Architecture in Asia
Singapore & Japan, Winter 2016-2017
Caitlin Eads c132e048@ku.edu 636.484.0992
Singapore Buddha Tooth Relic Temple School of the Arts LASALLE College of the Arts Gardens by the Bay The Hive
Tokyo, Japan Nakagin Capsule Tower
Kyoto, Japan Fushimi Inari Taisha Kinkaku-ji
Osaka, Japan Nose Myoken-san Worship Hall Himeji Castle
Singapore
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
Singapore is a melting pot of different cultures and religions. As of 2010, a bit more than one third of all Singaporeans identified as Buddhist. Located in the Chinatown district of Singapore, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is a Buddhist temple and museum complex. The temple’s style is based on that of the Tang Dynasty. As its name may suggest, it was built to house the left canine tooth of Buddha; it is said that this particular tooth relic of Buddha was found in 1980 in a collapsed stupa in Myanmar. While visiting this temple, the females within our group were asked to cover ourselves as a sign of respect. As you can see from the pictures, scarves were provided. In the entryway there was a basin filled with sand; sticks of incense could be added as an offering. Once inside, you could walk around the perimeter of a worship area. Upstairs was the room that actually housed the tooth relic. For that special room, we were asked to both remove our shoes and not speak, again as a sign of respect. Going even further up, on the roof of the building was a beautiful garden space. In the middle of the green space was a giant, detailed cylindrical object sheltered from the weather. This cylinder was spun by a volunteer, and is to remain spinning at all times as a sign of respect to Buddha.
Singapore
School of the Arts
The School of the Arts, often abbreviated as SOTA, is Singapore’s first national specialized arts school for pre-tertiary students (for youths aged 13 to 18 years old). It has a 6 year integrated arts and academic curriculum, leading to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. The school’s mission is “to create a vibrant environment for learning that is uniquely anchored in the arts, celebrating experimentation, expression and discovery, with the aim of nurturing artistic talent and developing leaders who will draw on their creativity to enrich society”. Each student is expected to specialize in an art form while in attendance, including integrated arts, dance (ballet or non-ballet), music (instrument or voice), theatre, visual arts, literary arts, and film. As are most buildings in Singapore, SOTA is open to the outside air. The classrooms and performance areas are indoors of course, but the connecting spaces are open. SOTA has a many resources for budding students, including a handful of performing arts venues. While touring this building we were able to see the concert hall, drama theatre, and studio theatre. There is also an art gallery and retail spaces. All of the performance spaces we were able to view were special in that they can easily be modified to suit a variety of needs. This means that, even though there are only 3 spaces for performance, the spaces can be used for way more than just 3 things.
Singapore
LASALLE College of the Arts
LASALLE College of the Arts is a tertiary arts educational institution in Singapore. It was founded in 1984 (but moved in June 2007) and is in partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London. Currently LASALLE offers a range of diplomas and degrees in design, fine arts, film, media arts, fashion, dance, music, theatre, art therapy, Asian art histories, and arts management. Operating autonomously with financial support from the Singapore Ministry of Education, LASALLE is a non-profit, private educational institution. Both polytechnic- level diplomas and degree-level education is provided here. We visited the Winstedt campus portion. This new space was designed as a comprehensive creative center for studio work and research. There are studios, workshops, state-of-the-art photography labs, a media arts lab, and student-led incubators. Designed by RSP Architects, the campus is an exercise in ingeniously reworking space. From the outside, a formidable black monolithic exterior cladding of stone and punctuated aluminum confronts the viewer. Inside, this fragments visually to reveal 6 buildings, each 7-stories high. They are all linked by an atrium and sky bridges. The buildings are stunningly graphic, with faceted glass walls and individual panels framed in black, each tilting at different angles. When we visited the campus, we were able to sprawl out in this overwhelming (yet comfortable) atrium space. Some of us sketched, and some even practiced some yoga.
Singapore
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land in the heart of Singapore. The park consists of 3 waterfront gardens: Bay East Garden, Bay South Garden, and Bay Central Garden. The Singapore government wants to transform Singapore from a “Garden City” to a “City in a Garden”. The concept vision for this project was “Our world of gardens for all to own, enjoy and cherish”. The Gardens is led by a multidisciplinary team of professionals, including an in-house team of skilled landscape designers, horticulturists, arborists, engineers, plant health experts, garden and turf management experts, as well as plant research and orchid breeding professionals. Bay South Garden is the largest of the 3 gardens, and aims to showcase the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry. The country’s national flower, the Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’, provides inspiration for the overall concept; it is representative of the tropics and of Singapore as a whole. The “orchid” takes root at the waterfront (conservatories), while the leaves (landforms), shoots (paths, roads, and linkways) and secondary roots (water, energy and communication lines) then form an integrated network with blooms (theme gardens and Supertrees) at key intersections. Because we were in Singapore during the holiday season, one of the domes interior was transformed into a gaudy winter wonderland.
Singapore
The Hive
The Hive is part of the campus of Nanyang Technical University (often abbreviated as NTU). NTU is an autonomous university that is consistently ranked amongst the world’s best universities in all of the major college and university rankings, and is regarded as one of the top 2 universities in Asia. Nanyang Technical University is a comprehensive and research-intensive university, with over 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. NTU is organized into 8 colleges and schools, including the Hive. The Hive was designed to be a new campus space for students to interact, socialize, and network with one another outside of formal classes. The Hive houses various student-managed social enterprises that function as altruistic, multi-purpose spaces. Those who share a common passion for volunteering and making a difference can swarm these spaces at various times of the day to brainstorm over food and drinks within the open atrium space. There is a dedicated space for community space; CoLab4Good aims to be the hub for NTU community engagement programs and activities. Students often make use of this venue to connect with other like-minded people, exchange ideas, recruit volunteers, and raise social awareness for projects. The Hive is capable of hosting exhibitions, screenings, workshops, and seminars to support the promotion of community engagement.
