Joshua Takaoka Contents

Academic Work Page

House for an Artist, Manchester city centre

Geometry, Space, Structure – The Green – University precinct, Liverpool

Skelmersdale – inner city masterplan & urban intervention

A Reception Centre in Algeciras, Spain

The Contemporary English Country House, Brereton Hall, Cheshire

The Gorton Monastery Village, Matrix & Monument, detailed design

Housing Design, University Precinct, Liverpool

Liverpool Conservatoire, Greenbank park, Liverpool

Thesis – Oslo Diechmanske Public Library, Oslo, Norway

Climate Change Redhill School Worcester

Professional Experience

An extension to a Victorian terrace house in Oxford

Passive house, Kidwelly

Extension to Tan-yr-Alt Nursing Home in Alltewen, Pon-tardawe

New Build Dwelling in Glen Bryn, Parkmill, Swansea

A feasibility study for Wales National Diving Centre in Milford Haven

Competitions

RIBA London Bridge-Inhabited Bridge Competition

Design-It Shelter Competition

Joshua Takaoka

HOUSE FOR A MARTIAL ARTIST

Whichever way you look at it, the house was a central preoccupation for Le Corbusier…Into this work Le Corbusier poured all the fanatical attention to detail, the grandiose sweep of ideas, the restless experimentation and the passionate commitment of which he was capable… The house also occupied a central place in Le Corbusier’s theoretical scenario and cannot be understood out-side it. The dwelling – whether artisan fl at or bourgeois villa - is the primary interface between the individual and the outside world. Tim Benton, ‘Six Houses’ in Le Corbusier, Architect of the Century, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1987.

Designing a house is an apparently simple problem, as we all live in houses and have endless personal experience to draw on when considering the practical issues of the design – yet most architects agree that the house is an incredibly complex challenge that incorporates multiple lay-ers of embedded contradictory consider-ations that are as diverse as the layers of the human personality.

Besides the complexities of accommodat-ing the pragmatic desires of the building’s inhabitants there are other important issues involved in the creation of a spe-cially designed house such as the personal aspirations of the client. He or she knows that it is this most expensive creation that will have to carry the burden of establish-ing their place in the world, conveying messages about their attitudes to wealth, style and status.

“The fi lm strip style was chosen as this illustrated the daily rituals of Bruce Lee linked to programmable space”

Joshua Takaoka

In addition, the architect may wish the design to explore intellectual issues relating to history, technology, society and culture. For this reason the house has often become the centrepiece of a personal manifesto, famous as the most recogni-sable and the purest manifestation of a particular architectural movement – sometimes subse-quently preserved in the same way as a work of art - a physical piece of environmental sculpture that exemplifi es an iconic status.

The task was fi rstly, to defi ne the character, life-style and art of the chosen artist, in this case Bruce Lee was chosen as his strong character, iconic lifestyle and dedication were all strong points. The fi lm strip style was chosen as this il-lustrated the daily rituals of Bruce Lee linked to programmable space.

PRECEDENTS

Precedents, were amongst others, The Kat-sura Villa in Kyoto, Japan, and a Chinese Court-yard villa. It was getting the balance between providing a building that would fi t into an ur-ban setting and a house that turned its back on the street and that was more tranquil.

Joshua Takaoka

THE SITE - MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE

The site context was the centre of Manchester city cen-tre, near the hustle and bustle of the Arndale Shopping Centre. On an end block, between two streets, it provid-ed a unique setting for the martial artist, Bruce Lee.

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka Geometry, Space & Structure - The Green - The University Precinct - Liverpool - Initial Sketches

The precedent was drawn from nature – a tree provided the inspira-tion for the abstract columns. The roof became a fl at plane, that be-came triangular as the structure was located in between the three science buildings in the university: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka

The objective of this project was to be familiar with large-scale structural design and the covering of space.

The task was to design a shelter for an exhibition area of 600m2 which will cater for different types of activity. The site is a fl at site lo-cated on the Liverpool University Campus, known as ‘The Green’.

