13-03-2014

Ultra-Ruin. Architectural life form by Marco Casagrande, C-LAB.

Taipei, Taiwan,

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Ultra-Ruin. Architectural life form by Marco Casagrande, C-LAB.
“Architecture is not an independent language and architecture does not talk alone. Architecture needs nature to become part of nature”. These words by architect and urban planner Marco Casagrande exemplify his latest project in Taiwan.



Together with C-LAB Casagrande Laboratory, Ultra-Ruin Finnish architect and urban planner Marco Casagrande has designed a wooden residential structure that looks as if it is actually growing from the ruins of an abandoned red brick farmhouse in the jungle of Taiwan.





In this project, like his others (the “Cicada” in Taipeh) Casagrande’s approach, which he defines as “weak architecture” reacts to the site – in this case the combination of jungle, ruins and local knowledge. In other words, his open form design is based on his instincts and sensations rather than any rational approach to creation.





Not surprisingly, he calls the resulting life form an architectural organism. A real life form, infused with the force of its location, turned into a welcoming, friendly haven for humans. A space where people can rediscover nature and remember their roots. A kind of architectural Uroboros that recreates itself and its beginnings, something that starts over on the back of its ruins.



Architect: Marco Casagrande, http://www.clab.fi
Project Manager: Nikita Wu
C-LAB team: Frank Chen, Yu-Chen Chiu
Location: Yangming Mountain, Taipei, Taiwan
Site: ruin of an abandoned farm house and surrounding terraced farms
Interior space: 210 m2
Terrace area: 520 m2
Materials: Mahogany, Zelkova, Camphor, Taiwan Cypress, bronze, steel, stone, brick 
Completed: 2013
Photos: AdDa Zei


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