GT23 - Man Shu - The Pleasure of Architecture / The Architecture of Pleasure

The Pleasure of Architecture

The Architecture of Pleasure

Graduate Thesis 2023 Man Shu

Thesis Statement

The Pleasure of Architecture

The Architecture of Pleasure

What is the hidden, but powerful mechanism connecting eroticism and architecture?

How to inspire the individual's erotic imagination and activate the society's unconscious desire through the sensuousness of space?

What new role can erotic architecture take on in our urban society in the era of sexual liberation?

The Pleasure of Architecture

“Architecture is the ultimate erotic act. Carry it to excess and it will reveal both the traces of reason and the sensual experience of space. Simultaneously.”

Fragment 1: Architecture = Eroticism

Bernard

Tschumi, Fragment 9: Architecture of Pleasure Chapter 10: The Pleasure of Architecture, What is Architecture?

Architecture is imagination by nature. Imagination is pornographic by nature. Taken to its extreme, architecture is the ultimate erotic act, which includes both pain and pleasure.

Fragment 2: Pain or Pleasure – the Sensuousness of Space

The ropes and rules of architecture have the erotic significance of bondage: the more numerous and sophisticated the restraints, the greater the pleasure. Thus, during the game of erotic space, the pleasure is the pain, the pain is the pleasure. The pain and pleasure of architecture is an unspoken experience of sensuousness, which lies in the form of formlessness, coming from loose fragments representing erotic significance.

Fragment 3: The Pleasure of Eroticism

The pleasure of eroticism lies in the erotic relationship between architecture and architecture, which can be perceived as a kind of spiritual sensuality. Although palpable sexual tension exists between these entities, their consummation is often deferred or remains unrealized. The erotic sensation between architecture and its audience assumes a seemingly effortless yet meticulously orchestrated equilibrium, akin to the art of pole dancing. These moments of touching and gestures evoke a profound pleasure response.

Fragment 4: The Pain of Memorial

What is the pain of architecture? How to address both the pleasure and pain of spatial sensuousness through the erotic form at the same time? Physically, it has nothing to do with the symbolic form of the body, it lies in the tortured surface, the seductive line, the prickly point. Spiritually, it can be gained from the meaning of the memorial form. The memorial form is the representation of the cautionary form, the reflection of sexual risk. Simultaneously, it is a commemoration and tribute to the erotic experiences of space. Involving the structure of space, it helps evoke feelings of sensuality and celebrate the expression of human sexuality.

Fragment 5: The Climax of Fragments

The pleasure of architecture achieves climax ultimately, when the erotic fragments abruptly collide and merge in delight, all the rules are disproved, limits are perverted, prohibitions are transgressed, typologies, morphologies, spatial compressions, logical constructions - all dissolved. The starting point of architecture is distortion which is the most forbidden parts of the architecture act. Such architecture is perverse because its real significance lies outside utility or purpose and ultimately is not even necessarily aimed at giving pleasure.

A piece of erotic architecture is architectural not because it fulfills some utilitarian function, but because it inspires erotic imagination, suggests seduction, activate the society's and individual's unconscious desires.

The Architecture of Pleasure:

Want Pleasure? Go to the Memorial!

The 10,000 m2 of Desire

The Ukiyo-e of Libido

The project is a public/non-private playground for adults’ collective engagement in sexual recreation. It is a spatial embodiment of sexual equity and liberation. Although combined with the memorial for persecuted women in Yoshiwara Yukaku. It is not a cemetery. Guilt or sadness is not the goal. It is a cautionary memorial against sexual exploitation. The sensuousness of space (pain or pleasure) is the destination. Sexuality can be freely expressed and celebrated in this inclusive environment. It is the Ukiyo-e of libido in the era of sexual liberation, inspiring erotic imagination and unspoken desires of society and individuals.

Yoshiwara Yukaku: 1617-1958, one of the three licensed and well-known pleasure quarters in Edo, present-day Tokyo. It was a vibrant and bustling area known for its entertainment, including brothels, theaters, teahouses, restaurants, etc. Ukiyo: 'floating/fleeting/transient world', describes the urban lifestyle and culture of pleasure-seeking aspects, of Edo period Japan

Provocations

What is the hidden, but powerful mechanism

How to inspire the individual's erotic imagination desire through the sensuousness of space?

