TOKYO PROTOCOL Japanese Tradition and Nature Headrick Michael Sean 2011584087 The University of Hong Kong Department of Architecture Year 3 Design Studio ARCH 3045, Fall 2013 Dr. Eric H. Schuldenfrei
Japanese Tradition and Nature
Table of Contents: Abstract Case Studies Project 1: Installation Project 2: Facade and Building Iteration Project 3: Building Proposal APPENDIX 1: Timeline APPENDIX 2: Essay, Initial Inspirations and Problems revealed APPENDIX 3: Essay, Investigation of the Japanese Traditional and Reinterpretation of It APPENDIX 4: Essay, From Traditional to Modernism to Symbiosis
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
Abstract: Tokyo Protocol, Return to Symbiosis PROBLEM: Energy and Natural Crisis
METHODOLOGY: Analysis of Metabolism together with another intellectual strategy of the avant-garde: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Metabolism - Kenzo Tange Metabolism - Kisho Kirokawa Situationists - Constant International Modern - Le Corbusier Traditional Japanese Architecture
Compare and contrast avant-garde visions: 1. Japan has withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol, 2. Tsunami destroys entire town and also causes a nuclear power plant meltdown, 3. Two years have passed and the radiation from nuclear plant has not been contained and still poses a threat for citizen safety, 4. Japanese architecture, especially high density housing, uses up to one third of the energy consumed in Japan; Total Energy Usage in Japan 30%
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Housing
1. Kenzo Tange vs. Constant 2. Traditional Japanese vs. Le Corbusier vs. Kenzo Tange 3. Kisho Kirokawa vs. Traditional Japanese These comparisons and research reveals the reason for current crisis. Further define what the traditional Japanese house means for Japanese architecture and how this can be applied to high density housing in Japan.
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INTERPRETATION: Technology Advances so Nature is Forgotten
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RESEARCH DIRECTION: Need for the creation of a symbiosis and coexistence of Nature and Technology and the Built Environment
2013
1. In modernization and technological advancement, Japan has lost sight of its awareness and sensitivity to nature, 2. This has been due to various historic factors in Japan’s industrialization and also the switch from traditional theories to the International Modern;
1. Symbiosis is defined as brining two opposing extremes together, 2. Create this symbiosis through the creation of “intermediary zones” as described by Kisho Kirokawa, however, we critique his methodology: he loses the awareness of the surrounding environment through his scheme,
3. Intermediary Zones defined as: A zone of spaces that create the ability to have an awareness of the surrounding environment as to interpenetrate two opposing forces. Such environments can include: Man, Nature, Built Environment, or Technology, 4. These Intermediary Zones are not isolated cases of two opposite elements but are suggestive of both, 5. Not only must this Intermediary Space provide a physical symbiosis between the two opposing elements, it must also create an awareness of these two elements for the user.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
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TOKYO PROTOCOL CASE STUDIES Looking to various sources for interpretations of nature and the way different contexts deal with it. The case studies stemmed out of our search for how we can create symbiosis. We found many different interpretations of nature and many different ways that designers dealt with nature in their work. Our findings range from projects like Constant’s New Babylon which seeks to create a new nature, to Kenzo Tange’s Tokyo Bay Plan which seeks least impact on the environment, to the traditional Japanese shoji screen architecture which calls for a very strong presence of nature in the house.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
NATURE THROUGH FORM Sidra Tree Convention Center
The convention center depicts not just any kind of tree, but specifically the sidra tree, a multifaceted cultural symbol. Arata Isozaki
The convention center in Doha, UAE, presents a contradiction where there the building’s inspiration and form comes from the iconic sydra tree. However, ultimately, the use of concrete and curtain wall facade betray the aspirations to replicate nature.
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EXPECTATION: Sydra tree as a concept and design base.