The use of columns was limited to a maximum of four, and beneath this structure, it was required to ‘hang’ an enclosed exhibition space of approximately 40m3 (with a ramped access for the public) 2.5m from the ground.

The brief was developed, to in-clude a travelling exhibition, so that the exhibition became the shipping container module that is approximately 12m x 2.5m x 3.0m (LxWxH) This meant that the whole structure (steel frame) could be dismantled and re-locat-ed anywhere.

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka

Joshua Takaoka A Contemporary Terrace, Liverpool

Joshua Takaoka A Contemporary Terrace, Liverpool

Joshua Takaoka A Contemporary Terrace, Liverpool

Joshua Takaoka A Contemporary Terrace, Liverpool

Joshua Takaoka A Contemporary Terrace, Liverpool

Joshua Takaoka Redhill School - Adapting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka Redhill School - Adapting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka Redhill School - Adapting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka Redhill School - Adapting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka St. Kentigern’s Academy - Retrofi tting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka St. Kentigern’s Academy - Retrofi tting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka St. Kentigern’s Academy - Retrofi tting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka St. Kentigern’s Academy - Retrofi tting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka St. Kentigern’s Academy - Retrofi tting for climate change

Joshua Takaoka Design Competition: Inhabited Bridge - London Bridge

Joshua Takaoka Design Competition: Design-It Shelter Competition

Precedents & Ideas

The brief was to build a shelter that was to be placed anywhere in the world. It had to be under 100ft2 and have enough room for someone to sleep and study. It was decided to place the shelter in a Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. This provided a place of contemplation. The concept was to include both the rather romantic idea of a tree house, combined with the idea of a Japanese tea house. This provided a place of refl ection and inner contemplation, overlooking the forest and the surrounding countryside. Both a German prefabricated tree house manufacturer and a traditional Japanese tea house were used for inspiration.

Joshua Takaoka Design Competition: Design-It Shelter Competition

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a house in Oxford

Involved a survey, remod-elling and extension to a narrow Victorian terraced house.

The scheme included add-ing a sun room opening towards the garden, open-ing up the kitchen and din-ing space to create a large multifunctional space.

The bedrooms were also reorganised, and the loft space was converted to a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. I was involved in the planning and build-ing regulations stages. The existing Victorian terrace was extremely cramped for the owner.

In terms of design the whole house had many tiny, unusable spaces. It was decided therefore, to extend towards the back garden with an extension with French doors and roof lights to help give the ground fl oor a multi-func-tional, yet zoned area, with kitchen, dining and living spaces.

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a house in Oxford

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a house in Oxford

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a house in Oxford

The loft was also converted to allow for a third bedroom, whilst the fi rst fl oor was remodelled and organised for a more fl owing layout. The whole project was realised on budget, and successfully gave modern spaces in an existing Victorian terrace.

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a house in Oxford

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a house in Oxford

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a Care Home in Swansea

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a Care Home in Swansea

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a Care Home in Swansea

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a Care Home in Swansea

Joshua Takaoka Professional Experience: Extension to a Care Home in Swansea

Joshua Takaoka Passive House, Kidwelly, Camarthernshire, South Wales

Passive House, Kidwelly

Originally, the Passiv Haus idea originated in Germany. The house is supposed to draw all its heating and ven-tillation from renewable sources. This house is (when constructed) the fi rst Passive House in Wales. This combined with features such as the external insula-tion foam and glulam beams, make it truly unique. I was involved in the on-site snagging and helping at the building regulations/construction stages.

Joshua Takaoka Passive House, Kidwelly, Camarthernshire, South Wales

Joshua Takaoka Passive House, Kidwelly, Camarthernshire, South Wales

Joshua Takaoka Passive House, Kidwelly, Camarthernshire, South Wales

Joshua Takaoka Liverpool Conservatoire, Greenbank Park, Liverpool