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building soulfulness’ exhibition on view in japan
CategoriesArchitecture

building soulfulness’ exhibition on view in japan

By Zarkon Group,

‘heatherwick studio: building soulfulness’ at mori art museum 

 

Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum is hosting its latest exhibition, Heatherwick Studio: Building Soulfulness, a poetic exploration into the type of architecture embued with heartfelt spirit. On show between Friday, March 17, and Sunday, June 4, 2023, at Tokyo City View, this is the first exhibition in Japan to display 28 major projects completed by Heatherwick Studio.

 

‘By looking at the projects – all of which are the result of a process of trial and error, where familiar structures and functions are reassessed, and new ideas are realized – from six different viewpoints: ‘Coming Together;’ ‘Connecting with Everyone;’ ‘Experiencing Sculptural Space;’ ‘Feeling Nature in Urban Space;’ ‘Bringing Memories to the Future;’ and ‘Playing and Using,’ the exhibition will explore what type of architecture brings with it the sort of kindness, beauty, intellectual stimulation and empathy that move the human heart,’ writes the museum. 

new heatherwick studio exhibition in japan uncovers the soulfulness of architecture
‘Little Island’ (2021), New York | image © Timothy Schenck

 

 

exploring how buildings can touch the human heart

 

From New York to Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, Heatherwick Studio (see more here) has marked the global architectural scene with its innovative portfolio of projects. Founded in 1994 by Thomas Heatherwick, the practice often debuts its projects with the question: Can the sprawling buildings and urban spaces that make our cities and towns also be imbued with this soulfulness? With that said, and in retrospect, Thomas’ childhood memories also reveal an early-age fascination with how craftspeople and artisans endow small objects with a kind of soulfulness so unique to the art of everything handmade, gently etching and weaving into every detail. 

new heatherwick studio exhibition in japan uncovers the soulfulness of architecture
Shanghai Expo UK Pavilion (2010) | image © Iwan Baan

 

 

‘Every design is rooted in a belief that even projects as large as a city can have a human-scale, while harnessing the energies of the natural world and memories contained within architecture into new designs. At the core of this approach is the creation of places for gathering, dialogue, recreation, and enjoyment, instead of the design of ‘hard’ elements that so often characterize products and buildings,’ continues the museum. 

 

‘Even as the Studio studies the history of objects and places, researches a wide spectrum of materials, and pays homage to traditional craftsmanship, their spaces, which deploy the latest developments in engineering, are replete with innovative ideas that seem to have eluded everyone else. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and we re-evaluate our relationship with both the built and the natural environments, Heatherwick Studio’s designs feel more evocative and relevant than ever.’

 

Some of the projects on view include ‘Little Island’ (2021), a sculptural public park in New York; ‘Azabudai Hills’ (2023), a new district in Tokyo currently under construction, and the studio’s first project in Japan; The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (2017), a public non-profit museum; and the Shanghai Expo UK Pavilion (2010), also known as the ‘Seed Cathedral.’ 

new heatherwick studio exhibition in japan uncovers the soulfulness of architecture
The Zeitz Museum  of Contemporary Art Africa (2017), Cape Town | image © Iwan Baan

Reference

Shigeru Ban uses thatch and cardboard at Farmer’s Restaurant in Japan
CategoriesArchitecture

Shigeru Ban uses thatch and cardboard at Farmer’s Restaurant in Japan

By Zarkon Group,

A thatched roof and large cardboard tubes form part of the structure of the Farmer’s Restaurant on Awaji Island, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban’s studio.

The restaurant sits in the middle of a field on the Japanese island, which is the same location as Shigeru Ban Architects‘ wooden Zenbo Seinei meditation retreat, completed earlier this year.

Thatched-roof restaurant by Shigeru Ban Architects
Shigeru Ban Architects has created the Farmer’s Restaurant on Awaji Island

Farmer‘s Restaurant was commissioned by agricultural company Pasona Agri-Partners Inc to serve food made from fresh vegetables from the field. It is also used as a music hall.

Its architectural design pays homage to traditional Japanese farmhouses, most visibly in its large thatched roof.

Night view of the Farmer's Restaurant on Awaji island
It features a thatched roof

According to Ban’s studio, its chunky structural beams and columns also pay homage to the large trees that are used to create old farmhouses in Japan.

These structural elements are made from two pieces of Japanese cypress wood, wrapped in cardboard tubes.

Shigeru Ban-designed cardboard tube structure
Large cardboard tubes form part of the structure

Farmer’s Restaurant is one of the largest-scale examples of Ban’s Paper Tube Structures system – his pioneering use of tubes made from cardboard as architectural and structural components.

