Hot & Wet by Erik L’Heureux
Erik L’heureux is a Singapore-based American architect. He is also an associate professor and program director at the National University of Singapore. His research involves the hot and wet envelopes and the urbanization of the Singapore Metropolitan Region.
During the PAM talk, his topic, “Hot and Wet”, is actually to express hot and wet envelopes that he generated from his research. Singapore is a hot and wet country as its tropical climate. It presentation started off with his research of the dense use of air-conditioner in Singapore and the impact created by the invention of air conditioner to the economy development of Singapore. It is quite interesting to know these facts to think that Singapore first prime minister as realizing the importance of air conditioner to a constantly hot and humid country. He found that air conditioners could boost productivity of workers in his country and encourages the use of air conditioners.
However, the use of air conditioner in Singapore is overly high as it is an urban city and one of the most developed countries in the world with skyscrapers built on it. Therefore, Mr. Erik has developed an idea or I rather call it a direction to his architecture. He uses external envelope to increase natural ventilation to the building rather than just rely on air conditioners.
In his projects that he has shown, he uses a lot of digital fabrication on his works. Sun shading devices, walls and also façade decoration. My group has a question on: why does he use so much of digital fabricating on his design? Is it a solution to the hot and wet climate? The question was answered when one of the audience ask his a question on the cost of digital fabrication design. He declared that he uses digital fabrication was due to the common usage of it in Singapore and the convenience of using it and designing it. It wasn’t because of the climate.
This led me to question if it wasn’t because of the climate then, why? He explained that in his design he played a lot with light and shadow and also the penetration of the wind into the building. I do really like his designs on the penetration of light and casting the shadows into a space. It is all so beautiful. However it seems to me that the design on natural ventilation is very minimal. With the designs he has done I think it still mainly relying on the air conditioners. His projects are mostly buildings wrapped with heavy envelopes on the exterior.
Stereoscopic House /Pencil Office
In this project, Mr. Erik L'Heureux played alot with the light and shadow in the spaces of the building which really amazed me.
We can see from the photos that Mr. Erik uses digital fabricated panels and shapes of the space to play with the light and shadow casting into the space.
His usage of the sun shading panels on the balcony facing to the sea coast.
However, his digital fabricated panels seem to be sun shading device rather than allowing natural ventilation. He did mentioned that his designs are more focused on the poetic essence rather than the climate solution.
A Simple Factory Building / Pencil Office
In this project, Mr. Erik uses digital fabricated veil using lightweight EIFS and a bronze full-height window-wall envelope wrapping around the whole building.
I do think Mr. Erik has archieved the mitigation of tropical solar radiation, and the openness, views, and transparency sought by the clients in a basic industrial typology.
The envelope continue to wrap around the building even the ceiling of the entrance corridor of the factory.
I really do like Mr. Erik design on the balcony. The light casted in the floor and the poetic essence in the space makes the space very harmonic.
A Simple Brick Interior / Pencil Office
Once again, a very poetic work of Mr. Erik L'Heureux. In this project, he uses no common arrangement of bricks to all walls. It not only creates a simple kind of feel but also dramatic at the same time.
The arrangement of the solid bricks bring me back to the design style during the mid-century where they often play with the arrangements of clay brick which is less seen in the modern architecture nowadays.
The arrangement of the solid white bricks creates a moving effect on the vision. It also allows the natural ventilation and penetration of sunlight to happen in the building spaces. The optical effect will reverse at night where the restaurant appears as a glowing lantern, wrapped within the historic and preserved colonial building.
"I don’t believe every project starts afresh, rather, I am interested in cultivating specific approaches to design, especially surrounding ideas of veils, multiple envelopes, and atmosphere."
------ Erik L'Heureux
