Internship Memoirs_Japan by Anshu Bhardwaj

Front Cover: Author., 2018. Water Temple by Tadao Ando. [photograph] (Awaji , Japan)

P R E L U D E

This Japanese phrase has intrigued me since I ﬁrst came across it in a work by Mashima Hiro. I thought I had read enough to understand what it entailed. However, I feel lucky to have been thoroughly taught it’s meaning this past semester. Who knew that years later, I would use this very phrase to describe my Internship experience in the same country it originated from; for no other language can express this feeling using lesser words and this beautifully.

P.S. On the last note before we begin; this document is much more than an Internship Report for the author, as it describes her treasured experiences in the land she has been enamored by since more than a decade. This journey, in particular, had a lot of baggage!

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In this report, I look forward to relaying all the signiﬁcant experiences that together made this journey all the more enlightening and unforgettable.

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Before I am branded as a Romantic with a case of Japanophilia, I would like to establish that this very mindset made me learn innumerable invaluable things during the course of my Internship! Mono-No-Aware is the mindset the Japanese live by and this deep-rooted philosophy is the core of Japanese culture and hence, it’s beautiful and unique Architecture.

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“Beauty is subjective, and it’s our sensitivity to the world around us that makes it beautiful. Particularly, the transience of the physical world and our awareness that beauty is impermanent makes us appreciate it more.“ (Anonymous)

PRELUDE CONTENTS

THE JAPANESE Dream - Familiarity with the Unfamiliar My MODEL MAKING SKILL and the lack of it Materials, Construction and Techniques LEARNING Sumimasen X 3! WORK ENVIRONMENT AND the spirit of KAROSHI Daily Discussions and Observations Where every IDEA counts... Fascination with INDIA OSAKA and the EXHIBITION KYOTO - Innovations in Traditions The Season of SAKURA and wabi-sabi PLEASURE of a Job Well Done EVERYthing possible ! JAPANESE Kenchiku - Observations JAPAN in ARCHITECTURE - Genealogies of Its Transformation Well I AM an Otaku! Study - TOKYO MUSUBI

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Author., 2018. KIGUMI INFINITY by Kitagawara Atsushi [edited photograph] (Tokyo, Mori Art Museum display)

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Studying what a “good structure” means in Japan

Note: Good Job! Centre is a recently constructed project in Kashiba, Japan which has won numerous awards. I got the chance of seeing all the stage models and drawings in a competition our ﬁrm participated in.

THE JAPANESE�Dream - Familiarity with the Unfamiliar

“The language of architecture is same throughout the world, so you will be alright.” Hata-San, our chief architect, said this on our ﬁrst meeting. And of course, he was right. One of the most important reasons why Japan is amongst the best examples of a balanced society; in terms of maintaining its cultural sanctity while being uber-modern is: They have kept their language alive. In-fact, more than half of the population still have trouble communicating in English. So the plight of a foreigner (or ‘Gaijin’ as they say), can be understood. Walking through streets ﬁlled with loud advertisements in another language can be daunting, but it makes you all the more observant and curious about everything.

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So when I got into studying architecture in college, it was invigorating to realize that the same country had such beautiful examples, from traditional to contemporary, to learn from! And followed a spell of projects with direct/indirect links to this land. Being another country with an Asian cultural ethos, I felt we could learn a lot from them to realize and arrive at our own true Architectural Identity; which could reﬂect our cultural values and still set examples of innovative advancement in the ﬁeld.

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However, I realized I was having another kind of fun, in trying to place and verify whatever I knew about the country and it’s people. My ﬁrst conscious contact with the Japanese culture was in fourth standard in school. In the form of an Anime series, it got me crazed after the beautiful graphics and an intriguing story. I moved over from other cartoons and then there was no turning back! My interest took me to watch more, read even more over the A typical commercial street in Tokyo years; from Manga manuscripts, to translated classic literature to contemporary authors... I learned a lot about the various facets of the Japanese society. Their shrine dances, music, integration with the Indian cultural scene, all had an excited audience in me! Being a Japanophile has been one of my most delightful hobbies. (This knowledge helped me a lot during Internship; in daily life and while in Ofﬁce. They were positively surprised. Our head Architect, Hata-San used to speak in jest about my knowledge of this country superseding theirs!)

Getting a chance to ﬁnally go to this country, especially during the internship period, has been one of my biggest fortunes. Hence, before commencing my internship, I decided my most important quest would be to understand what made Japanese Architecture unique, by trying to ﬁnd answers to these; • • • • • •

How do they formulate the concepts of space making ? How are they able to translate their profound concepts into the built ? What role would they attribute to their cultural background in the process of building ? What is their take on preservation/ renovation of historical monuments ? What is the future of Architecture as a profession for them ? What exactly is the role of Architect and how can they keep evolving in their profession to be more proactive in future?

Rather than reporting, I will let you decide for yourself whether I have been successful.