Tokyo, Japan
Nakagin Capsule Tower
Located in Tokyo, the Nakagin Capsule Tower is a mixed-use residential and office tower designed by Kisho Kurokawa. Completed in 1972, the building is an example of Japanese Metabolism, which is an architectural movement emblematic of Japan’s postwar cultural resurgence. It was the world’s first example of capsule architecture built for permanent and practical use. The building still exists as of now, but probably will not for much longer as it has fallen into disrepair. Only a small percentage of the 140 capsules remain in use as apartments, however some are being used as storage or office space. Most of them have simply been abandoned and allowed to deteriorate. A netting has been placed around the entirety of the structure to prevent birds from nesting. I would say the Nakagin Capsule Tower is one of the most well-known works of architecture in Japan. With this in mind, I was a bit underwhelmed with the experience. The tower is squeezed between other buildings and a large concrete car ramp, thus cannot really be viewed except for directly underneath the structure. We were only allowed to see the outside of the building, which is understandable, but I really would have liked to see the interior.
Kyoto, Japan
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Inari is seen as the patron of business, and has been since early Japan. Merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. The shrine is composed of many, many torii (which are the red gates in the pictures) and each of the torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha is donated by a Japanese business. However first and foremost, Inari is the god of rice. Located in Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of Inari. The shrine is at the base of a mountain, also named Inari. There are trails up the mountain to a plethora of smaller shrines. It is said that this shrine has as many as 32,000 sub-shrines throughout Japan. This was one of the first shrines we saw on our trip abroad. A few of us climbed the equivalent of 78 flights of stairs to get to the top. On our journey we passed a few smaller shrines and lookout posts. The view was amazing, especially considering we were there during the sunset. I was not expecting the vast amount of cats we saw that roamed the mountain. I believe there is a man that leaves food out for them. In Japanese culture, cats are a sign of good luck or good fortune. Often businesses will have the “Maneki Neko� cat, which sits with one paw raised and bent; the paw moves back and forth in a beckoning motion, which is meant to draw in customers.
Kyoto, Japan
Kinkaku-ji
Literally translated to “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”, Kinkaku-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large amount of visitors annually. The Golden Pavilion is designated as a National Special Historic Site as well as a National Special Landscape; it is one of 17 locations that make up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, which are World Heritage Sites. The top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Formally known as Rokuonji, the Zen temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkaku-ji, the impressive structure built overlooking a large pond, is the only building left of Yoshimitsu’s former retirement complex. It has unfortunately burned down multiple times throughout history, including twice during the Onin War (a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto) and again in 1955 by a fanatic monk. The first floor is built in the Shinden style, often used for palaces during the Heian Period. Its natural wood pillars and white plaster walls contrast yet complement the gilded upper stories of the pavilion. Statues of the Shaka Buddha and Yoshimitsu are stored in the first floor. While it’s not possible to enter the pavilion, the statues can be viewed from across the pond. The second floor is built in the Bukke style used in samurai residences. Inside is a seated Kannon Bodhisattva surrounded by statues of the Four Heavenly Kings. These statues are not shown to the public. The third and uppermost floor is built in the style of a Chinese Zen Hall; it is gilded inside and out, and is capped with a golden phoenix.
Hyogo, Japan
Nose Myoken-san Worship Hall
This worship hall was designed by Shin Takamatsu. The special purpose of this building is for the ascetic training of Buddhist monks. It is located in the spiritual place known as Nose Myoukenzan, a sacred mountain in the prefecture of Hyogo. It is named after the Buddhist saint Myoken Bosatsu, who used to come here for prayer. The design comprises a tower and a supporting podium. The tower takes the icon of the sacred mountain as its design motif, and is supported by timber from sacred trees that are more than a century-old. The wooden elements used in construction link imminently the building to its surroundings. They remind the visitor of the wood all around, its trunks and branches, giving a sense of serenity and calmness. A glass floor has been suspended inside the tower, and training monks prostrate themselves on this swaying, transparent floor. In order to reach this community at the top of the mountain, we traveled many miles in a giant bus. Weaving in and out of trees, the views (while a bit spotty) were incredible. This area of Japan is not as urban as others, so we had the opportunity to see much of the natural landscape.
Hyogo, Japan
Himeji Castle
Also located in the prefecture of Hyogo, Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex; it is one of the finest surviving examples of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising of a network of 83 buildings (including storehouses, gates, corridors, and turrets) with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. While there have been a large amount of additions and changes, Himeji Castle has remained intact for over 400 years, even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake. In 1993 this castle was registered as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country, and is consistently the most visited castle in Japan. The principal materials used in the structures are stone and wood. Feudal family crests are installed throughout the building, signifying the various lords that inhabited the castle throughout its history. The labyrinth-like approach from the Hishi Gate to the main keep leads along walled paths and through multiple gates and baileys; the purpose was to slow down and expose attacking forces. The main keep is at the heart of the complex, and is a 6 story wooden structure. It is one of only a handful of castle keeps in Japan that feature wing buildings, adding complexity to its appearance. We were able to view Himeji Castle while it was snowing, and it was truly amazing.