Prostho Museum - Thesis Prep 793a Wuyang Yang by Jose Sanchez

RESEARCH OF PROSTHO MUSEUM

ARCH_793A DIRECTED DESIGN RESEARCH WUAYANG YANG

CONTENT

and coercive. ” History and Information

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“My purpose in writing Anti-Object is to criticise architecture that is self-centred

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SYSTEM TO OBJECT Instructor: Jose Sanchez

encoded along with their values. Instead, the position of a voxel is inferred based upon its position relative to other voxels. Because of there are several relationships of each unit in a voxel world, it is quite like a system that can be applied in architecture design. Especially in the Prostho Museum, each wooden grid unit can be considered as a voxel unit and they connected to each other through the Chidori system. The following images is a bitmap with different shade of gray which compose a image. The image is not define by lines but by units. Specifically, the information of color is the fundamental thing that define and change the image. In a bitmap system, the changing of each unit’s information can influence the final result. So is the voxel system in 3 dimensional world. This point can also be found in the Prosho Museum, imaging each unit is a square in a bitmap. The information will be wood, glass or concrete which can be filled in the unit and compose the whole building.

System is a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole. Everything has a system and every system can drive to new things. Architecture also has system. In Kengo Kuma’s Prostho Museum, a voxel-like system is being applied, which generate a unique figure.

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Kengo Kuma argues that this mindset is dangerous, cause it prevents us from establishing a healthy relationship with the external world. He also suggests that an alternative form of architecture is not only desirable but possible as well. He inllustrates many works of his office, try to explore some tactics to avoid objectification. The ideas embodied in these diverse projects have much in common with the Japanese tradition, not of ‘monuments’, but of ‘weaker’ buildings characterised by their use of natural light and natural materials.

In the design of Prostho Museum, Kengo Kuma’s source of inspiration comes from the assembly system of cidori, a traditional Japanese building set for children. Cidori is a collection of wooden sticks that can be notched together to make longer or shorter components. It works without metal hinges or nails. Together with structural engineer Jun Sato and craftsmen from Takayama – the region in which cidori originated – Kuma applied the principles of the toy building set to a fully fledged architectural construction. Without using fasteners or adhesives of any kind, they interwove 6000 cypress rods to create a 9-m-high, three-dimensional gridded structure. As Kengo Kuma said, the wooden lattice provides far more than a cosmetic solution. It functions as a structural device. He expresses his dislike for modern buildings with a ‘cosmetic skin’ that is merely attached to the surface. One interesting part of the Prostho Museum design is 3D grid system of the wooden structures. In the digital world, something very similar is called voxel. A voxel represents a value on a regular grid in three-dimensional space. As with pixels in a bitmap, voxels themselves do not typically have their position (their coordinates) explicitly

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Kengo Kuma tried many ways to make his design not like an object, but as something that grow out from the context naturally. In the design of forest stage, Kengo Kuma keep the idea of minimization which as he said is quite different from Minimalism, cause its motive is not the simplification and abstraction of form, but rather the criticism of matter. The minimization process is always connected with the spirit world. Therefore, Kengo Kuma brought a paradox in using materials. He used wood and tile as the major materials, one stands for nature, one for artifacts. Two materials are essentially different, but match very well in the Kuma’s design. The stage is quite humble in the forest and also show its respects to the main temple nearby.

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In the book Anti-Object, Kengo Kuma expresses his idea of making architecture humble and invisible. As he said, an “Object” is a work of architecture that is expressly cut off from its surrounding context. This kind of objectification in architecture design has long been central to western architecture, especially when the modernism succeeded in conquering the world. The way to make architecture an object has become a only strategy. It is all-pervasive because it is consistent with the aim of the prevailing economic system: to transform virtually everything into a commodity.