My MODEL MAKING SKILL and the lack of it

I am ashamed to admit, but I have never been a big model enthusiast in the four and a half years of my college life. Even though our first year studio-director was pretty strict about stage models, they were done out of the sake of submissions. I didn’t use to involve physical models in the stages of project conception. My models were good-enough, but only for final presentations to make OTHERS understand and visualize my design. Well, that changed during Internship, big time. My firm considered “physical” models the most integral part of the design process. Lots of stage models were used to arrive at the final and it’s iterations of the proposal. Followed by another round of consultations with the Client and the Structural team, each meeting requiring a new model. In the last stage, a final model was built to make the client visualize the final design, along with material considerations. And if the project was selected for publishing, a new model was prepared for photographs. The whole country loves models! I knew about the Japanese’ obsession with cleanliness in their daily lives, but that sentiment reaches new heights while model making, especially because they do it all by hand. I never thought such precision was humanly possible, but they did it, and of-course made me do it.

The crux of the lesson was to make it as realistically as possible, even if the members aren’t visible after ﬁnishing. Hata-San always used to stress about the importance of models at every stage; “It’s very important to check the scale by looking at it physically, software models aren’t good enough for that.”

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It’s safe to say that I have made models with all sorts of materials in our ofﬁce, using different cutting techniques and equipments. My trainer, Misato-San, guided me often by showing how I could make it even more “beautiful”. That entailed a lot of attention to detail from the different postures of holding the cutter for different materials, to choosing the right kind of wood with evenly spaced grains and their direction while using it in the model.

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I was amazed that I was able to do a ﬁne job (there were two mistakes!), though the thought of that very precision might have made me run away in the past.

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On the ﬁrst day, they asked me to prepare the basic structural module of a Barbecue restaurant project. I had seen it’s prototype sitting in the ofﬁce before, and was wondering who could’ve done it so precisely, with such level of professionalism. And the next thing I know, it was handed down to me !

I made models for various projects; for stages and the ﬁnal ones. I realized how powerful models can be as tools of design and for understanding various aspects of the project. There was also the additional lesson of patience and learning control over one’s hands. Because a lot of attention was paid to make structure an integral part of the model, even if invisible, it gave me a very detailed understanding of the structure and I was able to apply that knowledge while studying other complicated projects. In the end Misato-San gave me a project which was to be published in the coveted GA Houses magazine of Japan. I think I can vouch for my model-making skills now after this training.

1:50 scale Different stage models of the Barbecue restaurant made by me

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1:30 scale Final Structural model prepared by the Intern team

OKURA

K A I G A N, A k a s h i,

Japan

Materials, Construction and Techniques “It is very difficult to select materials when creating. For instance, we often hear a phrase ‘Natural materials’. Concrete and iron can be fine natural materials even if they are not categorized as plants. We remove preconceptions and keep an easy image as much as we can. We select the materials prudently, one by one by thinking slowly and carefully through dialogue with our client. We try to think of how to make use of each material - woods, stones, iron and ones produced by human wisdom.” Hata-San often had interesting insights on selection of materials, the firm used materials without discrimination, and the use was honest. Wood is still the preferred material for houses in Japan, but that changes according to requirements. Concrete is costlier but often used for detailed and designed form-works. Iron members come into use when playing with flexible space supporting structural systems. Tokunaga-San, one of the most respected associate Architect of the firm, designed an elaborate triangular structural system to distribute load in both axes. Although the cost was a bit on the higher side, circular-sectioned Iron columns were used in the Ikeda House. This house had many special attributes amongst which one was its openness towards nature. Around the periphery were cantilevered gardens and views of the cherry blossom lined streets. On interacting with the construction workers and project managers, I realized they were very open about innovative techniques and liked experimenting with new ideas. Maybe it’s also because of the Japanese culture, the professional relations are very cordial and supportive. Although like everywhere, disagreements exist, they are dealt with keeping the best interests of the project in mind. Misato-San was very eager in teaching me the various kinds of materials they used in construction, and we often used to compare and discuss the difference in our respective countries.

Ikeda House, Osaka Project in construction and study models

LOOP

H O U S E , K O B E,

Japan

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Site-visit to the project “Loop Terrace” in Kobe, Japan. The project is now finished and has been published in GA Houses Japan. I worked on the final model of this house for publishing. Wood is still used as one of the main construction materials in Japan, due to its 70% forest cover. Its one of the finest construction materials and is very deeply attached with the Japanese sense of aesthetics.

LEARNING

This attitude of learning goes a long way and is a necessity in life I think. Although my skills in 3D-softwares were good enough, Misato-San wanted me to learn a new software due to compatibility issues with 3Ds Max. I am very glad to have been given a chance of learning RHINO during Internship. Its a wonderful and accurate software with multiple plug-ins. The user interface being similar to Auto-CAD helped me learn it faster and this model was a big help in the designing process. The model also helped me learn more about the structure in detail along with ﬁnishing materials... Matsukawa House had a lot of level differences and sloped roof calculations (The bylaws of Kyoto are very strict regarding that). Many calculations were done while detailing the model. I also learn’t how to use V-Ray plug in Rhino for rendering. Both the softwares were completely new to me and it was a nice experience to be able to produce useful data and ﬁnal renders to be used for presentations to the clients.

