ORDOS 100 #5: HHF

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This villa is located in plot #51 of the ORDOS project.

Architects: HHF Architects
Location: Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China
Project Team: HERLACH HARTMANN FROMMENWILER with Nicole Baron, Daichi Takano, Kohsuke Uesugi and Christian Weyell
Design year: 2008
Construction year: 2009
Curator: Ai Weiwei, Beijing, China
Client: Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd, Inner Mongolia, China
Site Area: 1,521 sqm
Constructed Area: 925 sqm

Context and shape of the building

The physical context for the project is limited to climatical conditions and some few regulations by the master plan done by FAKE Design. Within , this project is simply the HHF house. It’s making an issue out of the fact that 99 other architects are simultaneously and independently planning 99 houses with an identical program within the same master plan. The outer shape of the building and the shed roof is directly developed as an embossed writing of the letters HHF, acronym of the architects and name of the office. This logo can only be read from the air or in the model. From the street level the writing is never readable. From the ground, the shape of the roof is rising above the surrounding vegetation, reflecting the diverse light situations and various shapes of the rooms inside the building.

The outside area is planned as an extension of the nearby park. Because of the extreme climatical conditions and the low construction costs, the building is kept as compact as possible.

Construction and technical aspects

section B

To guarantee earthquake protection even with all the empty spaces on the second floor, every floor slab is supported separately. Each of these floor slabs is lying on the central core and on one outside wall, which is going without cease from the foundation to the roof. To stabalize the building, the walls next to the stairs are built as buttress walls. The external wall is a rear ventilated brick construction, whereas the inner wall is a combination of a cast-in-place framework with a brickwork infill. The outer shell is an exposed brickwork within a frame. From the roof the rainwater is brought down in downpipes, located between pilaster strips. ‘The shafts for all technical installations are integrated into the central core. In the basement the pipes are collected in a suspended ceiling, from where they are brought to the installation zone.

section B

In the basement there is also a central air-conditioning for the whole building. The intake for the fresh air is removed from the house and integrated in the garage box. In the house the air is distributed from the core of the building.

 
 
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cam says:

sections are nice, but the HHF shaped roof is utterly thoughtless. Disappointing, really.

 
# December 29, 2008 at 21:38
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scarpasez says:

It’s a house and…a logo? Odd choice.

 
# December 29, 2008 at 22:11
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odris says:

yeah the sections are great…

 
# December 29, 2008 at 22:29
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fino says:

Hm……There was a phase in my studio not too long ago of students playing around with really intricate saw-tooth roofs. They were punished verbally for it because of the lack of attention to…well…..rain. I hope this one can last during a heavy down pour.

That is all.

 
# December 29, 2008 at 22:50
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I actually like the name roof (see smithjosh.com), but the structure looks a bit like a factory.

http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com

 
# December 29, 2008 at 23:38
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sebastian says:

HHF roof, good tag!!!

 
# December 30, 2008 at 07:58
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claude says:

silly!

 
# December 30, 2008 at 08:02
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The cellar is great, the whole concept is great! :D

 
# December 30, 2008 at 10:59
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Alain says:

What a shit !
Could you explain to us what is the interest to do architecture if it s just reproducing something which already exist in any suburbs ? speciffically lost in Inert Mongolia (a inert china part where local culture is erased in a similar way than tibetan culture)
Why architect are so corrupted to never include a political attitude in their answer.
I m sure that Mussolini, Staline even the german monster could be your client, little blind and autist slave architects… never reconsider your position…but you have to know that your reflect in the miror is absolutly repulsive and disgusting…

 
# December 30, 2008 at 11:34
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Amico says:

Like others said, the HHF is thoughtless. But this project is still one of the best of ORDOS…

 
# December 30, 2008 at 13:38
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Frix says:

Monsieur Alain vous devez avoir une sacrée estime de vous meme pour vous permettre d’insulter les gens à chaque prise de position sur ce forum. Votre subversivité est héroïque, Bravo!

 
# December 31, 2008 at 03:57
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Alain says:

sure, frix, but is it an insult to justify that a commission could be suspect…. as architects do we have to refuse it, to accept it naivelly or to find a critical position by the design itself revealing the ambigus condition of the commission itself. A

 
# January 1, 2009 at 06:59
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Amelie says:

Alain and Frix / could you find another child playground to shoot and love you.
About Ordos, it s a very strange situation…the project of Mos-USA seems the best (www.mos-office.net) but again the RSie is a finger touch in the chinese target (www.new-territories.com/ordos%20100rsie.htm)
Have a look, amelie

 
# January 1, 2009 at 09:10
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omran says:

omran ali

 
# January 27, 2009 at 04:41

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