re-defining spaces

by hardy haberman

I never thought of a furniture store as being an architectural exercise until I visited the showroom of Blu Dot on McKinney Avenue. Once inside I realized that someone had taken what could have been a very conventional furniture showroom space and turned it into something special. That someone was the the architectural team at far+dang.

whose unique ideas and style helped to create the space within a space of the showroom.

“With the exterior building shell having already been designed and under construction by the Landlord and their shell Architectural Team,” said Rizwan, “the backdrop was already locked into place. Working closely on tenant concepts with the wonderful Blu Dot Team, the collective idea emerged of inserting an ‘object’ into the somewhat rigid rectilinear space. Both as a foil to the building shell but also as a method of creating different spatial experiences.”

The showroom creates an undulating space that highlights the contemporary furnishings of Blu Dot. “This variation allows for many different user experiences but with a transparency to the screening material that allows the visitor to always stay oriented.”

The experience at the store led me to explore this firm’s other projects and to see how their design philosophy and creativity play out in real world environments outside the confines of a showroom.

Their residential work is the bulk of their practice and each home has a unique look and feel that is modern and livable. The client’s lifestyles are key to the inspiration for the designs.

“We treat each interior space, even the more day to day mundane spaces, as an opportunity to create something with ritual,” said Rizwan. “For example, getting ready in the morning for work can become a special ritual in a very special space rather than just a chore.”

Get inspired.

One of several residences the firm has designed on Vanguard Way in North Dallas. This enclave of modern homes is a perfect setting for far+bang concepts. When I asked them what their goal was in the concept they responded, “Our goal is always first and foremost to listen to the needs and desires of our client and to understand the parameters, both physical and contextual, of the site.”

“These two things are what inspire us to make the first mark for the design. Our response to the program and the site are critical to how we form and mold the architecture, inside and out.”

The result is a residence that uses a limited footprint to create a very open and expansive feeling interior. The carried size windows create a play of light throughout the house that is cheery and inviting. The clean lines and side gardens allow most of the rooms to have open views of the pool or courtyard making what is a smaller space feel much larger.

This modern on Madera Sreet is in an eclectic neighborhood. Once again the smaller footprint made effective utilization of the space key.

“Fitting in or being contextual has a lot to do with the scale of the building and the scale of the parts. We believe one can do a modern and somewhat minimal home within a neighborhood that is quite eclectic and tradi- tional and still fit in by using the correct scale and proportions.”

The proportions work well as the rooms flow together to create large bright open spaces. A side yard helps tie the design together.

“We have an affinity for long, linear side yards that are useable since that length then allows the long side of the building to capture more views and natural light via a long expanse of windows, said Rizwan. “In this particular case, it made even more sense to situate the home and the yard in this manner since the lot was quite deep; once again, responding to the physical nature of the site.”

Not all of their designs are for urban homes. The resi- dence at Paseo del Fondo is located in the desert near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The goal was to create a home that was integrated into its site and topography as much as is possible. It is one of several residences far+bang designed for the new subdivision. It faced several stylistic restrictions and guidelines. Pushing the boundaries of those towards an honest structure and form, with spaces that connect to the surroundings drove the main decisions.

“The subdivision had many defining and inflexible requirements intended to better work with the natural landscape, but often proved challenging in that and other ways. This included a minimum number of mass volumes and direct requirements on their heights and relation to both one another and the topography. We strove to organize these in a rational way that yielded connections and views that could be as seamless as possible both between the volumes and out to the landscape beyond.”

The home takes full advantage of the landscape and the vistas that define the area.

Rizwan noted, “Nestling the volumes into the site, the circulation towards the views are the glue that connects the interior spaces and allow them to link as one.”

The firm began in 2011 and formed very organically with two friends and former colleagues who possess an in- tense focus on architecture and all things design related. It began as a conversation and blossomed into a fully collaborative practice that aims to remain constantly curious and distinctly adaptive to the present.

“The strength of the practice comes from the fact that we both share some similar backgrounds such as our design education from The University of Texas and our early careers spent at Cunningham Architects but also from our different interests within the many varied areas that our chosen field contains,” said Bang who is also an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington. “We are still a small outfit with a total of five team members engaged in a variety of project types, sizes, and ambitions.”

They may be a small firm, but I suspect they are going to grow and their influence on modern design will continue to be felt as they create spaces for residential and commercial clients.

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faranddang.com