RHINO Model: Matsukawa House, Kyoto, Japan

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My discussions with Misato-San to while detailing out the Matsukawa House in Kyoto. I was involved in this project since an early stage and we often discussed the structural and services system when the detailed model brought a lot of clarity and changes into the project

In this particular project, the Rhino model played an important role in structural calculations and other design decisions. As this house is being constructed using a combination of wood and steel with a large cantilever (in a country like Japan which is prone to earthquakes), the structural integrity was very much deliberated upon.

SUMIMASEN X 3!

‘Sumimasen’ is a polite ‘excuse-me’ in Japanese and is used on a daily basis, all the time! So if you have to ask someone something, you politely start with this word and then go ahead with your business. Being a ‘Gaijin’ (foreigner), this word became my friend and I used it extensively in my vocabulary. However, asking all the time about how things work (for the completion of my quest), was deeply appreciated and answered to by my mentors. Even when they were busy, they used to take time out for explaining something they thought could help. I am very grateful for that. Misato-San especially used to research things and became my guide into the workings of the Japanese way of handling projects. She used to tell me about all the meetings and events she thought would help me learn more. Yoshimura-San was another mentor with a lot of projects happening at once, but he was always ready to translate whatever I couldn’t understand and was a big guide in telling us about all the buildings we should explore and study while in Japan.

We talked about the;

Sumimasen turned out a boon for me, and has given me the conﬁdence of going ahead with my curiosity. As for the Interview, you can check out the answers in the upcoming Issue of Spaced Out.

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Process of designing, Importance of architecture; designing a “home”/ “urban space”/ “shared spaces”, Evolving as an Architect in today’s age, Reason why Japan is so welcoming towards evolution in architecture, Importance of the ‘Local’ and’ the ‘Global’, Identity Japan as a culture-sensitive nation, What Japan could teach the world about architecture.

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• • • • • • •

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I had the big opportunity of Interviewing Hata-San for our college magazine, and he was more than happy to oblige. I had shown him my edition of our college newsletter, the Triangle earlier, and he really appreciated the idea of students handling the contents and the publishing. I asked him all the pertinent questions related to my quest of understanding Japanese Architecture better and it was one my most insightful sessions with an amazing Architect. Hata-San was able to explain everything very clearly and appreciated my questions. I was able to gain valuable insights into the ﬁeld of architecture through the lens of a country that does it so well!

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND the spirit of KAROSHI

Its quite well-known that the Japanese are very professional and cordial. There are many things I learnt from their work etiquettes and the office environment. A. Punctuality: It is of utmost importance, coming on time is a given thing and there are no excuses. B. Discipline and behavior: They never speak out of turn even in discussions and patiently wait for their turn to join in the conversation. An intern, being the junior most, is expected to learn things quickly and should be able to support the office wherever required. Hence many offices take them for granted. However, my office treated every Intern with utmost respect. I was never loaded with work without asking how I was doing with the other job and we were taken care of. Everyone was always focused on work and silence was cherished, however every-time someone initiated a funny conversation, good cheer used to become infectious ! Saying everyday greetings to everyone at office was a deep rooted habit. Team-spirit is a valued character trait and every group time was attended in full spirits. Hata-San always initiated discussions and used to ask about our work progress, aims in life and kept everyone a part of the conversation. They made us feel very welcome. C. First Impressions: They are very important and define you a lot in this society. You must get the basics right and do the introductions properly with manners. D. Smiling in the face of adversity: Every Architecture office has deadlines to keep, and even though the Japanese try to finish their work well ahead of time, their are situations where things go wrong due to other sources. Even then, I never saw anyone panicking and creating more chaos. Every urgent situation was dealt with 100% attention, a cool mind and as always a smile. You must not be rattled!

Loaded mobile Workstations

“Karoshi” in Japanese means over-working oneself to death, ﬁguratively of-course, and I actually felt this spirit! Exhausted ofﬁce-goers every morning on the subway is a very common sight in Japan. However, its something I couldn’t escape from since I liked work and had fun doing it! And looking at everyone else was always a motivation!

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Leaving before one’s superiors is considered bad manners, however Gaijin interns are excluded from this mindset. For the last one month of my Internship, I used to work fourteen hours daily, and often was the second last person leaving ofﬁce, following the traditional practice of wishing everyone well when they left. This caught the attention of everyone at the ofﬁce and they appreciated my spirit towards work, especially when I used to come in on even weekends.