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HISTORY & INFORMATION

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Fig. 1.1-1.2 Street View, The city of Kasugai has a long history of wood manufacture, and wood is a local and native material in Kasugai. Kengo Kuma captured this feature and made this stunning design for the city. The Wooden skin is very unique but not bizarre in that areas. Although the building is not a big gesture in the city, it is definitively a landmark and a place must to visit in Kasugai city. Fig. 1.3 The GC Prostho Museum Research Center is located in Kasugai-shi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is surrounded by a small neighborhood. Most surrounding buildings are residential houses in the modern Japanese style, which look like a traditional house but constructed with contemporary materials in a modern ways.

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Fig. 1.4-1.5 In the book Anti-Object, Kengo Kuma expresses his idea of making architecture humble and invisible. As he said, an “Object” is a work of architecture that is expressly cut off from its surrounding context. This kind of objectification in architecture design has long been central to western architecture, especially when the modernism succeeded in conquering the world. The way to make architecture an object has become a only strategy. It is all-pervasive because it is consistent with the aim of the prevailing economic system: to transform virtually everything into a commodity.

Fig. 1.6 Villa Savoy is considered to be one of the Modernism master pieces. In addition, the five points of new architecture that derived from Villa Savoy become principles for the architecture design after. However, In Anti-Object, Kengo Kuma criticizes on the pillar system of Villa Savoy, for it separates the ground and people in the house. The figure of the villa is strong and the building stands out on site. The grassland and building are clearly separated by the pillars. Although a artificial garden is designed on the second floor, it is still fake and can not be the real nature. The building should be like a machine as Le Corbusier said, while in Kengo Kuma’s mind, architecture should be like something else. Fig. 1.7 In the case of the Germany Pavilion in Barcelona, the pedestrian hold all the building elements on top,

alternative form of architecture is not only desirable but possible as well. He inllustrates many works of his office, try to explore some tactics to avoid objectification. The ideas embodied in these diverse projects have much in common with the Japanese tradition, not of ‘monuments’, but of ‘weaker’ buildings characterised by their use of natural light and natural materials.

Kengo Kuma argues that this mindset is dangerous, cause it prevents us from establishing a healthy relationship with the external world. He also suggests that an

while it also separates building from the ground and becomes a barrier for people to approach closer. This is something that makes the building self-centered and coercive. And in Kengo Kuma’s mind, architecture should not be like this.

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Fig. 1.8 Kengo Kuma tried many ways to make his design not like an object, but as something that grow out from the context naturally. In the design of forest stage, Kengo Kuma keep the idea of minimization which as he said is quite different from Minimalism, cause its motive is not the simplification and abstraction of form, but rather the criticism of matter. The minimization process is always connected with the spirit world. Therefore, Kengo Kuma brought a paradox in using materials. He used wood and tile as the major materials, one stands for nature, one for artifacts. Two materials are essentially different, but match very well in the Kuma’s design. The stage is quite humble in the forest and also show its respects to the main temple nearby. Fig. 1.9 In this design of Kirosan Observatory, Kengo Kuma buried the whole building

in the mountain in order to keep the beautiful scenery of the Kirosan Mountain. Typically, an observatory is constructed to take advantage of a beautiful environment. However, its construction can spoil that environment. It does not matter how beautiful the form of the observatory is; in fact, the more beautiful it is, the more conspicuous it is likely to be, to the detriment of the environment.

Fig. 1.10 Nowadays, many architects are perusing in making architecture invisible and merging into the environment around. It has already become a special type of design, and different architects has different approaches which are corresponding to their culture background and understanding of invisible architecture. In the case of the Serpentine Gallery by Sou Fojimoto, he use clouds as a metaphor of the building. As clouds is one of the most natural elements in many cultures, its soft and clean shape make the structure looks lightweighted and easy to get into. Fig. 1.11 In the case of the blur building by diller scofidio + renfro, the cloud is real and made of vapor. The pavilion is made of filtered lake water shot as a fine mist through 13,000 fog nozzles creating an artificial cloud that measures 300 feet wide

by 200 feet deep by 65 feet high. A built-in weather station controls fog output in response to shifting climatic conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind direction, and wind speed. They used the real natural element as the envelope of the pavilion and made it almost invisible. However, the program in the building is limited. It is more like a inspiring art work.

