A panel discussion on architecture at Charlie Rose

“Beijing, evidently, has other priorities. For all the sleek modernity of much of the construction, there’s no mistaking the old-fashioned monumentalist approach behind it. This is an Olympics driven by image, not by sensitive urban planning.”
This and much more in an interesting article of Paul Goldberger

Yesterday I came back from Beijing for some job interview.
Before posting general impression, here is another map comparison:

First a map of tokyo. the red line is the yamanote line which is really the linking line of tokyo transport system.

This is Beijing second ring. I have chosen it because it seemed the boundary of the center of the city.
Probably most foreigners live inside it. The second line goes under it. Yamanote line/ second ring seems a fair comparison in matter of relation of the city in a simpler way
yamanote line : tokyo = 2nd ring : beijing

Here are the two together.

The last shows Tokyo Beijing and Milan’s Navigli ring.

I received an email where I was asked to suggest which one is better to go for an internship.
Please consider that I have been in Tokyo 1.5 years, in Beijing just a few days.
Beijing is developing, Tokyo too but has already reached a high level of development.
Beijing urban planning has a russian flavor: large and long roads which make it a “car city”
Tokyo has no urban planning. Getting lost in tiny streets late at night is one of the best thing one can do.
Beijing is a construction site. I would imagine sometimes not so pleasant to live in.
Beijing is much more polluted.
Beijing is dusty. Tokyo, after a while, feels too clean.
In Beijing there are streets with trees, in Tokyo probably one or two.
Beijing is a teenager, with contrasts, virtues, dreams and possibilities.
Tokyo is more adult: efficient, polite, clean and established.

A foreigner in Tokyo is, at the beginning lost but quickly can feel well integrated.
Some cultural barriers, luckily, will always remain.
IN beijing I felt the gap between foreigners and locals is much bigger.
Foreigners tend not to speak chinese, have better salary which creates a ghetto.
Young people in Beijing speak better english than those in Tokyo.
Therefore foreigners in tokyo speak better japanese than those in beijing do with chinese.
Beijing gives more opportunities and contrasts, Tokyo more efficiency and quality.

As usual there is no conclusion because it depends mainly on what a person is looking for and his capacity of adaptability

A brilliant documentation on Zollverein school by Thomas Mayer.
Check the rest of the website too

that’s one of the key to understand japanese house design!

A few days ago I saw a little book with a collection of picture of housing complex.
Today I read the interview by Ping Mag with the author Ken Oyama.

Without any doubt the work is visually appealing, joins a certain tendency that takes alook to daily “low culture” objects. Nothing that new.
What worries me is another aspect:
-isn’t it dangerous to look at architecture in such a visual way (read the article) ?

-after looking at a nice pattern do we still realize that that black square is a little window from which a not so well paid worker looks out?
-does this visual binge hide the fact that this building do mostly nothing to increase one’s living dignity?

An interesting article about comparison of Mumbai and Tokyo

“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.

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:

Uno scroscio di applausi chiude l’emozionata presentazione di Daniel Libeskind in Triennale: il suo nuovo museo di arte contemporanea di Milano sarà la calamita del nuovo quartiere residenziale “motore dello sviluppo economico” che sostituirà lo storico polo fieristico della capitale morale.

Non è più tollerabile una politica architettonica e urbanistica basata sul fatto compiuto e comunque è difficile credere che possa fare da “polo di attrazione”, per attirare migliaia di visitatori, un volume tozzo la cui unica attrattiva da una base quadrata, genera un’immane terrazza tonda; piazzato come un triste mausoleo al centro di una cittadella chiusa da un muraglione di condomini, alto quasi 100 metri, su cui svettano le torri ingobbite di Hadid e Isozaki. Vengono alla mente le parole di Herbert Muschamp, compianto critico d’architettura del New York Times, fustigatore della gratuità di certa architettura contemporanea, che a proposito dell’obelisco Libeskind ficcato su Ground Zero scrisse: “Sorprendentemente privo di gusto, emotivamente manipolatorio, prossimo alla nostalgia e al kitsch”. DOMUS

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

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.

a nice architects portrait post.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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?

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

This is interesting even for no architect.
An interview with Tezuka architect about a very interesting kindergarden. A few clues: trees inside the building, a flat roof here kids play….

http://www.detail.de/Plus/Filme/De/2008-03-tezuka/tezuka

Per chi fosse nella città del fatturato:

Domus mostra la Milano di Ponti
A Milano le architetture di Gio Ponti sono più di sessanta, distribuite su tutto il territorio comunale. Domus, nel suo ottantesimo anniversario, ha deciso di accompagnare i milanesi lungo un itinerario che li porti a scoprire o riscoprire otto delle più importanti opere del maestro. Durante due fine settimana di febbraio (giorni 16-17 e 23-24) cinque navette dell’ATM dalle 10 alle 16, ogni 20 minuti, copriranno le otto fermate dove i cittadini saranno guidati alla lettura delle opere di Ponti e del contesto, con l’aiuto di due laureandi in Architettura che faranno da ciceroni. Info: www.domusweb.it e sul sito del Comune di Milano, Assessorato alla Cultura.

What if there was an Architect World Championship?
Here is how Honda san and I imagined Japan.

Japan

The national team is not anymore an outsider, they have great chances for the final victory. The team has probably one of the best mid field: the solidity of Ando, the creativity of Ito and two wings such as SANAA and Shigeru Ban.
Key player:  if SANAA is in a good day…
Keep an eye on: Ishigami is believed to be the new Pato, let’s see.

Coming next Holland, USA, Italy, France.