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E. The Spirit of KAROSHI: Working is a celebrated and highly regarded activity. People often go back home late, way past office-hours, and even while leaving they say “Osakii ni shitsureishimasu”; meaning, ‘pardon me I’m going back home first’. And the people working even later than them reply back in a spirited and happy “Otsukare-sama desu !” meaning, ‘you worked hard today!’. This mutual respect and supporting colleagues was something to learn. Everyone values the next person. However every individual is hard on one-self. Staying back late is a culture-induced habit and no one frowns upon it. Although the Japanese government is taking steps to fix this habit due to lifestyle problems, these people are relentless actually!

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Returning home late, just in time to catch the last train

Daily Discussions and Observations

Studying the Institute of Contemporary Art by Steven Holl, Virginia, USA

One of the most coveted Office rituals was our Morning discussion. Every day at 9 AM, without fail, a new project from anywhere around the world used to be introduced and discussed in the office. Everyone gave their opinions and thoughts about what they liked/didn’t like, comparisons with similar projects and all it’s facets used to be thoroughly discussed. Hata-San used to speak in the end, with the most insightful opinions or things which might have been left out by others. We covered a lot many projects and this often was one of the most enjoyable parts of the day (especially when you have a long ongoing project). Discussion of all sorts of projects brought a newness to office and gave a broader understanding of architecture happening around the world. We also discussed lots of Indian projects, B.V Doshi being one of the architects, since he was recently awarded the Pritzker which was a big deal for us. More importantly, Hata-San wanted us to learn how to LOOK at any project. He wanted us to question ourselves each time, “WHAT” and “WHY” we liked / disliked anything about it, followed by breaking it down to its various contributing factors. This daily exercise helped me understand projects quickly and much better and has become a very fulfilling habit. Also, we were always encouraged to read any book we wanted to in the office (they had an envious collection of Architecture and Design publications), and I often discussed the projects I read about with my mentors.

Studying the envelope around the built in Min Ju Won School, Thailand

Integration with the vernacular

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Jungle Station, Ho Chin Min City Revamped Ofﬁce to give an open “green” feel. Although the design wasn’t seamles

Good Job! Centre, Kashiba, Japan “Randomness” in design won many awards

Where every IDEA counts... “Meeting a new client is also the moment to meet new architecture.” This statement of Hata-San was very inspiring. He was always interested in every idea and used to take every opinion into account, even from the Interns. For him, our different cultural background meant another method and process of thinking, and it was very intriguing for him. Another very coveted ritual of our office was the participation of EVERYONE in a new project ! I loved this way of working. Hata-San was very particular about this, like everything else, and used to treat it as a very important discussion... almost like a competition. The new project used to be announced in the office, specifying all the design requirements of the client, the site by-laws and other relevant information. We were always given a week to work on it, parallely with our respective ongoing works. On the D-day, everyone used to together and explain their respective design ideas using drawings and a model (a must). After the presentation, Hata-San encouraged questions, crits and exhaustive discussions including everyone in the firm and we used to do a lot of brainstorming ! This method of working was very valued by everyone and impressed me! Everything was done to think about the best design solution together and this process enriched everyone’s knowledge too. I was deeply in awe of Hata-San’s attitude towards innovation and learning. He taught me the meaning of “HOW” to think; there could be many ways, there was never one answer, but the method adopted played a very important role in understanding architecture every-time.

H O U S E , K O B E,

Japan

Split levels seemed a good option to create a more integrated feel, while leaving enough open space for greens on each level

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NADA

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Although narrow, the Site had a beautiful front with views towards the Rokko mountains and the Philippine Sea. All areas were designed with that orientation in mind.

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Working on different Iterations for the Nada House: The site was very narrow with a strict height restriction. Furthermore, the client wanted an open “garden feel”.

Fascination with INDIA

source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S0360132307000273

Kandariya Mahadev Temple: topic of the morning lecture I gave in ofﬁce; bringing into discussion the Hindu temple architecture.

Being Asian countries and ancient friends, India and Japan have some similarities in their cultures, example being the importance given to nature in both the Shinto and Hindu religions. Not to mention the popularity of the Buddhist school of thought in Japan ! I often had interesting conversations with Hata-San and Misato-San about the different styles of Indian Architecture and we used to compare our religious schools of thought . (Oh, and we also celebrated Holi !) Everyone in the ofﬁce was deeply engrossed by the design of Hindu temples and the reason they evolved in that fashion. Our concepts of space, time and how they reﬂected in our temple design was very interesting to them. “Temples as instruments of orienting oneself with the cosmos” and the celebrational aspect of shrines is something similar we share with the Japanese. It was an amazing experience to compare the two cultures and to trace their ideologies from our point of view. It also brought greater insight into the Japanese way of thinking for me. I’m sure they appreciated it as well.

Indian textiles and the philosophy of Khadi were discussed and exhibited at large in 21 X 21 Design Sight, Tokyo. The event enjoyed a huge audience.