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Fig. 1.13-1.16 Another character of Kengo Kuma’s local materials,such as straw, tile and wood panels architecture design is the using of local materials. His are being perfectly applied to architecture design in a inexhaustible curiosity for experimentation with local innovative way. . materials and innovative constructions has rewarded him with a distinctive position among Japanese architects. In Kengo Kuma’s words, every city has its own identity and the representative local building materials is a good way to express these identities. In the case of the Bamboo house next to the Great Wall, the dehydrated bamboo is the main skin elements that composite the whole building. The use of bamboo to represent China is very successful and this project let more people in China know about Kengo Kuma. In the other works, various

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Fig. 1.21-1.22 In the design of Prostho Museum, Kengo Kuma’s source of inspiration comes from the assembly system of cidori, a traditional Japanese building set for children. Cidori is a collection of wooden sticks that can be notched together to make longer or shorter components. It works without metal hinges or nails. Fig. 1.23 The concept of the GC Prostho Museum Research Center, which first appeared as an installation at the 2007 Salone del Mobile in Milan, now serves as a showpiece for GC. The smaller scale of the wooden structures serves as a mock up for the construction of the museum. Fig. 1.24 In the design of Prostho Museum, Kengo Kuma’s source of inspiration comes from the assembly system of cidori, a traditional Japanese building set for children. Cidori is a collection of wooden sticks that can be notched together

to make longer or shorter components. It works without metal hinges or nails. Together with structural engineer Jun Sato and craftsmen from Takayama – the region in which cidori originated – Kuma applied the principles of the toy building set to a fully fledged architectural construction. Without using fasteners or adhesives of any kind, they interwove 6000 cypress rods to create a 9-m-high, three-dimensional gridded structure. As Kengo Kuma said, the wooden lattice provides far more than a cosmetic solution. It functions as a structural device. He expresses his dislike for modern buildings with a ‘cosmetic skin’ that is merely attached to the surface.

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Fig. 2.1 Basement Plan. The basement of the Prostho Museum is mainly used as archive and communal space. Fig. 2.2 The communal space is one of the most interesting space in the Prostho Museum, with a nicely design skylight which can introduce natural light into the room. And the wooden components extend into underground through the skylight, which make the skin more alive and dynamic. In addition, the furniture in Prostho Museum is also well designed, using the similar wooden elements as the facade. Through this way, Kengo Kuma articulate the whole building, including the facilities, in the same languages.Fig. 2.3-2.4 The images show what the skylight looks like from outside, and how the skin extend to underground.

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Basement Plan 1 Communal Space 2 Archive 3 Dry Yard 4 Storage 2.1

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Fig. 2.5 The ground floor is where people come into the decorative elements, but as a building component. In the building, but the entrance is not open to the street in image, the wooden frames are actually ceiling that can front of the museum. People need to walk into a small hide the mechanic system. alley first and then enter the building. The entrance is located at the back of the building. The first floor is mainly used as office and exhibition space. Fig. 2.6 This image shows the scene when you look up in the exhibition space. There is a void space inside the wooden components all the way up to the roof. Fig. 2.7 Among the exhibits on display at the entrance level are enormous models of prosthetic teeth. The light come through the wooden facade and the shadow cast onto the ground, which as Kengo Kuma said, the installation is like a forest of deciduous trees, with sunshine filtering through. Fig. 2.8 The wooden components are not only used as

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Ground Floor Plan 1 Bureau 2 Electricity Room 3 Restroom 2.5

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Fig. 2.9 The second floor is also occupied with the office spaces. But the space is more closed than the first floor, as the wooden skin on the southern facade getting thicker. Fig. 2.10 The wooden components serve as architectural walls of the staircase and begin to define spaces in an unique way. Instead of a regular closed staircase. The warm color of wood makes makes it cheerful and alive. Fig. 2.11-2.12 The color of the wooden components also changes as in different part of the building. Some of the wooden sticks are painted in black color to match with the stair color.

