Like wings that spread towards the future Yasutaka YAMAZAKI
Architecture today, especially large-scale architecture is varied and complex in its context as well as in its content. More than ever, the "raison d'etre" (the "in-der-Welt-sein") of architecture is being tested and tried. Architects are now required to give ample consideration to what they are going to build based on various perspectives - nowadays traditional logic and concepts do not suffice any longer.
The main feature of this issue of "Space Modulator" is the Lufthansa Aviation Centre (LAC) in Frankfurt which was designed by a German architect Christoph INGENHOVEN and which is attracting a lot of attention. In this centre, Ingenhoven clearly demonstrates the new concept of architecture.
Though the Lufthansa Aviation Centre has a very huge total space with more than 120,000 square meter and it is cleverly designed in order to ease communication between the people working there. As a result, a number of friendly meeting areas sprouted. Although the centre is located right by the side of the busy international airport, the crowded network of motorways and the high speed trains (ICE), Ingenhoven managed to create a comfortable space with ample natural light, sustainability and minimum consumption of fossil fuel.
The design of the LAC draws the attention in particular because of the interior theme gardens - herein called "winter gardens" - and because of its transparent facades. Through the facades, people in the building can see various outdoor sceneries around the LAC, for example, aircrafts, the forest, Frankfurt's skylines and further in the distance, the Taunus hills.
His idea was made possible as a result of careful planning and close cooperation with specialists from various fields of architecture together with a maximum use of high functional glass and engineering techniques, based on theory and experience.
This issue of "Space Modulator" illustrates the charm and the technology of the LAC in details. It also introduces Ingenhoven's latest works and outlines his philosophy.
I hope that you will enjoy this issue and that you will get a better perception of the new wave in architecture.
