Page 129 - AIT0316_E-Paper

Vor allem in den großen, landhausartigen Bauten – im Bild die Häuser Straub senior, 1955–1956, und Dr. Gilliar in Nabburg, 1966–1968 – wurden die freitragenden Stahltreppen ins Obergeschoss zum prägenden Gestaltelement.

intended to enable as great a variety of activities and perspectives as possible, Lee element between the various levels. The filigree, self-supporting steel staircase up to the
wanted to make it possible for his clients to develop as human beings. He understood upper level – in many cases a design by Günter Ssymmank – became a characteristic
living to be a deliberate act for which the house provides a stage. The mental develop- design element particularly in large country-home like buildings.
ment of the human being, as in the 20th century it also became a theme in the arts (for
instance for Vassily Kandinsky) or in music (for example in jazz which Lee loved very Freedom in attachment, unity in diversity
much) was to be enhanced by the house. The free design of the layout with merging
rooms could, however, only be achieved with self-supporting constructions. In the case The integration of human beings into nature and the cosmos as intended by Lee is a
of many houses, it was the structural engineer and bridge builder Christian Sättele, a holistic approach which is equally found in the new trends in the Western World at the
life-long friend of Lee’s, who shaped the constructions of the roofs into light-weight sup- beginning of the 20th century as it is found in Taoism, for instance. The “book of
porting frameworks resting only in a few places on columns or walls. What is material changes” accompanied Lee all his life. He combined the thoughts of the East with the
(the construction) is subordinate to the concept for the interior. In this process, in many liberating technologies of the West. “Freedom in attachment” was one of his mottos.
cases the roof forms a landscape folded in different directions with various views of the The combination of opposites as expressed in the symbol of yin and yang was one of
surroundings and changing illumination. The roof becomes the characteristic element his concerns. From this idea also derives his motto: “Unity in diversity”. He wanted to
of Lee’s buildings which, in most instances, generously spans the living area and forms express the diversity of life while being aware of the integration into the whole ensem-
a roofscape consisting of different components with various orientations and inclines. ble. Thus Lee tried to take into consideration the special features of the respective loca-
With its often large projections, it produces interrelationships between the house and tion of his buildings. Apart from the open and predominantly oblique-angled layouts,
the surroundings. It covers outside areas in front of the house, emphasizes various also characteristic of his designs is the strong interlocking of the buildings with their
views and makes different lighting conditions possible inside the building. For Lee, the closer and wider surroundings. In the case of most building and already from the first
roof was a symbol of the sky which, on the one hand, offers protection and a feeling of thoughts about the design, Lee for this purpose worked closely with landscape archi-
security and, on the other hand, opens in various directions. In designing his buildings, tects such as Hermann Mattern, Adolf Haag and Hannes Haag. In many buildings, the
Lee aimed for a holistic experience. All the senses were to be equally stimulated. Each inside and the outside merge, the interiors correspond to areas in the garden.
and every element of his buildings was used for purposes of design in order to increase
the quality of experience through material, lighting and shadowing, colouring and plas-
ticity. Façades were enlivened so that, depending on the incidence of light and the posi- Die von Michael Koch kuratierte Ausstellung „Chen Kuen Lee. Hauslandschaften.
tion of the sun, a different impression was created. Windows were shaped in highly dif- Orga nisches Bauen in Stuttgart, Berlin und Taiwan“ ist noch bis zum 24.03.2016 in
ferent ways; balcony parapets were shuttered with different inclines, curves and angles. der ifa-Galerie Berlin (Linienstraße 139/140, 10115 Berlin) zu sehen. www.ifa.de
In addition, for many of his projects Lee himself designed the interior furnishing. Thus
numerous designs were created for furniture, lighting and other installations. However, Der Ausstellungskatalog „Chen Kuen Lee. Hauslandschaften. Or ga nisches Bauen in
these never stood in the focus but served the overall concept for the house. The detail Stutt gart, Berlin und Taiwan“ ist im Stuttgarter Kraemer Verlag erschienen. Heraus ge -
was subordinate to the big picture. Yet Lee never resorted to a popular quaint language, geben vom Institut für Auslands bezie hun gen (ifa). Mit Texten von Eva-Maria Bark -
there are no elements of Chinese folklore such as paper lanterns or pagodas. The stairs, hofen, Valérie Hammerbacher, Eduard Kögel, Mi chael Koch, Iris Lenz und Wen-Chi
on the other hand, fulfilled an important function in the open living spaces as a linking Wang. 176 Seiten. 18,5 x 24,5 cm. Softcover. 28,00 EUR. ISBN 978-3-78281-618-2

AIT 3.2016 • 129