REALITY: Replication of nature through form.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
NATURE AS SYSTEM Clusters in the Air
Isozaki attempted to evolve his own maniera, which was predicated as much on a subtle reinterpretation of Japanese culture as on the legacy of Japanese Modernism. Arata Isozaki
The megastructure is aimed at reproducing a natural system-metabolism. However, as we see in the Capsule Tower project by Kisho Kurokawa, the ‘plug in’ architecture didn’t work. The system is inspired by traditional Japanese wooden architecture, especially the bracketing system employed in temples.
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EXPECTATION:
Metabolist architecture would create a vibrant, dynamic and responsive architecture based on an organic metabolism.
REALITY:
The built Metabolist projects prove to be stagnant and do not even respond to climate or ventilation needs.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
NATURE WITH GEOMETRY Shiga Kogen Ron Art Museum
These abstract geometrical forms are carefully placed to create relationships that will blend well with the natural environment, and exist in symbiosis with it. Kisho Kurokawa
Kurokawa begins to propose his kind of Symbiosis includes a range of architecture based on geometric shapes. According to his theory these geometric shapes will allow the user to interpret a basic, universal meaning from architecture. Furthermore he proposes that the shapes are the most natural state of architecture, citing vernacular architecture in is argument.
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EXPECTATION:
REALITY:
“Symbiosis of past and present”
Abstract duplication of form with no meaning
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
NATURE BORROWED Haussmann’s Boulevards
Haussmann’s boulevards represented a solution of the problem, of nature,which forced town planning to take a very dangerous direction that had no future. Sigfried Giedon
Haussmann built Paris with a vast range of networks and added an element of greenery to these networks. For most of the residents this allowed them to access “nature” without leaving the city, however all of the organic matter grown there is not naturally occurring and was imported to his boulevards.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
NATURE IN TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE Washitsu - Shoji screens Nature incorporated within the architecture, even in the interior, lending the building qualities of fragility and mutability. Robin Boyd
This Japanese traditional architecture was developed in the Higashiyama Period and originated in the south of Japan. Although the thin paper screens were imported into the north of country, a considerably cooler climate, it remained true to the form.
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FRONT GARDEN
PORCH
INTERIOR
BACK GARDEN
Most Transparent
Semi-Transparent
Semi-Opaque
Most Opaque, but Open
Shoji screens, being sliding doors in a Japanese housing, also play the role of a wall/ plane that sections the house, defining spaces. However unlike the typical concrete wall, shoji screens are flexible and their flex-
ibility not only enables free movement within the architecture, but also allows dynamic spatial arrangements.
The Shoji screen uses very organic materials; wood, bamboo, paper. The opaque property of it is not limited to only visual, it also allows the penetration of other environmental factors such as air and tem-
perature. Allowing it to have an all rounded facilitation of the connection with the surrounding.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
NATURE IN TRADITIONAL JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE Traditional Japanese House The traditional Japanese house is very permeable. With the absence of thick concrete walls, it utilizes thin Shoji screens to section the house as well as clever layering in order to create visual ambiguity, masking the private dwelling from the public.
The overlapping paper generates different levels of penetration. It almost seems that you will never find an absolute vacuum within a Japanese house, as the translucent shoji screens keep you connected with the surrounding. The gradient of conditions they provide allows a smooth transition from one
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space to the other. These intermediary zones allow the two opposing conditions to coexist, whether it be the interior and exterior or man-made environment and natural habitat.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
Symbiosis refers to relationships that sparks a level of creativity impossible for either party to achieve alone. Symbiosis is an interactive relationship of give and take. -Kisho Kurukawa
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TOKYO PROTOCOL PROJECT 1: INSTALLATION Displaying Symbiosis and Experimenting with Gradients in Architecture
1:1 Installation: An interactive construction which incorporates Shoji-inspired modules that create an experience while inside the installation. This experience is hoped to bring about the awareness of the outside of the installation at any given point. At one end, it completely meets the floor and envelopes the user, while at the other side it reveals almost all of the user while hung from the ceiling. At the completely enclosed area, the shoji modules will be the most transparent; allowing the user to have an awareness of the outside, and people outside the tunnel will also be able to visually interact with the user. At the other end, the modules will be entirely opaque, yet because this end doesn’t completely hide the user, there will be an awareness and interaction with the outside as well.