We also discussed different materials, the ‘vernacular’ , climatic zones, building policies and political issues. It was always an interesting session! They were also fascinated by the Indian “chai”, our multitude of masalas and the “Indian curry”. Haha They are actually quite popular in Japan!

OSAKA and the EXHIBITION

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Hata-San was very particular about making the landscape into a big statement of the entire presentation, since he wanted to emphasize on how the house was sitting in the beautiful context. The competition itself was a stellar affair with lots of discussions and rounds that explained beautiful concepts and the presentation techniques (in terms of materials used, colour palette, medium, placement etcetera) used by the different ﬁrms was also noteworthy. Although our ﬁrm didn’t win, I got to learn a lot in this competition.

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Our ﬁrm was chosen to participate in an Architecture competition in Osaka, Umeda building, one of the largest conference centers in Japan. It was a big opportunity to see the best of ﬁrms with their incredible work and it was a great learning experience. For the Mitamon project, we prepared the landscape (which amounted upto 85% of the volume), which was on a hill in Kobe. The scale was big and there were so many contours! The structure of this project was a traditional timber with a big cantilever supported by some Iron sections. Studying this work was also something incredible.

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Mitamon House, Kobe Japan Final Model for an architecture competition in Osaka. Scale: 1:30

Osaka was actually the ﬁrst big metropolitan city I had ventured to, and it had great lessons to offer in Urban design and transit oriented development. All the major city centers had a transit hub with lots of functions attached at various complex levels. 23

A The 10 best projects of the previous year were chosen to participate in this competition. Finely crafted models, a strong architectural community and the top Architects were in audience. Winners: There was a tie between A. Good Job ! Centre in Kashiba by onishimaki + hyakudayuki architects / o+h B. Fukumasu kindergarten Warehouse by Yoshimura Yasutaka

KYOTO - Innovations in Traditions

Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, is today it’s cultural capital. The city has made sure that it retains it’s cultural sanctity; with very strict building by-laws assuring homogenity. The neat grid pattern of the city centred around the Imperial palace and the low heights of the buildings in general retain their old world charm and you can still see the famous tiny houses of Kyoto !

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However, despite living true to its name of being Japan’s cultural capital, it has some of the most innovative projects by the country’s famous architects who take the city’s infamously strict bylaws as a challenge! Our firm’s Matsukawa House project on which I was working is one such example. Taking the cultural context of Kyoto in mind, the concept revolved around the rules of hierarchy and levelled connections. The structure was a composite one with two and a half floors of timber and the uppermost cantilevered level of steel. This unusual structure was a very daunting project for both the structural engineer and our team but we managed to resolve it in the end. Another most integral part of every Kyoto residence is a “tea room” made with tatami or weaved bamboo mat flooring. This tea room is almost always in the semi-private zone of the house, connected well with a garden in all cases.

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Concept of the Matsukawa House in Kyoto This project was near the Kamo river delta, hence one of the prime spots in Kyoto

Some of machiyas or townhouses of former “daimos” or military chiefs of the feudal era have been retained for educational purposes and serve an important role for research and public knowledge. 25

Kyoto has an amazing ephimeral quality of tradional Japan. All the traditional concepts of Japanese space making can be seen in the buildings here; by how they interact with Nature. It was a great study.

A. Ginkakuji Temple, the silver temple: The connecting semi-open corridors betweeen one space to the next. B. Kinkakuji Temple, the golden pavillion: An amalgamation of different architecture styles reﬂecting the different periods it was built over. C. The Fushimi-Inari Taisha shrine: Its the famous Inari shrine of over a thousand toris (gates), and the whole mountain has beautiful vernacular houses in between with traditional tea-houses for relaxing. The tori gates together are a beautiful sight.

D. The thresholds of the famous Kyoto inns. Thresholds are simple aesthetically but carry elaborate meanings in the traditional buildings.

The Season of SAKURA and wabi-sabi

I think Sakura or Cherry Blossoms are the most beautiful trees, personal opinion. Since Japan is so passionate about Sakura, you will almost always see them in anime series, manga comics, movies or anything Japanese! I remember watching Sakura falling beautifully in shows and it was my dream to stand beneath these blossoms someday. Luckily, I happened to be in Japan in spring and we saw all the beautiful phases of Sakura !

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Hata-San said to me that Sakura is the true embodiment of the Japanese spirit. People wait the entire year for the three to four days of peak blossoms and then see them falling away so soon. This patience and hope for blossoms the next year is remarkable. But something more note-worthy is that they find beauty in all the phases of Sakura, for it signifies the short duration of life. So even when the blossoms begin to fall, they find it beautiful. That’s the spirit of wabi-sabi.

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And let me tell you, Sakura season is a festival in Japan, it’s a much awaited period with people taking holidays to especially go and “view” cherry blossoms. No body picks them or even disturbs these blossoms since they are so delicate. You will ﬁnd cherry blossom forecasts starting latest by the new year and it is eagerly awaited. The trees are planted literally everywhere, with some especially amazing spots to do “hanami”, or eating beneath the Sakura trees. I found this ritual very beautiful.