What new role can erotic architecture take on liberation?

mechanism connecting eroticism and architecture? imagination and activate the society's unconscious on in our urban society in the era of sexual

Positions

Bernard Tschumi, FRAGMENT 1: A DOUBLE PLEASURE (REMINDER)

Chapter 10: The Pleasure of Architecture, What is Architecture?

The Pleasure of Architecture

The ultimate pleasure of architecture lies in the most forbidden parts of the architectural act; where limits are perverted, rules are disproved, prohibitions transgressed. The starting point of architecture is distortion.

Fragment_01

Architecture = Eroticism

Architecture is imagination by nature, Imagination is pornographic by nature, Taken to its extreme, architecture is the ultimate erotic act.

Bernard Tschumi, FRAGMENT 9: ARCHITECTURE OF PLEASURE

Chapter 10: The Pleasure of Architecture, What is Architecture?

Pain or Pleasure - the Sensuousness of Space Fragment_02

The ropes and rules of architecture have the erotic significance of bondage: the more numerous and sophisticated the restraints, the greater the pleasure. Thus, during the game of erotic space, the pleasure is the pain, the pain is the pleasure. The pain and pleasure of architecture is an unspoken experience of sensuousness, which lies in the form of formlessness, coming from loose fragments representing erotic significance.

Fragment_03

The Heart Asks Pleasure First - Fragments

The Seductive Elegance

The Treasured Memory

Imagination or Pornography

A Heavenly Surprise

The Sober Chaos

Abstinence or Indulgence

The Delirious Sobriety

Journey to the Desire

The Threshold of Pleasure

Porno or Horror

The Dancing Trap

Sin or Sanctity

Ecstasy or Misery

From Sensuality to Affection

Scared or Sacred

Concealing or Revealing - the Mask

A Gentle Caress - the Sheets

Pain or Pleasure - the Bondage

The Seductive

Fragment_03.1

Fragment_03.1

The Treasured

Fragment_03.2

Treasured Memory

Fragment_03.2

Imagination or Pornography

Fragment_03.3

A Heavenly Surprise

Fragment_03.4

The Threshold of Pleasure

Fragment_03.9

Porno or Horror

Fragment_03.10

Fragment_03.11

Fragment_03.12

The Dancing Trap

Fragment_03.13

From Sensuality to Affection

Fragment_03.14

Scared or Sacred

Fragment_03.15

Concealing or Revealing - the Mask

Fragment_03.16

Pain or Pleasure - the Bondage

Fragment_03.18

The flirting of Architecture

Fragment_04.1

Fragment_04

The Flirting of Architecture: The Erotic Relationship Between Architecture and Architecture

The pleasure of eroticism lies in the erotic relationship between architecture and architecture, which can be perceived as a kind of spiritual sensuality. Although palpable sexual tension exists between these entities, their consummation is often deferred or remains unrealized.

The flirting of Architecture

Fragment_04.2

The flirting of Architecture

Fragment_04.3

The flirting of Architecture

Fragment_04.4

The flirting of Architecture

Fragment_04.5

Fragment_05

The Ecstasy of Poles: The Erotic Relationship Between Architecture and Audience

The erotic sensation between architecture and its audience assumes a seemingly effortless yet meticulously orchestrated equilibrium, akin to the art of pole dancing. These moments of touching and gestures evoke a profound pleasure response.

The Typeface of Dancers on a pole

The Pain of Memorial:

The Erotic Relationship Between Audience and Audience

What is the pain of architecture? How to address both the pleasure and pain of spatial sensuousness through the erotic form at the same time? Physically, it has nothing to do with the symbolic form of the body, it lies in the tortured surface, the seductive line, the prickly point. Spiritually, it can be gained from the meaning of the memorial form. The memorial form is the representation of the cautionary form, the reflection of sexual risk. Simultaneously, it is a commemoration and tribute to the sensuousness of space. Involving the structure of space, it helps evoke feelings of sensuality and celebrate the expression of human sexuality.

Fragment_07

The Pleasure of Conflicts: The pleasure of sensuousness conflicts with the pain of memorial order

Order is present as a necessary counterpart to the sensuality, without the traces of sensuality, only symbols would remain, silent and frozen. In moments of intense desire, organization invades pleasure to such an extent that it is not always possible to distinguish the organizing constraints from the erotic matter.