Famously used across his works since 1990, the system can also be seen on projects including the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, the Nomadic Museum in New York and the Paper House in Yamanakako Village.

Externally, the chunky columns sit between decorative wooden panels, doors and openings that lead out onto a decked area.

Inside, Farmer’s Restaurant’s exposed structure is complemented by wooden flooring, banquet tables, and stools.

Interior of the Farmer's Restaurant in Japan
The cardboard tubes contain cypress wood

As some of the cardboard tubes are exposed to the outside, Ban’s studio has coated them in waterproof paint and designed them to be replaced over time.

Ban also famously uses cardboard as part of his modular Paper Partition System (PPS), which was developed to ensure the privacy of people seeking refuge in refugee centres.

Wooden terrace outside Shigeru Ban-designed music hall in Japan
A terrace is located outside

The PPS makes use of thin cardboard tubes as structure and textiles as partitions, with one unit taking just three people to build in five minutes.

Ban’s non-governmental organisation, the Voluntary Architects’ Network, recently used the system across Europe to help house Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

The photography is by Hiroyuki Hirai.

Project credits:

Architects: Shigeru Ban Architects
Client: Pasona Agri-partners Inc
Structural engineer: Hirokazu Toki, Shunya Takahashi
MEP engineer: Hokuryo Denko, Kukan Koubou, Fujii Scene2
General contractor: Kukunoya, Kusakanmuri

Reference

yuji tanabe completes capsule toy shop in japan with mirror optical illusion
CategoriesArchitecture

yuji tanabe completes capsule toy shop in japan with mirror optical illusion

By Zarkon Group,

‘ONARI capsule’ toy shop BY Yuji tanabe ARCHITECTS

 

Located on the Onari shopping street in Kamakura, Japan, the ‘Onari Capsule’ by Yuji Tanabe Architects was once an optics shop but has now transformed into a fun capsule toy store. With 65 capsule toy machines and two mirrors facing each other inside the compact space, the Japanese architect aimed to make the interior look as wide as possible from the outside. It was important to create a visual presence that stands out in the shopping district while maintaining a Japanese traditional feel in the city of Kamakura using lanterns, oren curtains, cypress lattices, En-Mado, and faintly reflective silver-leaf paper on the ceiling. The architects also introduce the idea of collecting used capsules by creatively designing an interactive lattice wall to place used capsules between the intervals. 

 

onari capsule capsule toy shop in japan 1
street view of the Onari toy store

all images courtesy of  Yuji Tanabe Architects

 

 

glass windows and a low wainscot reveal the capsules

 

Yuji Tanabe Architects creatively aimed to renovate and revive the previously known optics store. The Onari shopping street, leading to the West exit of the city’s station, is more frequented by locals, which is where the toy shop is located. Nevertheless in recent years Onari has also been used as a sightseeing route to the sea and the Great Buddha of Hase, thus adding historical value to the shopping district and preserving culture and tradition within the Onari Capsule shop. Originally this compact store had about six tatami mats with a width of 3.4m (11.2 ft)  and a depth of 2.8m (9.2 ft). On the exterior facing the street, there was a frame door and a glass window that leaves a low wall wainscot–an area of wooden paneling on the lower part of the walls of a room– that effectively exposed the interior of the store to the passers-by on the street.onari capsule capsule toy shop in japan 7

 

 

65 capsule machines are mirrored to illude an infinite space 

 

From the shop’s entrance, 65 capsule toy machines look multiplied infinitely by a 3.4m (11.2 ft)  high mirror on the right side. In addition, the 45mm square Japanese cypress lattices on the mirrored surface are arranged at intervals of 4 types (45mm, 55mm, 65mm, 75mm). The interval spaces account for the standard capsule sizes since the lattices function as a system that collects empty capsules. The capsule is inserted between two lattices after taking out the contents inside– a fun way to recycle the capsules. 

 

The cypress lattice was cut out with En-Mado (circles) of different sizes on both sides. By making the En-Mado on the entrance side smaller than the one on the opposite side, the reflection on the mirror makes it appear smaller. In other words, the perspective is emphasized, and therefore  it feels farther than the actual distance. Kamakura was a capital city in 800 years ago and it has a long history, which is why the Onari Capsule is a place that holds historical value and proposes a new way of sustaining the culture around capsule toy shops while providing a fun approach to recycling the capsules. 

 

onari capsule capsule toy shop in japan 6
mirror wall on one side of the store creating the illusion of infinite capsules

Reference