Golden week ops, golden days

This year golden week was only 4 days. No complain, no “bridges” between vacation days, we are good japanese workers.
Getting out from tokyo i went to japanese countryside. With bullet train:

not to forget…Hiroshima

Zelig Architecture vs StarArchitecture

“Leonard Zelig (played by Woody Allen), is a man who has the ability to change his appearance to that of the people who surround him. For example, if he is among doctors, he transforms into a doctor; if he is around overweight people, he quickly becomes heavy himself. Zelig is called the “human chameleon“.
(wikipedia)

The uniqueness of Mr. Zelig lays in observing,understanding and imitating the surrounding.
Contextual, respectful and smart, Zelig has a lot to  teach to today  Star Architects  who think they are able to  design  without knowing  context.

Sento Bday Karaoke Sunday

HEre the video of the lovely bday at the old people sento:

Il servo del principe

Libeskind è un abile affabulatore. Capace come pochi di assemblare stereotipi e simboli dandogli una forma accattivante. Libeskind è anche l’autore del nuovo progetto di ground zero a NY e dello storto il grattacielo a banana, scusate dalla curvatura ispirata da Leonardo comelui la definisce, nella ex zona fiera.
All’insaputa di molti ( troppi ?) pochi giorni fa ha presentato il nuovo Museo d’arte contemporanea di MIlano che si troverà all’interno di Speculandia nella zona ex-fiera.
Oltre alle osservazioni fatte da DOMUS ci sono un paio di quesiti che affiorano:
mr. Libeskind con il suo studio internazionale a NY,Milano, e chissà dove quanto ha veramente capito il genius loci di Milano? Perchè lui e i suoi amici StarArchitechts e i politici e gli speculatori che ci sono dietro non vogliono capire che Milano non è New York, nè Dubai, nè Tokyo?  Perchè essere sempre così servili verso il potere?
Mi permetto, senza pemesso di riportare l’articolo della DOMUS:

The awakening of critic

Finally an article rising some interesting question about the SANAA’s NY museum.

Accordéon

Thank to Kirsten for this!

Cogito ergo sum

Il Tibet, questo semi sconosciuto, oramai appare su tutti i giornali, tv e siti web. La complessa question tibetana viene solitamente riaasunta in “Cina=cattivi, Tibet=buoni”.
Sorvolando sulla strana idea per cui noi paesi occidentali ci sentiamo il tribunale del mondo e quindi abbiamo il dovere di intervenire in ogni questione (purchè ci sia un interesse a nostro vantaggio) a qualsiasi latitudine e longitudine;  consiglio di leggere un interessante articolo  apparso sul blog  del Corriere La nostra Cina.

Construction Fence

Ping Mag online magazine published an article on construction fences featuring some works of Studio Han Design.

Sento!

Japan is one of the few countries that still have a culture about public bath.
Yesterday with Takeshi and Yukko I went to one a bit out of central Tokyo which was much bigger than the

usual “Street Fighter Honda stage”. What is interesting to see is that japanese get really well cleaned before getting into the hot water.
After the sento if you are a real macho you should drink some milk and then relax in the dining area.
In tsunashima there is even a karaoke with old people singing and dancing.

So Takeshi and I decided to have bday dinner at the sento next week.

citizen journalism

In the last days I have been researching about South Korea.
Here a very interesting online newspaper written in majority by citizens

electric noodles

Here is what I found outside the house yesterday.

Wrapping

It is wall known that japanese have developed a unique sensitivity to wrapping.
Take a look to some very nice wrapping paper

money = happiness?

Here the rest of the article of the NY Times

I am told I am not good with my country…

Sometimes a relative, a friend tells me that I have too much resentment towards my home country (Italy).
More I think and more I do not understand this statement.
Why should we support our home country? Did any choose it? Has anyone asked us to which country we wanted to belong to? Which passport to have? Were you asked when and where you preferred to be born?
I imagine the answer is no.  So why should one support  his country? Probably for the same reason most people choose  who to vote: to preserve their own interest.
I rather support things I have chosen and I believe in.

Farmers vs merchants

I do not know if one can claim that inductive reasoning is the best method but here a small example to understand China and Japan feelings towards foreigners.
Next month I am going to Beijing for to job interview. Therefore I have to get a japanese re-entry permit and a chinese touristic visa.

First step would be to go to the office: the chinese embassy is 500m away fro mthe office in a very central area of tokyo ( Roppongi), the tokyo immigration bureau is in a blade runner like building on an artificial dock in the middle of no man’s land. From the closest metro station is 15min by bus.

Second step is to understand what is needed to do the visa: in the chinese embassy I found an officer with perfect english, in the japanese immigration office ( i went there 4-5 times already) I never found somebody who could speak something close to english but they are always very kind.

Both offices have all is needed to have a visa in the building ( photo machine, stamps, photocopy….) which is something usually missing in italian offices where in order to get photo+photocopy+stamp one has to travel through the whole neighborhood.

As a conclusion: would it be correct to say that in their deep soul chinese are more merchants and japanese farmers?