PLEASURE of a Job Well Done My final project which I independently worked on, after being recommended by Misato-San, was the final model of the Loop terrace house, formerly known as the “Engawa” house. Engawa means the beautiful wooden or bamboo flooring which connects the various spaces in a Japanese house. Here the Engawa represented the looped corridors in the house which spiraled without breaking around the central courtyard, connecting all the five levels of the house. It was a complex project with lots of materials and I was given the final working drawings to work with. Although I had learnt the ‘Japanese’ basics of model making, this model was a bit difficult with lots of different slope calculations, chamfering wooden members and... this was a model meant for publishing. Hence I couldn’t go wrong and had to do it ‘beautifully’. I worked with a lot of materials in this model and had to do some seemingly impossible tasks by hand or new equipments. Also, for this project I used to directly report to Hata-San, plan my work myself each day and had to learn management too which was fun. It was difficult in the beginning and towards the end, but after seeing the final model, I am glad that such an important project was handed to me. In the end, after all my over-time and work on weekends, Hata-San admired my spirit to still smile despite it all. haha

Using different equipments and techniques for achieving better results. Lots of calculations went into this project

Structural Plan of the open slab

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The various stages of the Loop terrace house model

EVERYthing possible !

It was imperative to visit all the renowned buildings around, if possible, since it would have been a huge waste of opportunity otherwise! Hence we used to manage our limited time a lot, in order to squeeze in as many places possible during the weekends. And I am glad to report that we succeeded ! Along with the weekends, we took a oneweek Sakura break in spring to catch all the popular viewing places and a ﬁnal trip to Tokyo for two weeks,after Internship, to study all the famous examples of contemporary buildings. No amount of study can truly beat experiencing the spaces for youself in person, and immersing yourself in its surroundings. So when I ﬁnally got to experience all the places I had studied, it was a phenomenal feeling, and I feel very grateful for the opportunity !

The Church of Light by Tadao Ando, Osaka Such honesty and simplicity in building expression! Simple concrete volumes make up this space with just enough distance to let light enter though... making it beautifully dynamic in places.

The Sanjusangendo Temple, Kyoto A conﬂuence of cultures... Hinduism, Buddhism and Shintoism, this simple but grand wooden construction is the largest wooden temple in Japan. “Sanju-san-gendo” literally means 33 column intervals.

A beautiful traditional Kyoto house complex designed for himself, Kanjiro-San was a potter, artist and an Architect. This simple house is a beautiful and relaxing Machiya example.

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Kawai Kanjiro’s House, Kyoto

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Contemporary Art Museum, Kobe, by Ando Ando’s simplicity in using concrete so indiscrimately and beautifully is truly spectacular. The bold curves and planes that he uses to spin a story while invitig “light” and “wind” into his designs is remarkable.

JAPANESE Kenchiku - Observations

Kenchiku in Japanese means Architecture. I did observe that the strong sense of respect and love towards nature, due to their culture, made the Japanese architects associate very closely with it. Despite being a country that gets affected by a lot of natural disasters, they still revel in the natural bounty that they possess and regard it deeply. I couldn’t help but compare this with the Indian culture where we “say” that we “respect nature”. The ideologies are the same, but one set of people actually follow it and have come up with some beautiful ways of living with nature.

A beautiful relationship with Nature

This spirit of growing with nature and making architecture a part of it rather than the other way round is a beautiful concept. I think the core Japanese philosophies of “mono-no-aware” impacts the design philosophy deeply.

Despite the location of Japan on the pacific ring of fire, I think Japan enjoys a pleasant climate (although climate change is changing the average temperature drastically this Summer, and floods hit the southern tip this year) in general, and nature really is beautiful! Maybe this could be attributed to the lack of dust there in general, and the cleanliness obsession of the Japanese. However, truly, the natural bounty of Japan is wonderful and maybe this inspires them to invite it in or be a part of it! The Japanese sense of aesthetics is also nature inspired; simple, honest and clean. As a society, the people of Japan are very inclined towards designing and are very aware of the architectural scene! I met a bus operator in Kobe, where he recommended me to must visit Ando’s Water Temple! He even told me the best architectural attributes of the temple! I was amazed. People often talk about architecture in their daily lives, take their young children to architecture exhibitions and explain a lot of things to them! I was truly baffled by the sensitivity of this society towards kenchiku. In retrospect, I think that the aesthetic tastes we develop while studying architecture in college, are inherently present in people of Japan by virtue of their culture.

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Even though Kyoto is the cultural capital of Japan, with strict building codes, there were lots of innovative buildings with material experimentation. This area however was pure remote Japan.

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Awaji Island was a great study of the vernacular Japanese Architecture. This remote island had only bus services and ferry rides for public transportation. All the houses were traditional timber strictures with sloping roofs.

