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WorkVitamins Publications are thematic books related to the design of work environments. Most books on offices and their design fall into two categories. The first are coffee table books filled with glossy colour pictures of offices. These pretty pictures reveal little to nothing of the process behind the design. The second type of books contain advice for facility managers, focussing on the changing business environment and how work environment needs to adjust accordingly. However, the latter type of book is outdated the moment it hits the bookshelves as their subject is as irregular as the playing methods used by the Dutch National Football team. The WorkVitamins publications aims to fill this gap of design and more importantly the process behind the design of work environments. Each issue will be on methodologies and processes rather than presenting finished products.
First published in Japan in 2015 Edition of 50. All drawings by Martin van der Linden. Copyright © 2015 by Martin van der Linden All rights reserved. No part of this publication etc…etc… The publisher and contributors etc… otherwise bad karma
Orandajima House Sketches From late March 2011, almost immediately after the tsunami hit the coast of the North of Japan, I started sketching ideas for what after three years, eventually would become the Orandajima House. This booklet documents this process. The sketches below have been scanned from the 16 sketch books that I used during that period. Not all sketches have been included, and although the initial sketches for the first ideas for the project are included in a chronological order, once the lay-out had been more or less fixed the sketches show my design thinking through drawings of mainly the details and material studies of the various areas within the building. Study and final models have been included as well.
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First idea. We started the design of a children’s trauma facility almost immediately after the distaster of 11th of March 2011. The idea of a temporary building was soon abandoned.
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Second idea. Building a children’s facility on private land. The programme still focusses on trauma and relieve but adding a community bathing facility. This programme was abandoned soon as well but some ideas such as the interior courtyard with the tree would survive in the final design.
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Conceptual background. Seeing the destruction on television on the 11th of March 2011, I was thinking of ways to help. I’m an architect and the tsunami destroyed houses, schools… Thus architects are needed to help rebuild. Architecture is after all, at first glance nothing more than a vessel for human activities: working, learning, eating, sleeping. But for me, architecture is more than that. Architecture is about building with light and shadow, materiality, tactility, movement through space. Good architecture is about creating an authentic experience of space. This is what I aimed for, that’s what I searched through these sketches. When designing my hope has always been that the children, and the people of Yamada-machi, the town where this house is placed, would have an authentic, poetic experience of space. I hope by getting this experience my architecture would, in a small way, contribute to the healing. These sketches are demonstrating a process, including it’s failures and unrealised ideas. To see the project completed go here: http://www.vanderarchitects.com/ projects/oranda-jima-house
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Third idea. A children’s after school facility. First intended to be build close to the existing Funakoshi school, but due to technical problems an alternative site was considered. However, due to land ownership issues the final site close to a municipal sport centre was decided upon by December of 2012. The orientation of the building would go through some changes.
Initially we thought of making it a two storey building, but due to regulations and budget constraints a single floor building made the most sense.
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Various options of the lay-out based on the final position of the building.
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The more or less final lay-out of 27th January 2012
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Landscaping and garden ideas.
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Exterior detailing
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Interior details
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