Asian European GDP Cup

Hai voluto la bicicletta…

L’ha strappata al mortadellone, promettendo meno tasse, più soldi, Ronaldinho, matrimoni con ricchi figli, cordate per Alitalia, barzellette, bugie, via ICI, IRPEF, ….
Le ha sparate grosse come al solito perchè lui sa bene di essere riuscito nel grande compito di mischiare e confondere spettacolo e politica, pubblico e privato.  E la maggioranza gli ha dato fiducia.
Mai come oggi le parole di un ex consulente della CIA sembrano così attuali:
“In politica, a differenza che in fisica, le impressioni sono fatti”.
Mi chiedono spesso amici stranieri chi sia Berlusconi e verrebbe da rispondere come parafrasando  Mendini quando parla di Enzo Mari: “è la coscienza della politica italiana” perchè  purtroppo non  usiamo mai l’insiemistica (che si impara in prima elementare)  per cui l’insieme dei politici è un sottoinsieme di quello degli italiani. Da cui si deduce che…
E allora è tutto tuo il palcoscenico Mister B, con oneri e onori, meriti e responsabilità ma attento che questo rigore pesa più di quello di Baggio nel ‘94 perchè qui non si sta giocando per vincere la finale ma per non retrocedere in B.

Anniversary!

Standing bars are quite popular in Japan. Something completely missing in Italy.
Yesterday was the 6th anniversary of the best standing bar in Shimokitazawa where I had the oppportunity to play (not so nicely to be honest) with Sammy Barbeque ( the pirate), and Kume Django san (in the middle).
My apology to Piazzolla and Velazquez.

Heidegger vs Japan

While I am reading The ethical function of Architecture by Karsten Harries a quotation  grabs my attention :

An authentic person always has time.
Heidegger, Sein un Zeit, 7th ed. (Tuebingen: Niemeyer,19553) p.410.

Aspettando l’expo….

Ecco due cose da vedere, possibilmente senza prendere una delle due posizioni in maniera eccessiva.

Report sugli appalti di Milano

www.MILANOEXPO-2015.IT

Where is il bel paese?

Next week il Bel Paese will choose amongst the same politician of the last 15 years, once again with new party names. While waitin take a look to the OCSE Factbook 2008

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D

As a percentage of GDP, 2006 or latest available year

Consumer Price Indicator: all items

Average annual growth in percentage

Growth in GDP per capita

Percentage change, annual rate

sketches for a manifesto: neorealism architecture

It has been quite a while since this two words are wondering around my thoughts (neorealism, architecture):

1. Architecture is a site specific discipline.
1.1 Work with context in terms of composition, material resources.

2. Architecture is physical not conceptual.

3. Do not design luxurious building. Architecture must have a social commitment.

4. Architecture must serve people.

5: What happens between humans and space is the main focus not mere volume composition.

6. The design process is a participative process.

design/ego

a nice architects portrait post.

Did Milan win?

Yesterday Milan was announced to be the host of 2015 Expo.
Who did really win Milan’s citizens or the usual developer (i.e. Ligresti & C)?

Last week at the opening of Sakura Cafè in Tokyo Midtown I had the chance to meet Dr. Julian Worrall which is working and teaching here in Japan. Then I found an interview (and the longer essay )to the most powerful developer in Tokyo Minoru Mori which is worth reading.

One may see the completely different approach to city development which makes clear what european cities have as a unique element: the overlapping of history.

In praise of tofu

Usually in Italy when someone eats tofu people around him would look sorry and ask: “are you on a diet?”. Somehow tofu=tasteless experience.
I cannot deny that I was also part of that idea but since in Japan I have to say that tofu is good. No, I am not on a diet, tofu is good. Unfortunately what is exported is usually not that good. If you come to japan I recommend to try a supercool and oishii brand: otokomae.

In praise of low materialism

 

Yesterday’s hanami has been partially ruined by heavy rain but still many people came to yoyogi park.
Since last year I have switched from piano to accordion initially for  practicality ( to rent a piano in tokyo is not easy and my room is as big n half coda piano) and bcause accordion has two important quality that a piano does not have: portability and the “long note” (one note can theoretically last forever).
Switching from piano to accordion has a much deeper meaning: it means switching from high music to low popular music. A piano performs at its best in a concert hall, in silence an accordion gives its best during a fair, in the streets, at night in half darkness. A piano can be played only with cleaned long hands. An accordion gives its best played by small fat greasy fingers. They belong to the sides of music: the high, theoretical abstract, precise, Apollonian and the popular, passionate, ecstatic and Dionysian one.
But both, if well interpreted, can lead make music to be the our unconscious memory of the lost eden (E.Cioran ).

Towards an haptic glance.

Two weeks ago I finally did it: I bought books on amazon which is a really dangerous thing to start. Among those I bought there was The eyes of the skin by Juhani Pallasmaa which i walked by on a spring day in Helsinki.
Why to read the book:
-it brings sight down from the pedestal that western thought created
-in simple words Pallasmaa brings our attention back to the real concerns of architecture which have really little to do with retinal images

This should already be enough. The best thing Pallasmaa does is to bring (as other do, Steven Hall for example, just to name one) the discourse of architecture on architectural topics which have partially to do with geometry, image and language.
In rough words we could say that everything starts from the body, from the tactile feelings of the skin.