Elements of the Installation: • Shoji-Module system: A reference to the use of modules in both traditional Japanese architecture, Metabolist theories and the International Modern practice. • Translucent cloth: This gradients in the cloth references Kisho Kurokawa’s Symbiosis: “Symbiosis refers to a positive relationship in which the participants try to understand each other despite mutual opposition”. • The form: This partners with the transparency in the cloth to heighten awareness of the user within the tunnel and also others watching a user walking through the tunnel.
Material research
Most transparent frame
Mesh used in frames
Semi-transparent frame
Fabric template
Opaque frame
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
Hanging wire, to hold structure up in mid-air
Wooden pieces to make up module
Completed module including fabric layers and wooden frame Completed wooden frame, receives fabric and is compiled to create structure, receives hanging wires
Back fabric piece, anchors all fabric layers and attaches to frame Stitching to compile all fabric layers Layered fabric piece ready to be attached to frame 22
1:2 Construction Detail
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User is completely covered by installation, however he can still see outside of it because the form in that area.
The user is now completely visible to the outside and can also interact with the outside although he is almost completely covered by the installation.
1:20 Elevation Diagram 23
Japanese Tradition and Nature
Most Translucent
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Semi-Translucent
Fully Opaque
MOST TRANSPARENT
SEMI-TRANSPARENT
SEMI-OPAQUE
MOST OPAQUE, BUT OPEN
Front garden
Porch
Interior
Back Garden
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Shadows can be seen as user moves through the beginning of the installation
Faint shadow seen as the user continues walking through
Faintest shadow as the layers of fabric begin to hide the user
User cannot be detected from the outside of the installation, however can be seen and can see out of openings in form
Frames fully envelop the user in an opaque covering, but interaction continues through the emergence of the user and also change in form 25
Japanese Tradition and Nature
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TOKYO PROTOCOL PROJECT 2: INTERACTIVE FACADE AND FIRST BUILDING ITERATION Creation of a new facade typology that mimics the traditional Japanese house hierarchy.
Continuing the investigation into traditional Japanese ideas about nature and integration of nature with architecture, this project focuses on a passive system that mimics the traditional Japanese house. In collaboration with Gigi Lau, the proposal seeks to use the core of the building as the circulation seen in a traditional Japanese house-the road or path. This stems into the front garden of the units and then to a porch area and then into the unit itself. Within the traditional Japanese house, all but the circulation area is private property. Instead, we extrapolated the idea of transparency and started making these semi-transparent spaces accessible to more than just the owner of the unit himself.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS IN INTERPRETING THE TRADITIONAL Many tests proved to be dissatisfactory in interpreting the traditional Japanese idea of connection with nature.
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TOKYO PROTOCOL NATURAL INTEGRATION IN THE ROOM SCALE How to connect the room with nature in a passive system.
1
1
Winter Winter
Water GreyGrey Water Filtration Filtration
Collected Collected RainRain Water Water
Catcher Catcher - Ventilation - Ventilation 1 Wind 1 Wind 3
3
1
1
Summer Summer 2
2
Water GreyGrey Water Filtration Filtration
4
Fence Fence - Dehumidifyer/ - Dehumidifyer/ 2 Fog 2 Fog Water Water collection collection
3 Step 3 Step WellWell - Cooling - Cooling
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Air Well - Dehumidifyer/ - Dehumidifyer/ 4 Air 4 Well Water Water collection collection
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
INVERTED HOUSES
FACADE, HOUSING
VS.
Following the traditional Japanese model of houses to create housing.
