conference paper

FROM

THE PILLAR

INTRODUCTION OF HOUSE IN WHITE 1

The "House in White" was created by Japanese architect Kazuo Shinohara for a couple interested in children's reading and arts, along with their three children. The basic color of this house is white, both the outer and inner space.

FIG 1. Aerial view of House in White

FIG 2. Perspective image of House in White

FIG 3. View from courtyard near main room

Sou Fujimoto has characterized the “white” as a type of field that embraces people’s existence. There is light, shadow, backdrop, and reflection in this “white”, which is soft but not dark.

The building is composed of a traditional japanese dwelling structure with a central column constructed in the middle of the plan, and the framework of the main house is finished along the slope of the roof; however, the entire structure is concealed by a white ceiling. The House in White is characterized by loft-like white bedrooms, wide white spaces, dramatic columns, and high ceilings.

FIG 4. Comparison between different atmosphere in a same room with/ without light.

FIG 5. White loft bedroom with pitched roof

As Shinohara's final piece from his first design phase, "House in White" best exemplifies the transition from historical legacy to modernism in his design philosophy. As a local Japanese dwelling, the design incorporates both the shell of a traditional Japanese house and the core of a Western contemporary minimalist room, mixing traditional and modern components to the greatest extent.

FIG 6. Diagrams showing the traditonal structure and the simplified inner space

FIG 7. Diagrams showing the abstract form designed by Shinohara

FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PILLAR 2

In order to discuss theHouse in White in detail, we must discuss Shinohara's architectural insights. Regarding the traditional architecture and aesthetic culture of Japan and China, Shinohara proposes the theory of "frontality," which states that all Eastern architecture and creations are two-dimensional and that there is a particular aesthetic perspective in our typical aesthetic, which is typically the front. This architectural idea imparts a feeling of tension to all structures when seen from the front, but when the vision turns to the side, this tension fades or vanishes.

Conversely, the House in White is an effort to go from frontality to complexity. The column is the space's spirit. It establishes a type of immanent interaction with the pure white wall, simultaneously severing space and time and generating a sensation of constant tension from all directions, therefore destroying the conventional frontality of architecture.

FIG 8. Drawings of elevation and plans with the highlight of the pillar

When a column is placed in a specific area, it defines the surrounding space and spatial zones. When placed in the middle of the room, it divides the surrounding area into equal zones; when placed offcenter, the size, shape, and position of the surrounding spatial zone will alter. The lone column lacks directionality yet attracts attention to itself; hence, it serves as the beginning place for meditation. It arouses the viewer's curiosity and perplexity about a place. By comparing the forms of existence of the columns in space, we may visually see that the scene's center of gravity has shifted.

FIG 9. By changing the existence and the materiality of the pillar, the visual center of gravity would apparently changed.

When a visitor looks at the columns, he or she must also notice the white wall that appears in the backdrop; this contrast makes the depth between the two seem abstractly flattened. The space is split as if by a nonexistent line, yet it is not divided. As one goes around the house, the column-divided space becomes more unstable. By observing the middle column, one's visual experience of space is altered.

FIG 10. Diagrams showing the feeling "unstable space"

FIG 11. A series of photos showing how the pillar would interact with space and people who are walking aound it.

FIG 12. The pillar is like the dividing line in mange. the time for the hostess who keeps making the scupture seems to be paused, while the time for the host who has done many different activities still goes by. These two people are like in the same space but on different timelines.

Additionally, the columns themselves are utilized to separate time. Shinohara considers Japanese and even oriental architecture to be ageless and unchanging. By static, he indicates that the movement of humans in space is unconscious and just a transition to reach another place. The scenery of the destination is the design's original aim. Nonetheless, at the House in White, there is an intentional effort to study the flow of space. But the existence of the column prevents the open view from being uninterrupted. Therefore the viewer's time is likewise invisibly split. Moreover, imagine that on the two sides of the column, on the left is the hostess reading a book, and on the right is the host drinking tea; the two people who are in the same time and space are effectively separated in different time and space due to the existence of a wooden column, which resembles a dividing line in a manga.

The column is the house's focal point, yet it seems off-center due to the spatial layout. This decentralized abstraction supplants the conventional sense of Japanese interior space with a more contemporary abstract three-dimensional composition. Such a design deviates from the convention yet is unfettered by architectural philosophy or form.

FIG 13. 3D composition of House in White, yellow highlights the pillar, blue highlights the white ceiling, and the red highlights the offcentered partition wall.

FIG 14. AXO drawings showing the structure and the view

There is another column feature in the design of Chinese architect Lei Zhang that is reminiscent of the House in White. Under the abstract red concrete courtyard stage of the Xinanli Master Studio's redevelopment project, there is an art gallery. One of the red pillars is attached to the same-material ceiling. The column in the design assists in supporting the above stairs but is not a necessary structure. It is maintained by the architect for similar reasons as the "House in White" that it acts as spatial division and hint.

PILLAR IN XINANLI MASTER STUDIO 3

[a] the pillar and the celling have a same color and material, and they construct an umbrellashaped structure indicating the shadow space underneath is a whole area.

