old buildings still showed damage from the bombings of WWII. It was like being able to see the past right in front of you.

The tomb itself is no bigger than approximately 30X50 and guarded at all times. Watching the Guards move about the space with perfection and completely in step. For any military person spending time with the remains of someone who never made it home is always emotional, and for them to never be identified makes it that much harder. It was an emotional visit but worth every second I got to stand next to this monument.

Located in Nada-Ku Kobe, Japan, The museum was built to commemorate the city that was destroyed by the earthquake Tadao Ando wanted to show the city’s relationship with the sea, and the museum is designed with durability in mind. Tadao wanted a durable design because of the earthquake that happened prior, which isn’t like his usual project prior to this. The museum is built on a white polished granite platform with three glass box each encasing a box of concrete. The space between each concrete box is a place to look out to see the scenery. In between, one of the boxes is a circular staircase that goes down and allowing natural light in. The interior has a minimalist design. With a small variety of materials, Tadao uses the material and light to make sure the art is in a perfect setting.

The church is built in 1989, located in the city of Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, and it is designed by Tadao Ando. The structure is made mostly out of wood and concrete, concrete is used to reinforce the walls and the wood is used to make doors, tables, and flooring.  The 15-inch concrete call is used to “zone oneself within society”. When Tadao Ando designs buildings he usually incorporates zen philosophies in this work, so he expresses the dual nature of existence. Using the light and the solid as a contrast. 

I find this building interesting because when the funds ran out Tadao decide to design the church without a roof but with the help of the people that are devoted to the church and the construction company, he was able to raise enough funds to finish the building with a roof. It shows that architecture needs to be flexible and be conservative with its design because funding is one of the big factors that can’t be overlooked. 

Earlier this year (2021), Jean Nouvel won an international design competition to build an opera house in Shenzen, China.  The proposal was named, “The Light Of The Sea”.  The Shenzen government held the competition for a “world-class palace of art” to be the most important of a project that will include 9 other cultural landmarks.   The new Shenzhen Opera House will cover 220,000 square meters and include an opera hall, concert hall, operetta hall,  a multi-function theater, and other spaces for it’s functionality.  Nouvel commented, “Architecture is already a song. Architecture is an interpretation. Of a song that evokes the poetry of a place, a song that pervades that place, an echo.”

Inside of the main foyer in the proposed structure, a nacreous material will simulate the bright lustrous effects of mother-of-pearl.  Externally, the new Opera House appears to be be inspired by the waves of the sea.   Nouvel commented on his design, “At Shenzhen, then, inside as well as out, the twin image of mother-of-pearl shell and wave will open on to the ever changing light of the sea.”

The Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, France, was completed in 1987.  (English:  Arab World Institute or AWI.)   The AWI was designed by a collaboration of  Jean Nouvel and the Architecture-Studio.   It was a non-religious building to honor the relationship between Arab culture and France.  (The Great Mosque of Paris was completed in 1926.)  The AWI houses permanent collections and temporary exhibits of Arab art and culture, a restaurant, library, and an auditorium. There are 240 of these aperture tiles on the building.  If you look closely at the first picture, there are 10 tiles high and 24 tiles in length.  The apertures are motor controlled, and operate throughout the day to increase and decrease light in the building.  They also help to regulate the temperature inside the building.   The structure rises up to 11 stories high.  On top, there are terraces on which one can dine and enjoy the views over the Seine River.

At first glance, it appears to be just another brown building on the docks in Le Havre, France.  However, Jean Nouvel, who won a Pritzker Architecture Prize, reinvented the concept of a public pool.  When one enters the $29 million Les Bains des Docks aquatic center, it is a world of white surroundings and inviting pools. Jean Nouvel and his team limited reverberation in the aquatic center, to limit the echos that frequently accompany pools. 

Inside, the complex houses 12 pools, which include external pools, heated pools, whirlpool, sauna, an Olympic sized pool, a cafeteria, and more.  Besides the pools, the complex also contains a dry cardio fitness area and a children’s play area.   Les Bains des Docks is open year round, and offers a place to swim in heated pools in the winter. 

Jean Nouvel is a French Architect who took inspiration for the designing of the National Museum of Qatar from a mineral formation called “desert rose”. The rocks tend to develop in arid sandy conditions.   A desert rose is formed from either gypsum or baryte crystals.  The petals are crystals, allowing the rock to appear to bloom.

The museum’s courtyard encircles Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani’s original palace.  Together, the museum and the restored palace will display a rich cultural history for generations in the future.  The eye-catching waterfront museum cost $434 million.

Heidelberg Castle located in Germany was the first Castle that I visited when I moved to Germany. I Had never seen an actual castle before and the experience is something that I will never forget. As you walk up the steep slopes paved with large cobblestones you have to be attentive to every step you take. We took the tour throughout the castle I was mesmerized by the wooden trusses and large archways, it was elegant, foreign, and I had never seen anything like it. As the tour continued, I was surprised at some of the narrow hallways as it seemed it was built for smaller people than we have today. The outside walls can be seen deteriorating with their jagged and worn shape. Although many walls have been restored some of the walls remain worn and you can see how the rock has fulfilled its test of time. There are hundreds of castles around Germany and surrounding countries that all have their unique charm and defensive strategy for where they were built but the Heidelberg Castle always stands out to me as it was the first one I visited.