JAPAN in ARCHITECTURE - Genealogies of Its Transformation I was extremely lucky to have found about this ongoing exhibition in Tokyo! Not only did it answered all of my questions related to my quest, it gave a lot of food for thought to mull over. The exhibiton was divided into nine broad categories summarized as follows: A. Possibilities of Wood The wood culture cultivated by Japan, a nation 70 percent covered in forest, can be described as a sustainable system. The Japanese have been developing techniques and technologies for making the most of timber since ancient times, the secret manuals passed down through generations of master carpenters, and the timber framing in traditional architecture, being evidence of this culture of wood. Amid today’ s fresh appreciation of wooden buildings, this section looks at the techniques and ideas behind Japan’ s culture of timber construction, and its future potential. B. Transcendent Aesthetics As evident in such concepts as mono no aware (sensitivity to ephemera), muj� (impermanence), and the praising of shadows, the Japanese aesthetic displays a transcendent attitude. Expression in art and design fuses a remarkable intricacy with daring, surpassing even such descriptions as “simple” or “minimal.” This forms part of the genealogy that runs through Japanese architecture, whether timber construction, or exposed concrete. C. Roofs of Tranquility Japanese architecture is said to be all about the roof. Roofs keep out rain and snow, while deep eaves make an ally of sunlight. In addition to their function in protecting those under them, roofs have a beauty in their curves and horizontal lines that gives them a symbolic quality as a reassuring presence within the landscape. This section examined how the roof in traditional Japanese architecture had inspired architects in the modern and contemporary eras. D. Crafts as Architecture Architecture is a cumulation of crafts: prior to the arrival of the present concept of architecture from the West during the Meiji period, Japan had already mastered the kind of design sense that takes forms in nature and renders them abstract, as well as sophisticated craftsmanship, resulting in a highly mature and advanced manufacturing whereby the “whole” was formed from “component parts” made by inherited artisanship and design techniques, as can be seen prominently in the sculpture of the main shrine building of Nikk� T�sh�-g� Shint� Shrine. The genealogy of this kind of craftsmanship has passed down to the present all through modern and contemporary architecture.

This exhaustive exhibition was undoubtedly the best platform to understand more about the core concepts of Japanese Architecture, all under one roof.

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in different scales and details, 3D experiential laser installations on the power of space and different medias for presentations !

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One of the best curated exhibitions I have ever seen with 100 models that have been displayed in over 400 exhibitions throughout the world:

E. Linked Spaces By the 20th century, what Japanese architecture showed the world was that buildings could be made without using walls to partition interior and exterior; that rooms did not have to be fixed in function, and that elegance could be maintained not by opulent adornment, but expression of the materials themselves. The ideal vision of open spaces in which practicality is linked to visual beauty, lives on in Japanese architecture today. The modernists could actually learn a lot from traditional Japanese buildings, since the spaces were flexible, functional and the use of materials was very honest. F. Hybrid Architecture Traditional Japanese architecture has its origins in the skills and designs that arrived with Buddhism in the 6th century, its “Japaneseness” taking shape via the fusion and transformation of diverse cultures. This section included examples of imitation Western architecture embarked on by master carpenters in the Meiji era, and the endeavors of Ito Chuta, who sought to develop a Japanese architecture from a global perspective. In today’s multicultural world, the Japanese view that the world is inherently about compromise perhaps demonstrates an openness to the future that indeed, runs in its blood. G. Forms for Living Together The Japanese take on the “public” includes a tradition of spaces that connected people together such as nagaya collective housing, and terakoya schools. This section offered examples of architecture engaging with communities, such as a survey involving measurement of traditional villages, and the challenges of farming settlements prone to snow damage. Interest in “forms of living together” in Japan, a country embraced by both the bounties and dangers of nature, is growing as a means of forming new communities in modern society. H. Japan Discovered Aspects of the Japanese tradition identified and transformed by overseas designers represent important perspectives. The section introduced the notion of “Japan” creatively interpreted by architects outside of Japan, including such pioneering talents as Frank Lloyd Wright and Antonin Raymond, who visited and practiced in Japan. Reference was also made to internationally renowned examples of Japanese architecture built overseas. I. Living with Nature Japanese paradigms can be seen to underscore awe toward nature, long worshiped in religious practice. How has this view of nature been reflected in the architecture of Japan ? Architecture is actually viewed as part of nature, it being one material in the making of architecture. The Japanese design borders with nature, and the Japanese view of nature as seen in architecture will hopefully be passed on into the future. This gave interesting insights into the “inside “ and “outside” debates which every style of architecture mulls over.

Well I AM an Otaku ! Well technically, an Otaku is someone who is obsessed with something enough to be indulged in it whole day. But let’s put aside the negative connotations, and it means a person passionate about the world of Anime, Manga and the likes. Being an Otaku, in the land of it’s origin, I couldn’t be happier! So ofcourse I indulged in that side a bit and it was so rewarding !