CIRCULATION Road
Lift Core
The Japanese House links to a traditional road or path, the new proposal links the units with this common circulation.
FRONT GARDEN Garden
Vegetated Atrium
The Japanese front gardens mediate between the road and the porch. The proposal introduces a central atrium garden space to mediate between core and unit.
PORCH Porch
Stairway to Unit
The Japanese porch is an intermediary space between the house and the garden, the stairways connecting the units has the same use.
INTERIOR House
Unit
The house interior and units work in the same way to link the gardens with private living spaces.
BACK GARDEN Garden
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Balcony
Back gardens in the Japanese house are the most private spaces, yet remain exposed. Similarly, the proposal’s units have private back garden balconies.
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CIRCULATION TRANSPARENT SEMI-TRANSPARENT Road/Path
Front garden
Porch
SEMI-OPAQUE
MOST OPAQUE
Interior
Back Garden 31
Japanese Tradition and Nature
SECTIONAL EXPLORATION OF THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE HOUSE Looking into the section to discover a new typology for housing.
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TOKYO PROTOCOL PROGRESSION OF THE SECTIONAL PROPERTIES OF THE JAPANESE HOUSE:
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
Tokyo:
6,000/km2
Hong Kong:
6,500/km2
30%
ENERGY CONSUMED IN RESIDENTIAL HOUSING:
33%
OF TOTAL ENERGY FOR HEATING AND COOLING:
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Beijing:
1,300/km2
TOKYO PROTOCOL PROJECT 3: REINTERPRETING THE JAPANESE TRADITIONAL IN REFERENCE TO THE 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS Responding to energy and site, while considering the need for a more naturally aware architecture.
Moving onto the final proposal for the semester, the site and context in Tokyo became important to the project. Sitting on Harumi Pier in Tokyo Bay, the 2020 Olympic village will be a beacon for Japanese ideals and achievements-new and old. To further this idea of nationalism and celebrating Japan in the Olympics, the traditional Japanese house was translated into this high density housing proposal. This integration of tradition with an architecture aiming to heighten awareness of nature became the central theme of the infrastructure. Brining the harbor water into the site was important to raise awareness of this natural system that is in the heart of a very man-made city. Responding to the energy crisis in Japan, the building raises awareness of natural systems, provides district sea water cooling, and houses laboratories and research centers for further development of clean energy.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
EARLY FORMAL INVESTIGATIONS Looking into how the architecture responds to the site’s natural systems.
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CONNECTING TO EXISTING URBAN INFRASTRUCTURES
Allowing accessibility for the olympic village.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
CIRCULATION TO SITE:
EMPTY PLOTS ON SITE:
AXIS FOR INTERVENTION ON SITE:
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SITE STRATEGY:
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
UNITS POPULATING THE SITE STRATEGY:
Shaping of the units: -Each unit has access to 2/3 service cores -Each unit has either two back gardens and one front garden or two front gardens and one back garden 40
public garden (only 4-5 units connected to -Each unit ranges from 130-200sqm
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
UNIT IN RELATION TO THE COMMON GARDENS:
ac garden becomes the most private part of the unit nature
When public garden intersects with the unit it becomes a private front garden
Area to explore further
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of the public garden
C - n1
B - n3
A - n2
A - s2
B - s2
C - s1
B - s1
B - s2 TOKYO PROTOCOL
UNITS POPULATING THE SITE STRATEGY:
A - Double front garden, single back garden; B - Single front garden, double back garden; C - Single front garden, single back garden; D - Double front garden, double back garden. 1 - Least private front garden; 2 - More private front garden; 3 - Most private front garden. N - North facing front garden; S - South facing front garden.
Providing variety for personal preference.
