architecture landscape sculpture
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breathing forest

breathing forest

Breathing_Forest_Tonkin_Liu_London_Apartment

breathing forest
an enfilade of rooms on a rooftop,
surrounded by the dappled light of a forest,
that glows, warms, and cools the rooms

 

RIBA London Award 2010

 
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Breathing_Forest_Tonkin_Liu_London_Apartment_2
 

Breathing Forest grows out of the attic floor servant quarters of a grade II listed 1928 Beaux-Arts mansion block in Marylebone, London. The apartment is composed of two main oak-panelled rooms that look out onto a 45-metre long terrace.

 
 
 
Breathing_Forest_Tonkin_Liu_London_Apartment_terrace
 

Fixed objects in each room signify a primary function. The refectory has a kitchen island, a dining table and an octagonal study desk with corresponding skylights to bring in natural daylight and elevate the importance of the domestic rituals. The salon, a place for reclining, has horizontal sliding panels with horizontal grain, opening on to rooms for sleeping.

 
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Inhabitable apertures link the main rooms to the terrace. These alcoves are lined with white powder-coated aluminium panels, perforated with a forest of trees. From behind the perforations computer-controlled vents open and close to cool the apartment, panel heaters create warmth, and lights illuminate the breathing forest at night.

 
Breathing Forest Apartment Plan
Breathing Forest Apartment Section
 
 
Breathing_Forest_Tonkin_Liu_London_Apartment_skylight
 

client roach and partners
location london, uk
status completed 2010
structural engineer price & myers
m&e engineer archineers
lighting tonkin liu