BY CHARLIE SUTHERLAND

Charlie Sutherland studied Architecture at the Mackintosh School in Glasgow. Upon graduating he joined the office of the late Sir James Stirling and worked on a number of international commissions and competitions. In 1997 He established Sutherland Hussey Architects with his long term colleague, Charlie Hussey, and completed a number of award winning small scale projects all over the UK. Charlie has been a visiting critic and lecturer throughout the UK and Europe America and the far East. He was elected as a fellow to the Royal Scottish Academy for Art and Architecture in 2011 where he is active on a range of committees to promote the links between education and the Academy and was awarded an Honorary professorship at Glasgow University in 2013.

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The title of his lecture during the PAM talk is “BETWEEN DEFINITE AND INFINITE”, showcasing a number of his successful projects that I find is very interesting for young architects to understand and grasp the very essence of definite architecture. He expressed, how behind every design there must be an idea (intangible) and as an architect we must turn that idea into reality (tangible). He talked about a few things on architecture mainly focusing on routes, urban landscaping and mass supported with examples from his previous projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Turas is the result of a collaboration between two of Scotland's most innovatived young architects and a group of artists - a medling of architecture and art. Put in very basic terms An Turas is made from three distinct sequential parts - a white walled corridor providing shelter and open to the sky and rain - a black, dark open ended box providing shelter from the light but with slats on the lower sides allowing the rocks below to be seen - and finally a reflective glass cube where, in silence, the visitor is offered wide views across Gott Bay. At various stages along its length the structure abstracts the natural elements in diverse ways, providing the visitor with an ever-changing experience.

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The visual richness and flatness of the landscape, enormity of the sky, and sound, touch and smell of the elements, and the composition of the surfaces below our feet were particularly noticeable

 

He said that it was a shelter and also more of an “artwork” to him. I think it is very important in architecture for us to identify and grasp the surrounding of a place and incorporate into our design as it will have a more meaningful value to it.

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The LoveShack

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For this project he mainly express about the “journey” from the city and into the woods and all the way up to the shack. The Shack, as a sustainable holiday location, offers direct rail connections to the Scotland -London main line. This means the journey for many will involve disembarking from Windermere station, a lazy ferry across the lake to Cunsey, from which it is a short walk to the entrance gatehouse of the shack. A walkway traverses the site to the front door from which you ascend to the living space to discover a view of the secluded and sheltered plateau within the site and from there up to the bedroom culminating in views back out over the lake and the distant views of Blackwell.

 

The materials selected for the building are in sympathy with the surrounding woodland. The main body of the building is clad in vertical timber boarding. Perfectly imitating the surrounding and the building blends into the environment.

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Chengdu Museum

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The New Chengdu Museum sits on the West side of the square and maximises its profile to present a façade of commensurate scale and proportion to embrace and address the huge scale of this new square and establishes a strong formal relationship to it by forming a simple enclosing rectilinear profile. The building further enjoys and celebrates  this relationship to this monumental public space  by extending an internal promenade of public foyers and circulation behind the entirety of the veiled façade addressing Tian-Fu Square.

 

Sutherland, highlights on how he took elements from the chinese culture into his design and the reason behind the carved out or subtraction part on the left part of the building was for the public to easily access the Square. Reminding us how important functionality to be incorporated into a design.

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Through the wall materials having the visual contact with user at exterior.Gold colour is used ,because it is the best way to represent the wealthy of china imperial dynasty.

 

Q&A session

 

During this session, he said that materials honestly express, he thinks materials do have a voice in the way we express them and it is also a vital role to the expression of the building.

 

He also mention about when dealing with designing sites in other parts of the world, an architect should be able to allow his skills to be transportable and adapt to a country. It is depended on your intelligence and skill.