C - n1
B - n1
A - ns3
C - s1
B - s1
A - s2
B - s3
B - s3
C - n1
S - n1
A - n2
B - s1
A - s2
B - s2
B - n3
A - n3
B - n1
D - n1
B - n2
B - s3
A - n2
B - n1
B - s2
B - n1
A - n2
A - s2
D - ns3
D - s3
B - s1
A - s2
A - n1
B - n1
B - n1
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
FRONT GARDENS IN RELATION TO COMMON GARDENS:
Creation of neighborhoods and communities through the development of front gardens.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
1:500 MODEL IN PLAN, CONNECTION WITH SITE
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TOKYO PROTOCOL MICRO-COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE INFRASTRUCTURE: Garden and unit organization allows for communities to form in the urban plan:
Looking to create not only a transformed understanding of nature, but also a return to the traditional model of houses in Japan, the architecture organizes itself to create smaller communities in within this city context. This can continue to serve the 2020 Olympics by providing housing for specific teams and also the separation of
athletes versus attendees to the Tokyo games. This organization is driven by type of garden and how these gardens provide for preferences in different scales of privacy.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
B - n3
A - n2
A - s2
B - s2
C - s1
B - s1
B - s2
B - n1
C 3- n1 A - ns
C - s1B - n3
B - s1A - n2
A - sA2 - s2
3 - s2 B - sB
3 - s1 B - sC
B - s1
S - n1
A - nC2 - n1
B - s1B - n1
2 - ns3 A - sA
CB- n - s1C2 - s1
33 BB- -nn B - s1
23 AA- -nn A - s2
A - s2 B - s3
B-
Three2 unit community B - s3A CA- n- 1nB2 - s1 -n formed.
11 BB- -nn A - s2
2 Larger of C - s1 sneighborhood AB- -ns B3 - s2 B - n3 four to five units.
B-
D - n1 50
Private 1 B - nC2 - nneighborhood of only two units.
S - n1
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
RESEARCH AND LABORATORY TOWER: Providing a place for discovery of new technology to replace nuclear power.
AQUARIUM AND GREENHOUSE: Raising awareness of nature throughout the complex and in the residents.
DISTRICT COOLING TOWER: Clean energy system to cool not only this infrastructure but also surrounding buildings.
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TOKYO PROTOCOL RESIDENTIAL ENTRANCE AND GARDEN SPACES: Public gardens to further re-enforce the awareness of the city’s natural systems.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
Sliding screens provide higher levels of freedom in choice about privacy and transparency. 54
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
FUTURE DIRECTION AND CRITIQUE DISCUSSION: What is the difference between housing and houses?
Energy meets Nature
Energy Consumed in Residential Housing:
The final review provided an outlet for discovery of new ideas and potentials for the project. The topic of housing versus housing became a major theme when approaching this project. I dealt with an analysis of a single Japanese house and the translation of this idea into a housing context. This, along with some other themes, seems to be a direction to further this project in the coming semester. It will be important to define what is housing and what are houses in this urban context of the Tokyo olympics and the future of this site. In addition, the idea of transparency and the traditional Shoji screens was questioned: What is the best translation of this idea into architecture? Is it necessarily a moving shoji screen? These two themes are my current direction for the upcoming semester and solidification of the project.
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of total energy for heating and cooling:
30%
33%
Arata Isozaki ...the sidra tree, a multifaceted cultural symbol.
Shoji Screens ...lending the building the natural qualities fragility and mutability.
Research and Laboratory Tower
Robin Boyd
Kisho Kurokawa ...abstract geometrical forms that blend with nature.
