If you haven’t seen the work of Robert Harvey Oshatz, then you’re in for a huge treat, because he’s our only guest here at Offbeat today. He’s that cool. He gets the whole day. Although really he’s so cool he should get the month. But I digress.

Oshatz has designed many an amazing structure in my home state - Oregon and in other areas as well, as far reaching as Japan. His work is a mix of commercial, residential, religious, and more. What I love is how his work is entirely unique yet somehow manages to fit into the landscape so well - which is crucial I think if we want to preserve the natural environment. We really need to see more often that landscape and structure can ease together.

His design philosophy is really bold. Here’s a clip:

“Except for the basic elements of design composition, dominance, transition, and identity; I stay away from design theories. They seem to be too transitory and irrelevant to my work. Design theories tend to outshine their author’s performance, becoming limiting concepts, prejudicing the mind while tying one’s hands behind one’s back. They are roadblocks to new ideas. While subscribing to a particular theory of design an architect must solve problems within the parameters of that theory; this is limiting at best…

The requirements of architecture are such that I must go beyond what the client understands. There must be surprise, mystery, beauty and delight, elements that make architecture rewarding to its users for a lifetime. This is one of the primary differences between architecture and building. It is the architect’s responsibility to go beyond the mere program and into the realm of what I call the spiritual.”

You should really read Oshatz’s entire design approach though, not simply the clip above. It’s great, very interesting when combined with his work.

I ran into some issues deciding which homes to show. I’ll show two houses today, but narrowing it down to two was very difficult. I love many of his residential works a lot. Being a fan of Oregon in general, I did decide to go with two Oregon homes, which narrowed it down a little.

First up the Wilkinson Residence. This is not a house easily captured in photos. However, it’s lovely and offbeat all the same. Located in Portland the home’s lot is a fast sloping grade which according to Oshatz’s site, “Provided the opportunity to bring the main level of the house into the tree canopy to evoke the feeling of being in a tree house.” The client wanted a home that flowed with the natural environment, and I’m thinking that said client got their wish. Take a look:

It sort of makes you gasp, no? I almost can’t stop looking at it. This next photo is my favorite picture of the home. It’s the entryway, but it resembles a kaleidescope somewhat - like the flow keeps going when you look right at the circles.

还没见过罗伯特·哈维·奥赫兹的作品吗？那你今天就大饱眼福了，因为奥赫兹将作客“不规则的房屋”一整天哦。他太酷了，按理说他应该呆这一个月我们才甘心。不过，我跑题喽。

奥赫兹在我的家乡――俄勒冈州留下了大量令人惊叹的作品，当然也在其它地方了，甚至远如日本。他的建筑是商业，居家，宗教以及更多其它元素的结合。不过，我最爱的是他的与众不同，还有建筑与周围景色完美的和谐，这样的和谐我认为在保护自然时至关重要。我们真的希望看到更多的建筑能与周围景色亲密的相处。

他的设计理念非常大胆，看看他怎么说：

“除了最基本的创作理论，如设计布局，主导，过渡以及特性，我拒斥理论，一种短暂而且跟我的作品毫不相干的东西。设计理论只会喧宾夺主，取代设计本身的位置，成为一种桎梏，一种概念，甚至一种偏见，使设计者束手缚脚，难以腾挪。理论是创意的绊脚石。一个建筑家一旦束缚于一个设计理论，他看问题就局限于它，理论带给他的只有局限，仅此而已。

在设计作品时，我必须超越客户的想象力。惊喜，神秘，美，愉悦是我的建筑给与他们终身受用的体验，缺一不可。这就是建筑和建筑物最本质的区别。一个建筑师不应把建筑本身看作一项工程或任务，他应该进入一种境界，就是我所说的灵魂。”

你最好还是把奥赫兹的设计理念通读一遍，比上面的节选要丰富多了。真的很棒，结合他自己的作品来阐释，很有趣。

在决定该秀他的哪些作品时，我碰到了麻烦。今天计划是两间私人房屋，但只选两个真是太难抉择了，因为他那些住宅建筑，我喜欢的太多了。不过，我喜欢俄勒冈，所以决定选两间他在俄勒冈的作品，这样范围稍为缩小。

第一个当然是威尔金森豪宅了，不过照片很难展现它的精妙。不过，它真的是无比的惹人喜爱，而且是货真价实的不规则哦。座落在波特兰的一个很陡峭的斜坡上，奥赫兹说：“这个斜坡是恰到好处，刚好可以把屋顶设计成树荫状，唤起人在树屋里的感觉。”主人要求屋子与自然环境和谐融洽，我想奥赫兹不负所托。