[b] the pillar gives centrality to this showing room, which would draw visitors' attetion to this point.

[c] the pillar defines the location of surrounding exhibition tables and the circulation of tourists.

FIG 15. Plan of Xinanli Master studio with highlight of the pillar

FIG 16. Photo of underground gallery

FIG 17. Perspective view of the courtyard stage

FIG 18. Diagrams showing the different functions of the pillar with celling, wall and floor.

FIG 19. Original photo of the gallery

THE DIVINITY OF PILLAR 4

When people enter the House in White, they might feel more like they are entering a religious building than a house. A symbolic wooden column is constructed in a wide, unimpeded area. Similar to a temple, the visual contrast between the surrounding white walls and the timber column conveys a feeling of grandeur. This is consistent with Shinohara's original architectural purpose to "sanctify the habitation" and "bring the symbolic space to life."

This treatment resembles the massive black columns seen in Japanese tea rooms. The black column represents a backbone or a mainstay, and its symbolic meaning in the tea room is exceptionally significant. They are typically utilized straight from the uncarved wood, next to the tea stove's corner. In Japanese tradition, the highest pillar is revered as a divine presence. Ise Jingu, the progenitor of Japanese shrines, contains a pillar known as "Heart of the God" that is worshiped as a representation of the soul of Amaterasu Omikami.

FIG 20. The pillar in traditional Japnese tea room

FIG 21. The pillar in House in White

FIG 22. The Heart Pillar in Izumo-Taisha

FIG 23. Drawings of Ise Jingu

The same example also can be seen in many European shrines. Such a pillar serves no structural functions and is instead endowed with divinity. As a sign of spirituality, the central column of the "House in White" takes influence from these traditions.

The wooden column is attached to the hardwood floor as if it were a towering structure, creating the illusion of a tower constructed from the ground. The pillar is therefore imbued with divinity as the "heart pillar" of the Japanese family and as a bridge between human and the god. A house may be a normal habitation, a shrine, or a holy temple for ancestral spirits or gods. It relies on the construction process and our intended application. This demonstrates that a house may be a haven for spirituality and emotions in addition to protection from wind and rain. In "House in White" , Shinohara uses basic shapes and white color to create a symbolic setting that inspires people to look for the spiritual significance of space. By sanctifying the living space, he transforms it into a representation of human feeling.

FIG 24. San Pablo Villa Mitla, Oaxaca FIG 25,26. Temple by Egyptian Pylon

FIG 27. L'homme qui marche I, by Giacometti Alberto

FIG 28. Endless Column, by Constantin Brâncuși

Twenty years later, the House in White was compelled to be demolished, but the owner enjoyed it so much that he picked another location and constructed a replacement. Upon seeing the new "White House," Fujimoto sensed that something was amiss. How might diverse topographical surroundings correlate to the same design? But when the hostess moved by the pillar and leaned slightly on it as she pondered something, Fujimoto realized that the new "House in White" was the natural one.

If the original column was only a part of architecture design, the reconstructed one is a living companion. The original House in White is composed of two opposites: a house designed for people and people who adapt to live there. In the unconscious, these two affect one another and eventually meld into one. Human behavior provides the initially abstract environment with a daily link with its owner. In addition, the column serves as a physical connection between human routines and architectural space. At this moment, the divine and symbolic essence of the pillar's design has been stripped away, and it has taken on a humanity significance.

FROM DIVINE TO HUMANE 5

FIG 29. Photo of reconstruction process of new House in White, showing the roof structure and the original pillar from the old house.

If the first "House in White" was the architect's creation, the restored one is the natural home. The significance of residential space is inextricably linked to human emotions. Design influences people's lives while also being affected by them. The new "House in White" is a timeless abstract place that resonates with the owner's life.

In other words, an architect never designs a structure but rather a lifestyle. After being imbued with the habits of its owner, the pillar becomes a bridge between people and space, also space and time. According to Fujimoto, "Shinohara is not attempting to build a home, but he is always considering how to compress and re-release the continuity that has been built in houses over thousands of years. This does not begin with the homes, but rather begins before the dwellings ". When discussing the history and ephemerality of architecture, I wonder whether we should also begin with a pillar similar to this one, which would serve as a visual anchor point for architectural memory.

FIG 30. Collage indicating the pillar is coming from the god but becomes part of daily life in the end.

REFERENCE

Heng, H 2022, Harmony and Wabi-sabi: The "Adant-garde" Tradition of Mother's House and House in White, China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House, pp. 43-52.

Koji, T 2013, Oppositions: The Intrinsic Structure of Kazuo Shinohara's Work, South Architecture, 1 May, pp. 06-16.

Sou, F 2008, The Thing Connecting Eternity and Daily Life: New White/ New Abstraction, New Architecture[Japnese], vol 6, pp. 122-124.

Xiaohu, J 2020, The Presentation of Structure: Reinterpertation of "House in White" from the Perspective of MOdel Making and Spatial Perception, New Architecture, 1 January, pp. 78-82.

Yuxuan,C 2019, The House is a Work of Art --- Analysis of "House in White" in Several Details, Architecture Documentary, vol 188, pp. 205-207.