Aquarium and Greenhouse
Tradition Most SemiTransparent Transparent Front Garden
Porch
SemiOpaque
Opaque, but open
Interior
Back Garden
District Sea Water Cooling System
Looking into the awareness of nature in traditional Japanese architecture. Park and Residential Entrance
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
TIMELINE OF THE AVANT-GARDE AND JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE
The timeline was a useful tool for the me to start understanding how various avant-gardes affected Japanese architecture and how these trends contributed to various current events like the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
INITIAL INSPIRATION AND PROBLEMS REVEALED
In starting our research in “reverse engineering of historic manifestos”, two books became sparked our interests and seemed to relate well to the context in Japan. These two books are “Kenzo Tange” by Seng Kuan and “Design and Construction of High-Performance Homes” by Franca Trubiano. In reading “Kenzo Tange”, I began to gather that Tange was obsessed with environments at balance, places for “sleeping, eating, being entertained-without having to set foot outside” (Pg. 7). He was also very concerned with the idea that design must be an interdisciplinary process, not something only attended to by architects. He “masterfully exploited a dialectic between research and practice” (Pg. 12). In reading “Design and Construction of High-Performance Homes” by Franca Trubiano, I found a contrast with Tange, this book deals with our current era of architecture and housing. The contrast between Tange and where we currently are is, in part, a shift in perception of how development occurs in this system of housing. Trubiano states that “During the past thirty years of unchecked home building in the United States... little substantive research was conducted in the technological advancement of single-family homes” (Pg. 3). 62
Another statement struck me while reading the analysis of our modern day rubric for “high-performance homes”; that the idea of “high-performance” not only includes technologically advanced or “carbon free” buildings, but it also is crucial to include an element of performance design. The author states that, “rarely... are questions of equity, human behavior and quality of life positioned at the center of what we intend by high performance” (Pg. 6). Tange also aimed to create high-performance homes in form of a mega-structure.
ing and urbanism, the authors argued (of the Nine Points on Monumentality), its new task in post war period would be the reorganization of community life through the planning of civic centers, monumental ensembles, and public spaces” (Pg. 27, Architectural Culture).
Tange was involved in a the wider context of architects interested in human networks.
Tange’s Megastructures
This idea of incorporating the quality of life element into design requirements was also noticeably forgotten in the very utilitarian age of modernism. In a reaction to this lack of a somewhat more “human” element to architecture, monumentality began to question and test the idea of what they described as “man’s highest cultural need”. “While modern architecture had earlier been obliged to concentrate on the more immediate and mundane problems of hous-
Similarly, Tange was concerned with this human interaction and capturing the human element of planning in architecture. He states in his plan for Tokyo Bay, “alone is the man who is separated form this network. It is in order to connect themselves with this network that people gather in cities. The telephone, the radio, television, the portable telephone the video-telephone-all these indirect means of communication give rise to a greater demand and need for direct communication. When men carry messages, when they attempt to preserve the links between the various functions, there is a flow of movement, ant it is this movement that makes the urban organization and organization” (Pg. 328, Archi-
TOKYO PROTOCOL tectural Culture).
Constant’s New Babylon The way that Tange decided to incorporate this human interaction (flow of communication through the urban network) into his plan for Tokyo Bay was to create a layered linear system where transportation became a flow that was un-interrupted human interaction. He argues that the current city’s “permanent structure of the modern metropolis is incompatible with the movement that is necessary to the life of the metropolis” (Pg. 330, Architectural Culture). This new system begins to start a line of logic about transportation and human interaction that has never been stated before.
spersed by remnants of landscape and crisscrossed by a traffic grid, which can run independently of the built-up area” (Pg. 176-177, New Babylon). But maybe more importantly, the Tokyo Bay Plan and New Babylon are significantly linked with the pragmatic use of networks and the instantiation of these new invisible networks into the physical world.
Tange’s new plan gives rise to another new architectural movement, the Situationist International. I could not help but think of the New Babylon project by Constant. This new plan for urban life includes a “thoroughly structured framework, a scaffolding set on pillars and raised up in toto from the ground. Thus the ground is left at the free disposal of traffic. Division of the scaffolding into smaller units... gives rise to a complicated, netlike pattern inter63
Japanese Tradition and Nature
REINTERPRETATION OF THE JAPANESE TRADITIONAL
In a discussion last night about our themes and research, our team confirmed that we want to follow our thoughts about rejecting the design of buildings based on program in it’s specificity of spacial planning. We agree with James Leng when he says that “the words that come to mind when thinking about obsolescence are words like ‘use,’ ‘function,’ ‘program’! I think it was Rem who popularized designing through program. ... What really determines when a building is useful or not?” (http://archinect. com/blog/article/80980160/useless-architectures-interview-with-2013-somprize-winner-james-leng).