The ultimate pleasure of architecture is the moment when an architecture act, brought to excess, reveals both the trace of reason and the immediate sensuousness of space.

Fragment_08

The Pleasure of Seductive Mask

There is rarely pleasure without seduction or seduction without illusion. It constantly plays the seducer. Its disguises are numerous: façades, arcades, squares, parks, gardens, playgrounds, and even architectural concepts become the artifacts of seduction. The architecture resembles a masked figure. The unveiling is part of the pleasure of architecture.

Fragment_09

The Pleasure of Movement

It is not only the clash between these contradictory fragments that counts but also the movement between them.

Fragment_10

The Climax of Fragments

The pleasure of architecture achieves climax ultimately, when the erotic fragments abruptly collide and merge in delight, all the rules are disproved, limits are perverted, prohibitions are transgressed, typologies, morphologies, spatial compressions, logical constructions - all dissolved. The starting point of architecture is distortion which is the most forbidden parts of the architecture act. Such architecture is perverse because its real significance lies outside utility or purpose and ultimately is not even necessarily aimed at giving pleasure.

Project(ion)

The History :

Yoshiwara

Yoshiwara Yūkaku

Yoshiwara Yūkaku(吉原游廓) | 1617 - 1958

One of three licensed and well-known pleasure quarters in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan

The Present Area of Yoshiwara Yukaku, Taitō-ku Senzoku 4 Chōme, Tokyo

Yoshiwara Yukaku is one of the three licensed and well-known pleasure quarters in Edo, presentday Tokyo. It was a vibrant and bustling area known for its entertainment, including brothels, theaters, teahouses, restaurants, etc.

The Map of Yoshiwara Yūkaku

Yoshiwara map by Hiroshige II, July 1860

The Present Area of Yoshiwara Yukaku, Taitō-ku Senzoku 4 Chōme, Tokyo

The Entrance of Yoshiwara Yūkaku

Cherry Blossom Time in Nakanochō of the Yoshiwara by Utagawa Hiroshige depicting the main street lined up by the pleasure houses, circa 1848-1849

Yoshiwara Koban central crossing in 2006. Sex trade establishments line the streets on either side.

New Year's Day at Ogi-ya Brothel, Yoshiwara

Prostitute House, Yoshiwara, Meiji period (1868-1912)

Woodblock artwork: New Year's Day at Ogi-ya Brothel, Yoshiwara, | Katsushika Hokusai | ca. 1811

Photograph of a prostitute House in Yoshiwara during the Meiji period (1868-1912)

The woodblock artwork " New Year's Day at the Ogiya Brothel" was created by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai around 1811. It portrays New Year's festive atmosphere at Ogi-ya brothel, one of the most prestigious establishments in Yoshiwara. The composition showcases a large group of elegantly dressed prostitutes and clients gathered in the Ogi-ya brothel, engaging in various activities and enjoying the festivities. It is a peek into the world of Yoshiwara.

The photograph of a prostitute House in Yoshiwara shows the scene of prostitutes working, which is totally different from Katsushika Hokusai’s painting. The prostitutes sit behind the grate, displayed and selected like commodities.

(1868-1912)

The artists depict the bustling brothels and glamorous prostitutes from the perspective of a male client. Both the prostitutes and the world of Yoshiwara were romanticized. However, the photographer recorded the tragic lives of the prostitutes from a real perspective. Although wearing elaborate attire, ornamental hairpins, and accessories, their faces were expressionless.

The Persecuted Women in Yoshiwara

They were called Geisha, Courtesan, Oiran or Prostitute

Photograph of a prostitute House in Yoshiwara during the Meiji period (1868-1912)

Jōkan-ji, the Memorial Temple

The resting place of about 25,000 persecuted women of Yoshiwara quarter of the Edo period (1603-1867)

The Jōkan-ji temple is the resting place of about 25,000 persecuted women of the Yoshiwara quarter of the Edo period (1603-1867)

Most prostitutes working in the area came from poor families and would be commonly exploited and slaved. When they died, their bodies would be brought anonymously to the Jōkan-ji temple and left at the back entrance. This Buddhist temple therefore also became known as 'Nage-komi dear ('Throw-away temple').

