Search results for ""Author Niels Gutschow""

Of some 83 Buddhist monasteries in the old city, only three preserve their historical shape without modern encroachments. That the ownership of this monastery is still controlled by the sangha, the monastic community of elders, makes it one of the very few monuments in the city where interventions are even possible.

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The history of the Buddhist monastic courtyard and its objects is presented along with 42 inscriptions, dating from 1596 CE to 2021.

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Text in English, German and Japanese. The architecture of Japan, both historic and contemporary, has attracted architects from all over the world since the early 60s. In search of the 'Japaneseness' of place (ma), space and architecture several dissertations have been written, especially about the Japanese house and rituals, Conservation, however, was largely neglected. Only recently, with the listing of Japanese sites as Unesco World Heritage in 1994 and the Nara conference on authenticity in 1995, has the Japanese approach to conservation emerged as an intriguing issue. The practice of dismantling and reconstructing complex timber structures represents an essentially Japanese approach. Moreover, the refined documentation and structural research prior to any intervention are much admired by the international conservation community. The articles for this publication were prepared in the context of a Japanese-German co-operative programme in architectural and urban conservation in 1996-98. For the first time ever a Western publication attempts to portray the Japanese practice of repair -- hozon -- of historic structures. Detailed photographic documentations demonstrate the beauty of timber structures that are otherwise concealed by roofs and walls. It also becomes evident that an architectural object is not an entity that is defined once and for all, but an object that allows for change. Documentations of ongoing projects, with emphasis on the Fudo-do on the sacred mountain of Koyasan, explain and justify various kinds of interventions that are aimed at structural reinforcement and disaster prevention.

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Text in English & German. The ongoing paradigm change in regard to the use of energy, its efficient usage and the consumption of resources is giving rise to new light systems and lighting appliances. This development might also lead to the use of light as a building material in its own right, comparable to traditional building materials, making it possible to create light space productions something that did not seem feasible up to now due to the high cost of energy and of light systems. The goal of this book is to develop temporary light spaces that re-interpret the existing urban environment on a seasonal basis or over a cycle of several years. As a result, the city will literally appear in a new light. Strollers in the city streets will experience their familiar environment in a new way. Illuminated planes interlacing with planes made by linear fields of light beams will create immaterial material space experiences: still lifes of light within which one can move about and light choreographies that move barely noticeably, creating still lifes in motion. Current research aims at exploring, imagining and inventing stand-alone spatial structures of light, adding on to and transforming existing spaces, creating a new spatial awareness that may enable people to experience urban space in a different way. Similar to the process of architectural design, where haptic built volumes create interspaces, the light spaces that are currently being designed make these interspaces visible and allow urban dwellers to experience unexpected spatial constellations. In addition to the presentation of light-planning examples in Paris, Shanghai, Helsinki, Mekka and Frankfurt am Main the book includes a number of essays relating to the subject, among them: "Light architecture" (Werner Oechslin), The Potemkin city (Adolf Loos), Glass architecture and letters about glass houses (Paul Scheerbart), Alpine architecture (Bruno Taut), The unvisible cities (Italo Calvino), Architecture must burn (Coop Himmelb(l)au), In search of light (Wolfgang Rang), City light. About the social power of light (Helmut Bien), Light or the loss of darkness (Manuel Cuadra), Visible and unvisible light (Andreas Danler), Light concepts for Frankfurt am Main (Michael Hootz), Light planning for cities in China (Hao Luoxi), City light. An instrument of urban planning (Roger Narboni), Light for the public space (Susanne Seitinger), Sustainable urban lighting (Mark Burton-Page), Borders, places, light (Niels Gutschow), Earth and spirit (Wolfgang Rang). With texts by Michael Batz, Niels Gutschow, Hao Luoxi, Roger Narboni, Werner Oechslin, Wolfgang Rang and others.

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