Traditional Japanese House and use of Tatami Flooring and Shoji Screens 64
This led us to look at traditional
Japanese architecture and their use of modular units: the tatami floor mats and sliding shoji paper screens. The Japanese used these modular tools to customize their homes based on their needs, they could arrange, open up, close and configure the layout by using these elements. Instead of using the program to define the form of the building, we will create a system that utilizes these kind of elements to self generate form. Immediately an architecture comes to mind that is made up of a three dimensional grid with the ability to internally rearrange these modules to accommodate different events. As we continued our research on traditional Japanese architecture, we started to investigate the relation of these ideologies and nature. We discovered that Japan has had a long history of “symbols of the desire for an elemental harmony between the artificial and natural” (New Direction in Japanese Architecture, pg. 8). However, the past century marks a strong alienation of Japan and its architecture from nature. We can see this through their import of energy, nuclear power plant meltdown, naturally unresponsive architecture (destruction by nature instead of a bending with nature).
Ise Shrine, Plan and Elevation While attributing this problem to their rapid industrialization and adoption of the Modern Architectural Style, we blamed these new ideologies that seemed to counter Japanese tradition of harmony with nature. However, we found that in actuality the traditional Japanese architectural ideologies share a very similar line of thinking with Le Corbusier’s modern architecture. “Indeed, the module of the hand-prefabricated... tatami floor mats, whose dimensions and layouts dictated room size, makes the most remarkable philosophical link between Japanese traditional and international modern” (New Direction in Japanese Architecture, pg. 9). We found that Japan shares much of its early architectural tradition with the international modern: “the love of naked materials, the delight in open space..., the pleasure of demonstrating the structural means of support, and the satisfaction in use of the module” (New Direction in Japanese Architecture, pg. 9).
Instead of a change of ideology,
TOKYO PROTOCOL we discovered that the new alienation with nature was simply a misinterpretation of the traditional Japanese ideologies through the use of the International Modern language. Our aim is to return to the ideology of harmony with the natural environment and incorporate the ideas of “the use of material - wood, straw and stone - exposed to weather unprotected, and the incorporation within the architectural whole, even in the interior... lend(ing) the building qualities of fragility and mutability” (Some Aspects of Japanese Architecture, pg. 39-40). “Architecture in Japan has also been influenced by the climate. Summers in most of Japan are long, hot, and humid, a fact that is clearly reflected in the way homes are built. The traditional house is raised somewhat so that the air can move around and beneath it. Wood was the material of choice because it is cool in summer, warm in winter, and more flexible when subjected to earthquakes ( Web-Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan). Additionally, “Japan experienced many earthquakes as strong as around M8. But more serious phenomenon is that in Japan earthquakes occur almost everyday, if up to insensible ones are counted. Buildings suffer from vibration, and every time slight deformations and damages may be left and accumulated. Eventually, after several centuries, a strong earthquake will destroy buildings” (A Historical Review of the Techniques in Japanese Buildings for Resisting Various Loads, Focusing on Seismic Attacks, Pg. 3).
Earthquake resistant vernacular architecture in Japan. In essence we are aiming to create an architecture that returns to nature, still utilizing the ideas of the International Modern: use of naked materials, creating open spaces, exposing the structural supports, and use of a module system. Also we hope to include the element of self recovery or re-generation, in view of the violent natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis. We want to investigate further the traditional Japanese houses, pagodas and pit dwellings, which have been standing for hundreds of years and survive today.
