Shigeru Ban "Metal Shutter Houses"
Metal Shutter Houses is one of the last projects of Shigeru Ban Japanese architect known for the Houses of Paper and Paper Church in Kobe, which built on the occasion of the terrible earthquake.
Metal Shutter Houses are few houses in Manhattan, New York, calling attention to its system of motorized metal shutters, which give the possibility to show the building fully closed or open. In addition to blinds, houses also have a folding curtain wall, which makes contact with the outside is completely straightforward.
With this system, the apartments are fully open to the outside, eliminating the barriers between inside and outside, enjoying a truly unusual experience in an urban area like Manhattan so aggressive.
Metal Shutter Houses is a striking and flexible 11 floors building, still under construction, in the modern West Chelsea, a district populated mostly by artists together as to construction of the ICA or the Frank Gehry Block Apartments Crystal Jean Nouvel. It is the first residential project of Shigeru Ban in the United States that explores the relationships between indoor and outdoor space, making new homes in duplex, with a system of motorized blinds, playing with the duality of closed or open, creating a sharp contrast between the two situations.
Each unit consists of a "universal", a continuous space can be divided into smaller, private areas with sliding glass doors. All the homes have white oak flooring, a double height great room, a flexible library / bedroom, a studio and outdoor terrace. The walls are white lacquered furniture is designed in part by Ban.
The ground floor is the entrance hall and an art gallery.