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Second Level Plan 1 Bureau 2 Storage 3 Restroom 2.9

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Fig. 2.13 The third floor is mainly used as laboratory. As the wooden components in the front of the museum getting thicker on the third level, the space is more dim than the other two floors. Fig. 2.14 The wooden components keep spreading into the laboratory space and shape a wall inbetween the laboratory and staircase. The grid of each wooden component can be used as a shelf for display as the image shows. Kengo Kuma tried to give the wooden components more functions rather than just an exterior decoration . The wooden components can become walls, furniture, ceiling and so on.

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Third Level Plan 1 Laboratory 2 Storage 3 Restroom 2.13

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East Elevation

Transverse Section 1 Bureau 2 Laboratory

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Longitudinal Section 1 Bureau 2 Laboratory 3 Exhibition

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Dimension Lattice:Spruce 240x240x240mm Lattice:Douglas Fir 240x240x240mm Lattice:Red Cendar 240x240x240mm

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Fig. 2.16 The object in the image is called Dougong which is a unique structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, one of the most important elements in traditional Aisan architecture. The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BC and evolved into a structural network that joined pillars and columns to the frame of the roof. The wooden pieces are connected with each other by joinery alone without glue or fasteners, due to the precision and quality of the carpentry. Fig. 2.17 The joint of Dougong is called Sunmou, which literally means concave-convex . It is the connection of wood pieces by themselves in a unique way. The idea of Sunmou first appeared as a kind

Fig. 2.18 The Burr Puzzle spread to Japan, which is known as the Chidori toy. The chidori joint based upon the design of this kind traditional Japanese toy. And there is some differences between the Burr Puzzle and Chidori toy. Although the Chidori toy is evolved from the puzzle, it also combine the Japanese philosophy of pursuing minimal. The connection method and choosing of material is much more concise that the Burr Puzzle. And the finishing of wood is more smooth and clean, which express the same sense of cleanness as the modern Japanese designs.

of interlocking puzzles toy in China, known as “Lu Ban locks” or “Kongming locks”. The assembled puzzles form a variety of geometrically pleasing structures and have traditionally been made from wood, bamboo or ivory. Some are shaped like smooth balls, while the interlocking pieces of others stick out, making the assembled puzzles look like burrs—the prickly seed cases that cling to clothing. These burr-shaped interlocking puzzles are known in the puzzle world as “burr puzzles.”

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Fig. 2.19 Chidori Joint. The following diagrams show how Chidori Joint works. Each joint is made with three wooden sticks that been carved through different ways. The special carve make three sticks interlocked in a neat and clean way. One important part is the cylindrical carve, which is different from the other angular one. As the three pieces of wood sticks interlocked in a specific way, the cylindrical one can be rotated 180 degree to fit in the gap created by the other two wooden sticks. Through this way, each sticks look like a straight one without breaking and the joint is extremely elegant and minimal. Fig. 2.20 The process images show how to make the Chidori joint in reality. I made one of the

joint and try to look at how it works. It is quite smart way to connect them during the time without nails and glue. Besides the architectural influence, the spirit of craftsmen is inspiring as well. As I 3d print all the sticks and that is very easy. But imagining without any modern technology, the craftsmen at that time can still work out these complicated things and apply these innovations to architecture, which is very respectful.

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Fig. 2.22 Even though the basic elements is a cube, the composition of these cubes can still make the overall shape looks organic. Especially the atrium of the exhibition space. The space is full of vertical and horizontal lines. In the design of central hollow space, the more closer to the ground, the more wooden components being carve out. Therefore, the atrium is like a tapered space. Also it is not a clean cut, when carving the space. Some pieces still look like growing from the body

Fig. 2.21 So far, it seems that the chidori connection is the very basic unit of the whole facade. But actually in the real construction phase, the following 6.5ft*6.5ft* 10ft clustering of chidori joints is the basic construction unit. They connect to each other through a small stick as a wedge between each one. And the whole clustering was assembled together before adding into the buidling. One thing that is interesting to point out is the concept of “from parts to whole”. The “part” can also be considered as a “whole” to some extents,while the “whole” can also be thought as a part which can potentially agglomerate into a bigger “whole”.