I am not surprised this comes from a scandinavian person. For what I have seen in my life the approach to architectural design has different roots in different areas:
- in italy, and south of europe it is almost a humanistic discipline. the story around the project is almost more important than the project itself. Do not forget the for Sottsass and many others a project is a metaphor to discuss life
- in northen europe (scandinavia especially) there is still a strong phenomenological approach.
-here in japan architecture belongs to the construction disciplines. of course it has a dense poetical spirit too.

Hanami

Since a week the cherry blossom season started.
It is always a surprise how Tokyo people, which leave in one of the most urbanized area, still enjoy a natural event.  It is interesting because for once japanese seem to care about human relation more than social/work relation.
It is interesting because public space is used not only for mere consumption.
It is interesting because the shinto side of japanese spirits comes out.
Here some very short sequences from meguro river

lunch break consideration: summer and japanese food

The picture of today’s lunch brings up one of the few weakness of japanese cuisine: the food choice during hot weather.
Despite what japanese friends tell me that there are many japanese summer recipe, I am still skeptical about it.

The easier to eat are zaru soba, cold soba. Maybe one can switch to sushi or sashimi but not much more. In fact many people still eat more or less the same food they eat in winter time.
The problem starts from the fact that japanese eat fruits and vegetables in small amounts.  If one orders a tomato in an izakaya will get one ( or half) tomato nicely sliced. From this way of eating it is difficult and expensive to imagine a person in the summer eating a big bowl of salad with 3 tomatoes, salad, mushrooms and other things…

Italian young jazzist

I did not know you mr Mirabassi, I am sorry.  Do not do the same mistake.

Despite the fact we have the oldest politician in Europe we do have really talented young jazzist.

elezioni 2008

per chi è ancora indeciso e per chi non lo è
per votare in base ai contenuti
fate questo rapido questionario
http://www.voisietequi.it

Website update

I have uploaded two competition I did in the last months:Arcipelago and Tea House, with Honda-san.

Trio NefEsh

Sono stato molto lieto di sapere che una vecchia e talentuosa conoscenza del G B Vico ha un bel gruppo klezmer.
Intervista

video 

Kumamoto competition

While waiting to see the results of the last competition　here (1 2) you can see the proposal entry.

Omotesando Open Air Architectural Museum

Co-branding is the usual strategy of fashion brands when it comes to architecture.
The two areas where this phenomenon is most visible are Ginza and Omotesando/Aoyama.
They are an open air contemporary architecture museum.
Here a view on Omotesando, By Ping Mag

Elements of urbanscape: taxi

An article of Ping mag on Taxi lights.

but why?

At universities and studios we are told for who to design, to concern about the target, the production methods, the budget, the time line,  the cultural back ground (sometimes) and so on…

I have yet not heard any interesting answer about why to design?
I do not mean the usual banal answer “to satisfy contemporary needs” which always forgets to understand that we create our own (tertiary needs) according to nature our needs are pretty simple.

Then if we look many designers/architects are concern with quantity.
( they want to build and to produce, does not matter that much for who, where and when)

Others are concern with fame: anything that makes them popular is good, it does not matter what as far as the project rises interest. ( design fairs are the peak of this approach).

Others are concerned with ego: especially architects have the small god desire. In this approach what matters is the development of a personal language and theory.

What we should be concerned about, improvement based on human standards and quality, is not really popular amongst designers. Because it does not sell.
Because to be publish one needs something catchy, possibly that involves a superficial influence from another discipline ( maths, philosophy, music…).

One last question remains. I read once an observation of Wittgenstein which stated: “one needs to be a good man in order to be a good philosopher”.

I wonder if we believed that in order to be a good architect one needs to be a good man,
how many (star)architects would remain above a level of decency?

SANAA in Zollverein

On Galeriie.net there is a nice video about SANAA’s Zollverein school.

Tokyo and sports: cycling

Finally back after two weeks of intensive work for a bus station competition in Kumamoto.
Lately, probably due to the hours spend in front of a screen, I feel like doing some sports.
In Tokyo this might not be the easiest ting to do. In fact it is easier to find a CD store open at 4am than a small free football court.

The first idea one has is to buy a bicycle.
A second hand costs from 2,000 to 4,000 yen. (14€-25€) .
So far everything is easy.
Then one MUST register to the local office.
Because every bicycle is registered policeman ( especially young ones with not so busy work) want to check if you riding your bike. I have been checked 4 times in 10 months. Twice last week end. The procedure is not long but it is annoying when lending your bicycle to a friend, then police check, then your friend has to explain the bicycle is from a friend….

The main problem about cycling is parking. I have never seen a city enforcing such a strict policy against bicycles. To park is not allowed more or less everywhere. Only in parking spots that cost 100Y a day. Not much, but 1 month = 2.000Y…if the bicycle is worth 3.000Y it is easy that it makes no sense.

Sometimes police come with a truck and take away all the illegal bikes. The owner have to go to the main office and pay a fine ( around 3.000) usually to get the bike back. This situation creates quite an original feeling: here in tokyo people are not afraid of bike robbers but of the police.