oxo arc

Infinity ∞ (meaning, we do a process of think tank discuss and design as a loop), could be used and implemented in another term with a small change in the loop).

Back and ward <> (meaning, we play together with client, media and site to influence each other progress and process).

Twist 8 (meaning, our output, and residue, product either in architecture or other fields are twisted or transformed of its site culture, philosophy or site behavior)

Evolution § (meaning, our design area are going to grow up and still in the process of being transformed)

Incubator 0 (meaning, we are a place which likes to experiment with hybridize a new model and do research as a supplement to support and theorize every projects)

Process X (meaning, every output of design is an impact of a long term discussion and experiment. Residues of the design process are an option of a model before the last design)

The Principle

oxo is research and experimental based office. It focuses on exploring the fundamentals of architecture through contemporary epistemological and ontological speculation. Consistently conducting mass studies, interiorities, ground, aperture, and surface articulation – in particular, how these architectural elements can be broken down and arranged into resistance to each other. We call this a Flat ontology architecture, where the architecture is made of the same discrete but different entities.

Our method is based on creating models, or specific three-dimensional entities that precede exposure to contingencies of program or site. They are a Catalyst from the world we are exist (reality) as their own worlds (fantasy); we use the term “models” both in terms of physically constructed entities, and in terms of ways of seeing the universe. Models that most fascinate and inspired us are almost ancient, figures such as jacks, crystals, and ziggurats, near-figures, objects inside objects, misfit objects, loose-fit enclosures, and influenced by the nature, the art and the design of the present. The principle of movement is found, for example, in the characteristic movement of water, or in the natural formation of clouds. Topographical inspirations are, in addition to all landscape forms, cloud landscapes and shapes, as well as canyons and icebergs or even crop circles and geoglyphs.

Ground in our work is treated as architecture, not landscape. Our architecture does fuse with or otherwise disappear and appear into ground, therefore term of symbiosis is used as modelling strategies such as mutualism, commensalism, hovering, nesting on a hole, or deferring landing via a ground object. Entry, rather than a smooth transition from outside to inside, becomes a strategy for leaping between separate worlds.

Our work attempts to move beyond generalizing building skin logics such as panelization towards specific figuration. Like traditional pattern, ornament, tattoos on the body, figuration on building skins can simultaneously interact as a form itself or with underlying form, but also deviate from it, creating unexpected scale effects and links between architectural objects. As if an Artefacts, a Temple, or Geoglyph.

The Forms language

Based on research within our studies showed that the architectural style of my country has a dynamic character, the style consists of three principles that we choose here, namely, the morphology, the topography, and the geometry.

• The Morphology
  The architecture in each province explains the influence of the culture of the trunks, the manifold character of the nature (for example, the branch of the trees, the colors of the skin, and the feathers of the creatures) in the architectural form. This influence is realized in the facade, the ornament, and the coloring of the architecture. (e.g., the architectural style of the tribes on the islands in Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Papua)
• The Topography
  A relationship of the forms with the character of nature as well as the relation between the space programs with the topography of the environment. In my culture, the forms are implemented on the shape of the roof, it usually imitates the shape of the environment, and at the openings of the architecture, always opening the garden or the vegetation. The room program is actually a continuous room plan that has no proper barrier or division. The adaptability of architecture in nature is supported by the colors and textures of the materiality.
• The Geometry
  The geometry of traditional architecture in Indonesia forms a Euclidean geometry in the main form, with differential geometry in the ornaments and in the particular roof. Besides, the structure is always separated from the architectural covering. The structure itself is the aesthetics that always symbolizes something (for example, a belief, a mystical creature, or a mystical place.) And will always receive a main consideration, not only as a structure of the building, but also as a filling totem. The totem where the spirit of the god is sitting in the building.
• The Motion
  Motion in relation to architecture is understood as a topic in art and biology. In art, the motion is seen as a gradual movement of a thing from one place to another. (e.g., the motion photographs of the water). In biology, the motion stood as morphisms of form. (For example, the changes of the rectangle to an oval).

The Forms language

The methodology of our architectural designs consists of two main principles.

The relationship of the architecture to its environment, both to the neighboring buildings as well to the entire city planning (environment).
The content of the architectural design itself, which signals the architectural character.

The resulting architectural language is thus influenced by the regional nature, the history of the Location, regional culture and its assets. This methodology works not only in the Theory of the design process, but also in their implementation (architectural form), in order to coincide with the location merge.

The study of the architecture in connection with its location helps both to combine the architectural program with the spatial arrangement, as well as for its integration into the existing environment, through the symbiosis of the architecture with the history of the site and its culture.

The Content

The content of our architectural design is influenced by four main topics:

• The Program
• The Formal Language
• The Material
• The Sustainability

The architectural program is based on the specifications of the building plot, the arrangement of the room program inside and outside the building and the orientation of the building to its neighboring buildings, as well as its location.

The formal language consists of the following three elements of architecture: the form itself, the surface and the structure. The references of the three elements can be found in the location: the movements of water, air and clouds, topography (geography), morphology (biology) and geometry (mathematics).

The material in this methodology consists of the following core groups: hard and flexible, as well as transparent and opaque materials. These are used and combined simultaneously for the outer or inner architecture.

Sustainability focuses on building performance to produce, use and regenerate energy. The corresponding components for energy production are integrated into the architectural design. Sustainability does not only refer to the energy consumption of the building itself, but also to an intelligent orientation of the building to the sun and organization of the space program in order to utilize the existing potentials for saving energy.

oxo arc’s Team

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