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Akihabara: The manga and anime district of Tokyo

A beautiful exhibition on the life of Hokusai and the art of Ukio-e (the ﬂoating world) in the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo. The museum building itself is a great example of museum architecture.

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All the characters in his works, even ‘The Great Wave Off the Kanagawa’, are powerful, elegant and eternally poised in the moment Hokusai chose to depict them between action.

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In the Kyoto International Manga Museum

I also learned about the origins of Manga Art; it was actually Ukio-e (meaning ﬂoating world) which was established by the famous artist Hokusai! His museum gave very interesting insights into his life, and made me understand this art better. It’s like he refused to be restrained by the inanimate and planar character of paper ! His work spills out of the boundary of the frame he sets, weaving a hypnotic story, leaving the observer wanting more… His paintings walk on the path of still, calm and shizukana(tranquil) Japanese style, however… there is always a dynamism about them, they seem open, inviting, intriguing... with a lot of things to absorb for the observer. Even in the most still of scenes, his brush strokes work magic, the elements which constitute this stillness are so dynamic, that together they spin an elegant imagery of motion captured in a frame of parchment. That’s a beautiful balance. True harmony in duality. The animate beings in his work are always drawn in motion, “doing something”, twisting, writhing, bent in all sorts of ways which are elegant and seem unnaturally natural... Even the few of his stills(apparent) have dynamism in their strokes…the numerous arcs, free and effortless curves truly bring life into the animate… giving it an ethereal quality. In my opinion, their postures depict Hokusai’s mastery of his brush. He could express anything, any emotion, any thought he wanted through his hands.

Study - TOKYO

Tokyo was an explosion of all the senses! Being an Alpha plus city, Tokyo actually is the biggest city in the world, in area, but despite all the density, crowds and apparent chaos, it is very organized and smoothly-functional ! Its also the safest and cleanest cities of the world. Being from Delhi, I never knew cities could work without mayhem and this ostensible lack of individual temperament! However there are three extreme aspects very integral to the nature of Tokyo: Saturation : Usually density refers to the amount of people or ﬂoorspace per square meter of land. But in qualifying Tokyo’s urban built environment, density is only half the story. The other half is saturation. In an urban context this would refer to the maximum amount of buildings one could ﬁt into a certain area of land. Or, in other words; what is the smallest plot of land one can still build a house on ? I have seen lots of saturation points in Tokyo, often constituting a house built by one of the famous Japanese architects. The land on which these houses rest on can be as little as 4 X 5 meters, but they are also comfortable ! Transit Hubs: I think Tokyo is the best city in example of TOD. All the major district centers have a transit hub with a multitude of subway lines, and EVERYTHING at a walkable distance. In-fact Japanese cities are heavily reliant on public transport for their daily commute. Its a very reliable and convenient network. The UNDERground : The whole labyrinth of subway systems connected on different terrains, along with food outlets and shops makes it seem like a different world underground! In many aspects, one can say that Tokyo is OVER-built. Filled wit asphalt, glass and concrete.

Studying the Tama Art University library by Toyo Ito. It had a very unique structural system.

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Sketching along with the locals in the Tokyo plaza. This western classic building sitting elegantly and ﬁrm amidst tall skyscrapers intrigued me. “Together” they form the view of an inviting plaza, open to everyone to just pause, relax, observe and marvel at their contrasting natures.

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Studying the street width in different parts of the city, in different development phases and their current functions.

Some of the best buildings of Tokyo: A. The Prada Showroom by Herzog & de Meuron, Omotesando B. 21 X 21 Design Sight by Tadao Ando, Roppongi C. Sunnyside Hill Cafe by Kengo Kuma, Roppongi D. National Art Centre by Kisho Kurokawa, Roppongi Hills E. Louis Vuitton Showroom facade by Jun Aoki, Ginza

MUSUBI

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“Musubi” is a complex Japanese word which signiﬁes an ending or conclusion, but can also be translated into a “knot” that connects people and places. Although this period has concluded, the lessons I learned and my experiences will forever keep me connected to this place, a knot stronger than before.

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In conclusion, I would just like to say that this Internship period has been one of the most enriching periods for me. I have asked, observed, studied and learned a lot, and it was probably possible because the biggest trigger was my feelings for the country. I might have learned the similar lessons anywhere else, but not in the same amount of time, and I think the experience would definitely not have been the same. This was probably the first in a long time that I was constantly in good spirits; active, curious, positive and always excited every morning. The minor troubles which might have deflated me earlier seemed nothing because life was so motivating! This internship was a lot more than learning office work for me, it was also experiencing a new way of life, learning from a beautiful culture and trying to find some answers for myself. It was also a necessary training experience because I plan to work in this country for some time in the future. This period has taken me one step closer to that goal. In retrospect, I think I found the answers to the questions I wanted to before commencing this period and a lot more than I ever imagined. I am glad that I can apply these learnings in my daily life to make it more meaningful.