The Tombstones in Jōkan-ji Temple

The Site: Tokyo

Tokyo Bay

Kabukicho (The most famous red light district in Asia)

Jōkan-ji, Temple Yoshiwara Yūkaku

Tokyo Bay

Site

The Site: Tokyo Bay

The project would be located in Tokyo Bay, which is about 8-10 miles away from the present area of Yoshiwara Yukaku (Taitō-ku Senzoku 4 Chōme), the Jokan-ji temple, and the Kabukicho, which is the most famous red light district in Asia.

Tokyo

Tokyo Bay

Daiba Park

Tokyo Bay

Daiba Park is a public park that stretches into Tokyo Bay. The square site 400 by 400 feet . The roughly 800m long artificial coastline of Daiba Beach hosts a number of recreation.

Tokyo Bay

Daiba Park

Daiba Beach

Tokyo Bay

The Precedents: Playground

Playground and Memorial

"In Search of Contoured Playground"

Isamu Noguchi | 1941

"In Search of Contoured Playground" is an sculptural piece created by Isamu Noguchi in 1941. It was originally designed for a playground commission in New York City's Riverside Park. Isamu Noguchi aimed to explores the idea of integrating art and playground in a public space. Characterized by organic forms and curved shapes, It engages and inspire children's imagination and physical activity. It utilize “earth modulations” to construct a compact landscape for freeform play.

Model for Contoured Playground, with original equipment attachments, 1941. Plaster and steel. Fabricated 2018-2019.

Photo: F.S. Lincoln. Reproduced with the permission of the Special Collections Library, the Pennsylvania State University Libraries.

Holocaust Memorial - "Field of Otherness"

Peter Eisenman | 2005 | Berlin

The Holocaust Memorial, also known as the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, was designed by Peter Eisenman. Located in Berlin, Germany, The memorial stands as a powerful tribute to the millions of Jewish victims who lost their lives during the Holocaust. "The concrete slabs, it is not a cemetery, it is not about guilt. " Eisenman mentioned in a 2020 interview. The Memorial is characterized by its abstract and emotionally evocative elements. It is

a vast field of 2,711 grey concrete slabs, or stelae, arranged in a grid pattern over an area of approximately 4.7 acres (19,000 square meters). The stelae vary in height, with some standing at only a few inches tall, while others reach towering heights above visitors. The ground beneath the stelae is undulating. Walking through the memorial, visitors find themselves navigating through a maze of slabs.

"The concrete slabs, it is not a cemetery, it is not about guilt. "

"I wanted Little Hans told his grandfather 'I have a great time, that is a Holocaust Memorial' "

-Peter Eisenman Interview | 2020

The Architecture of Pleasure

The project is a public/non-private playground for adults’ collective engagement in sexual recreation. It is a spatial embodiment of sexual equity and liberation. Although combined with the memorial for persecuted women in Yoshiwara Yukaku. It is not a cemetery. Guilt or sadness is not the goal. It is a cautionary memorial against sexual exploitation. The sensuousness of space (pain or pleasure) is the destination. Sexuality can be freely expressed and celebrated in this inclusive environment. It is the Ukiyo-e of libido in the era of sexual liberation, inspiring the individual's erotic imagination, activate the society's unconscious and unspoken desires.

Yoshiwara Yukaku: 1617-1958, one of the three licensed and wellknown pleasure quarters in Edo, present-day Tokyo. It was a vibrant and bustling area known for its entertainment, including brothels, theaters, teahouses, restaurants, etc.

Ukiyo: 'floating/fleeting/transient world', describes the urban lifestyle and culture of pleasure-seeking aspects, of Edo period Japan

The Monuments

Coming from those colliding and merging erotic fragments, There are three main parts to this project :

The Seductive Mask - Adult Playground, The Order of Memorial - Gradual Structure, The Tortured Earth -Ultimate Erotic Space.

Hidden under the adult playground, the ultimate erotic space is squeezed by the tortured earth and the memorial structure.

The Flirting of Architecture

The Seductive Mask - Adult Playground

The Order of Memorial - Gradual Structure

The Tortured Earth -Ultimate Erotic Space

The Seductive Mask - Adult Playground

The Order of Memorial

The Tortured Earth -Ultimate Erotic Space

A piece of erotic architecture is architectural not because it fulfills some utilitarian function, but because it inspires the erotic imagination, suggests the seduction, activate the unconscious and unspoken desires of the individuals and the society.

The Pleasure of Architecture

The Architecture of Pleasure