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Fig. 2.23-2.25 There are three types of envelope system in the Prostho Museum, Solid skin, wooden skin, and glazing. Each of them has different transparency and function. In some parts, the skin perform individually. While in some parts, two system overlapped to become a double-skin system. Fig. 2.26 The distribution of different skin type depends on the program inside. For the exhibition room, the skin is made of wooden grids with glass embed inside which can provide enough sunlight for interior space. While in the laboratory, the envelope change to concrete wall with wooden grids attached outside.

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Fig. 4.1-4.2 One interesting part of the Prostho Museum each wooden grid unit can be considered as a voxel unit design is 3D grid system of the wooden structures. In and they connected to each other through the Chidori the digital world, something very similar is called voxel. system A voxel represents a value on a regular grid in threedimensional space. As with pixels in a bitmap, voxels themselves do not typically have their position (their coordinates) explicitly encoded along with their values. Instead, the position of a voxel is inferred based upon its position relative to other voxels. Because of there are several relationships of each unit in a voxel world, it is quite like a system that can be applied in architecture design. Especially in the Prostho Museum,

Fig. 4.3-4.4 A volume described as voxels can be visualized either by direct volume rendering or by the extraction of polygon iso-surfaces that follow the contours of given threshold values. In the architecture sense, a single volume of the building can also be defined as a solid object or linear frame. In Prostho Museum, the wooden structure attached outside the building can be considered as a volume of voxels and each wood piece is a line and each connection is a node in the voxel world.

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Fig. 4.5-4.7 The voxel unit can be further defined as varied geometries, which can lead to different results. In the following pictures, the unit are shaped in to polyhedron and agglomerate together to become a wall. Some units are left empty which allow people to see through. Instead of polyhedron, the voxel unit can also be defined as many other elements. Such as lines, poly-surfaces and minimal surfaces. The voxel provide a system for varied possibilities.

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information changing. We can also say that the picture Fig. 4.8 M. Casey Rehm: Control. Control utilizes a conflation of techniques between interactive media and are articulated in another way. Also the color and many formal generation to produce a space which engages data can also be changed in a voxel system. interface as a domestic and cultural condition. Aside of changing the form of each unit, the virtual information also be add to each unit. In the case of the following installation by M. Casey Rehm, each unit can connected with data which can are interactive with audience. As the data of each unit changing, the whole result are changing as well. In the picture of top-right, the man are pixelated. But some parts are contorted as the

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Fig. 3.5-3.6 The following images is a bitmap with different shade of gray which compose a image. The image is not define by lines but by units. Specifically, the information of color is the fundamental thing that define and change the image. In a bitmap system, the changing of each unit’s information can influence the final result. So is the voxel system in 3 dimensional world. This point can also be found in the Prosho Museum, imaging each unit is a square in a bitmap. The information will be wood, glass or concrete which can be filled in the unit and compose the whole building.

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Fig. 4.13-4.14 Cellular Automata. Cellular automaton is a one-dimensional cellular automaton where there are two possible states (labeled 0 and 1) and the rule to determine the state of a cell in the next generation depends only on the current state of the cell and its two immediate neighbors. If the whole voxel are layered and each layer are generated by the layer before. In another word, the data contained in each unit is to determine the neighbors. Then the voxel system can vary in many other forms.h other through the Chidori system

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Reference

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2. Defeated Architecture Kengo Kuma 3. New Architecture, 2003 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voxel 5. http://www.dsrny.com/projects/blur-building 6. http://inhabitat.com/kengo-kuma-designs-minimalist-japanese-alternative-to-lego/ 7. http://www.google.com

9. https://wewanttolearn.wordpress.com/2014/11/13/system-development-cellular-automata/ 10. http://morphocode.com/intro-to-cellular-automata/ 11. http://www.suckerpunchdaily.com/tag/casey-rehm/ 12. https://sciarc.edu/events/exhibitions/m-casey-rehm-control/

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8. http://inhabitat.com/kengo-kuma-envisions-shapeshifting-nomadic-shelters-woven-from

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1. Architecture Words 2 Anti-Object: The Dissolution and Disintegration of Architecture