By JULIET HUANG
Next Gene-20 is a residential development on the
north-eastern coast of Taiwan with three thematic schemes: transition
lifestyle, village garden and dream land.
All three themes center on the
integration of architecture and nature, with twenty invited architects
designing distinguished residential plots that showcase their personal style.
There are ten international architects, including famous names
such as Zaha Hadid (who was invited as a guest architect), Kengo Kuma, Julien
de Smedt and Graft.
Zaha Hadid’s
showcase, called the “Symbiotic villa”, plays light on function with its curved
pillars. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has portrayed “Ambiguity” with his
voyeuristic structure utilizing sliding bamboo curtains that allow peeks within
the house.
The local architects have kept with the play on nature to fuse
with malleable forms on landscape. “Elf on the Hill” by Taiwan’s award-winning
architect Jay-Wen Chieh is a classification of space that returns to the basic
functions of a house: to separate the public and private sphere from outsiders.
Voted as 2004’s most influential architect, Ray Chen has borrowed from the
fluid lines of the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to create “Floating
Courtyard”. With its shutter-like walls it conjures the sensation of watching
rain within the confines of your home.
The Next Gene-20 exhibition will be in Venice to present the project’s
results and expectations from now till 23 November.
www.nextgene20.com
via Dezeen