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERNISM TO SYMBIOSIS
“Modern architecture freed itself form history and the styles of the past... It was looked upon as a means for creating an international culture by providing a universal, common language for all humankind. The internationalism was to be established by ignoring the disticnt languages, cultures, and unique regional conditions and petterns of history.” (Metabolism to Symbiosis, Pg. 26-27) This attempt to unify everything is not working, we need to work to a symbiosis that works to bring together opposing conditions. In response to Modern Architecture, Kisho Kurokawa suggests that symbiosis is the new methedology of architecture in the world. “In Modern architecture as well we can find attempts to express locality or history by recreating exactly the style of the past, but this very rarely succeeds.” (Metabolism to Symbiosis, Pg. 27)
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ships that spark a level of creativity impossible for either party to achieve alone. Symbiosis is an interactive relationship of give and take. As can be understood from the above, the philosophy of symbiosis differs completely from concepts like harmony, coexistence, and compromise.
Kurokawa’s Agricultural City attempts at creating symbiosis with nature
“Achieving symbiosis between past and present is to incorporate the atmosphere or mood of the past.. into modern architecture. In that case, the past that we are trying to incorporate is invisible, a spiritual legacy, and our intellectual task is to discover a way to make this come alive in a sophisticated form.” (Metabolism to Symbiosis, Pg. 27)
Kurokawa’s Plan for Tokyo, Including a strong emphasis on “intermediary spaces”
“My concept of symbiosis is completely new, different from harmony, coexistence, or compromise. My definition of symbiosis encompasses opposition and contradiction; it refers to new, creative relationships through competition and tension.
“The philosophy of symbiosis comprises various dimensions: the symbiosis of history and of the present, the symbiosis of tradition and the latest technology, the symbiosis of nature and man, the symbiosis of different cultures, the sybmiosis of art and science, and the symbiosis regionalism and universalism.” (The Philosophy of Symbiosis From the Age of the Machine to the Age of Life, Pg. 8)
“Symbiosis refers to a positive relationship in which the participants try to understand each other despite mutual opposition. Symbiosis refers to relation-
“But can we today attain humanity simply by denying technology when it has already been incorporated into our daily lives.” (Metabolism to Symbiosis,
TOKYO PROTOCOL Pg. 29) A “condition necessary to achieve symbiosis is the presence of intermediary space. Intermediary space is so important because it allows the two opposing elements of a dualism to abide by common rules, to reach a common understanding. I call this a tentative understanding. Intermediary space does not exist as a definite thing. It is extremely tentative and dynamic. The presence of intermediate space makes possible a dynamic, vibrant symbiosis that incorporates opposition. “As the mutual penetration and mutual understanding of two opposing elements proceeds, the bounds of the intermediate space are always in motion. This process, because of the presence of intermediate space reveals the life principle itself, in all its ambivalence, multivalence and vagueness. Tolerance, the lack of clear cut boundaries, and the interpenetration of interior and exterior are special features of Japanese art, culture, and architecture. The many essays I have written over three decades on such aspects of Japanese culture as Ma(interval in time of space); Engawa (veranda); the concept of Senu hima, the moment of silence between acting and acting a described by Zeami in his treatises on the Noh drama; street space; Rikyu grey; permeability = transparency; lattices; and Hanasuki have all been attempts to pursue this idea of intermediary space....
“Intermediate space can occasionally act as a stimulus for metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is one of the special features of the life process. A larva is transformed into a butterfly, an egg into a bird, or a fish. There is no life principle more sudden or extreme. Architecturally speaking, gates, atriums, large-scale and other extraordinary spaces move people because they make them perceive some sort of leap into the extraordinary, a sudden drama that cannot be explained by the function of the space alone. Such intermediary spaces as street space, plazas, parks, waterfronts, street scenes, city walls, city gates, rivers, landmark towers, and the urban infrastructures of highways and freeways play a role as stimuli that make possible the existence of individual buildings.” (http://www. kisho.co.jp/page.php/298)
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Japanese Tradition and Nature
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