Namba, St. Mary's, Tokyo Dome, and Fujimoto Sou

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Our meeting with Namba Sensei on Tuesday was really nice. We got to take a look around the Tokyo University campus and had lunch in the food court. Then Namba Sensei gave us a lecture on his design philosophy and examples of his work.

Namba started working on Box House projects in 1995, and since then has done one hundred and thirty houses based on this philosophy. Now his office designs and constructs about 10 houses per year, spending on average 6 months on design, 6 months on construction. He explained to us that the concept of the house is always the same, but it is adjusted for each site and program. His design process is based on what he calls the four layers of architecture. The first layer is the physical matter, for which the focus is on standardization and optimization to create buildings more efficiently. Next comes energy control which may be implemented incorporating new technology, but is always focused on energy savings. The third layer is the social implications of the building, which for Namba is focused on creating one living space for a flexible lifestyle and in an attempt to bring families back together. Finally is the cultural layer which manifests itself for Namba in the simple form of a box shape, symbolizing something pure, efficient and clean.

Throughout his study of the box houses, Namba Sensei has done a few different series, starting with a wood frame series, the progressing to a steel frame series and finally to Aluminum Eco House. One of his most interesting explorations was the Muji Infill Timber Houses. In these projects, Namba designed the structure and shell, while the interior was meant to be filled with parts from the Muji catalog. Muji is a Japanese company that designs furniture and the like. The houses are really interesting and showcase the modern idea of standardizing housing designs into a kit of parts. Currently, Namba Sensei is working on a house that is constructed entirely out of plywood. The structure is based on the plywood boards almost weaving together, creating a structural skin.

After our meeting, we went to a bookstore district, but I am trying not to spend too much money, so I headed home to work on our project a little.

Wednesday Jeff and I met with Don in the morning to discuss our project. We need to start developing the plans and such, and we’re really trying to just get this over with. After the meeting, I went out on an adventure by myself to a few districts in Tokyo. First I headed to Ikebukuro to see the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. The Art Space was an interesting building, mostly because of the intensity of the structure. The two buildings are directly across the street from one another and they create an interesting contrast. The government building is very solid, with its design based on two tower-like structures. The Art Space is a glass form, creating an extremely open interior. The program was interesting because it seemed to be a combination of an art gallery and a shopping mall.

Next, I headed to Gokokuji Station and then walked for about twenty minutes trying to find a particular building: St. Mary’s Cathedral by Kenzo Tange. The building was definitely worth the search. As a cathedral, it seems appropriate so say that the building was awe-inspiring. Tange is not my favorite architect and he has come up with some pretty bizarre buildings, but every once in a while he literally stuns me. St. Mary’s Cathedral is absolutely beautiful. From the exterior, the play between the tall, vertical towers and the flowing, organic, almost tensional roof structure creates interest from every angle. I see some similarities in terms of form between this building and his Olympic Gymnasiums in Shibuya near Yoyogi Park. The inside of the cathedral did not disappoint. The flowing concrete form of the roof, though it may be considered somewhat yonic, creates a natural, almost cave-like feeling to the space that is broken only by the stained glass and light coming from behind the altar that continues through the middle of the roof. I was blown away by the space and the use of light. Of course I had to sneak some illegal interior pictures that will be up soon.

After that, I went to Iidabashi Station to see a few smaller buildings and the Tokyo Dome City area. I also stopped at the Koraku Police Box and passed by the Bunkyo Civic Center by Nikken Sekkei Ltd. Tokyo Dome was designed by the same firm in collaboration with Takenaka Corporation. The area around it has been developed into essentially an amusement park, with roller coasters and a ferris wheel, called Tokyo Dome City. The area was busy, crowded and loud even on a Wednesday evening.

From there, I headed to the War Dead Memorial of Tokyo by Takefumi Aida. Unfortunately, I got there too late and it was closed. I settled for snapping some pictures through the gate and then headed home. The rest of my night was spent working on floor plans.

Today, we met with Don in a group at 11 am. We presented our work quickly and then headed out to Fujimoto Sou’s office. Fujimoto Sou is probably one of the most popular architects in Japan right now. He is the architect that all the graduating arch students want to work for. Unfortunately, he was out of the country himself, but we were given an incredibly gracious tour by Chijiwa Hideto who works in the office, and luckily for us, speaks fluent English. The firm is interesting because they work mostly through models. The office looked very familiar to us, with models and supplies literally strewn into every corner…it felt like home haha. In terms of atmosphere, the office keeps a very open mentality, as well as an open space. Each table is working on a particular project, but everyone can see what everyone else is doing and come have a conversation about the project. I really liked the firm, mostly because of their open minds. Fujimoto seems to take any project that comes his way, and seeks out competitions that involve new challenges. Recently, the office has been able to hire more people from overseas, which has added to their palette by giving new perspectives on architecture and design. I really respect the office’s openness to new ideas and different points of view. We were also each given a signed copy of Fujimoto Sou’s book Primitive Future. I was just blown away by the hospitality.

The rest of my day was spent on floor plans, pictures and blogs. Tomorrow we are going to Kengo Kuma’s office. I’m actually really impressed because if you know your architects, we are seeing quite a few of them that are pretty big deals. Anyways, I’ll be back within the next couple days to let you know how stuff is going. I might head to Roppongi for Tokyo Tower tomorrow after the office visit and depending on the weather.