Tokyo Metropolitan Highway is a massive road system built inside the city, between buildings, above stations. Being overimposed on the existing urban landscape its shape is rich of sharp turns, slopes and crossings. This situation creates several thousand accidents every year. Tokyo Metropolitan Office started a campain, Tokyo Smart Driver, in order to improve driving condition. Different projects are carried on: improving safety conditions, light installation, adv. graphic, a music cd to listen while driving.

Studio Han Design is involved with the Optical Dot project.
The first trial on a new design for driving in Japan has started !
- Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway (Shutoko) starts making more comfortable environment for drivers -

Shutoko starts a trial experiment on 5th Feb 2008 as a part of traffic-control measures for a route between Bijogi Junction on Saitama-line and the tollgate on Urawaminami-line.
This experimental project uses a white oval shape pattern on the road surface to help drivers to feel their speed naturally.
This is the first trial on Sequence Design* on road surface in Japan and represents a new approach to traffic-control measures

*Sequence Design
Design for road space that enables drivers to feel the gradual change of the road and to adapt to it.

More:
*images and video simulation

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to visit this private house during a photography exhibition vernissage. It is usually not opened to the public unless the owner, Takeo Obayashi, is opening on special occasion. The architecture by Tadao Ando is completed by two projects by Eliasson and Tokujin.
Here an article about it.
here something more about the quasi brick used by eliasson 

on city of sound a nice overview of a book on SANAA’s houses.

watch the rest on flickr

A day of interviews today.
Here you may find the SANAA’s one.

Here you may find an interview with one of the most interesting contemporary japanese architects.

Today I went to Omotesando for a site visit concerning a proposal we are elaborating.
Omotesando is nowadays an architectural branded museum. What is surprising is the low quality of public space of this street. This is quite understandable if we think that the main developer of the area are private construction company, fashion brands with the final touch of Starchitect. None of the three is interested in what is happening between buildings.What is especially bad is the street furniture ( lamp poles, bridges, benches, floor pavement).
After I went inside the new MVRDV building “Gyre” (branded building must have a name nowadays), next to SANAA’s, in front of Ando’s.
Few observation:
-the building has a relatively quite facade for tokyo. this was one of the intentions of the design
-on the adv brochure it is written:
The GYRE experience takes you to a space where imagination expands and shopping becomes more conscious. Here you find materials energized by exquisite craftmanship, design that inspires everyday life, care for the environment, the beauty and richness of the seasons”
After reading my memories went back to university project presentations where everyone is writing “these new space is a new experience, enhancing your …., the great feeling….super…wellness…” Then one turns to the project images and not it is not so sure how much of that is really perceivable.
In my opinion the GYRE does not differ that much from other brand-architecture but i did get a lot of inspiration, negative one.
-technology: it is possible to connect your mobile with the GYRE website and get information. In this way one should “Shop and Think” as the brochure claims?
This connection between technology and real space should have probably been developed with some physical computing expert to influence the architecture on a deeper level. Placing 4 screen on each floor, in2008, is not enough.

Animation of the building.

Conclusion:
*In today’s StarArchitecture, as in politics, on the opposite of physics, words are facts.
Talk well, sell your self well and everything will be fine.

Forbes published an article on megacities, huge urban clusters.
Here is a summary (population i guess refers to the urban area surrounding the city):

#1. Tokyo, Japan
Projected Population in 2015: 35.5 million
Population in 2005: 35.2 million

#2. Mumbai, India
Projected Population in 2015: 21.9 million
Population in 2005: 18.2 million

#3. Mexico City, Mexico
Projected Population in 2015: 21.6 million
Population in 2005: 19.4 million

Finally, thanks to YH I could see the famous Moriyama House by Nishizawa-san.
Hard to find because, as many private house in Tokyo, the address is never published.
article+photo

My project “Arcipelago” got mentioned in the competition colorsdesigner.

An interesting interview revealing why Tokyo is so full of uchihanashi (unadorned concrete exterior house, what many would call roughly “Tadao Ando style”)
While living here I was also surprised by this trend that made me look at certain japanese architecture in a different way: while in europe a Tadao Ando concrete wall is astonishing for its intensity and difference from other architects, in japan does not appear that strong.
Here you can see why there are always those dots

The new building of dutch firm MVRDV is the main architectural event in Tokyo these days. Check it out
The first impression is the silent facade according to Tokyo standards. The reason is mostly due to the fact that the building is not for one firm (as Toyo Ito for Tod’s or SANAA for Dior) but for different and changing brands… in search of a diastema (cfr. Dorfles)?

A few weeks ago the italian prime minister Padoa Schioppa used the word bamboccioni (that has nothing to do with futurism abd could be translated as mama’s boy) referring to the over 30 years old adults that still live at home with mama and papa.
This month Shinkenchiku (the new architecture, a japanese architectural magazine) published a series of projects done by young japanese architects (young for real, around 30-33 years old).
All the projects are private houses, which is the typical first architectural commission.
Most of them have worked in the main studios (SANAA, Aoki, etc…).
So here is the beauty of a globalized world: on one side a 35 years old that still lives in the parents home, on the other a 35 years old who has just built the a new house.
Here are some of them:

DORELL GHOTMEH TANE / ARCHITECTS
Only one of the 3 partner is japanese but looking at their first projects and at their CV we can have serious hope for this studio.
/www.dgtarchitects.com/

The work of Hiroshi Kikuchi is interesting but what impressed me the most is the way he presents his projects on the website: self taken images, people with real smiles (not like next architect) somehow it seems a genuine person.
http://www.hiroshikikuchi.com/

The ever smiling (in pictures) Nakamura
http://www.nakam.info

The forward looking 000studio
http://www.000studio.com

That’s it for today.

Lately two exhibition opened showing the work of two of most interesting designer and architect of Japan.
Kengo Kuma in Padoa:

Article here.

Tokujin Yoshioka in Miami:

via Dezeen

New building by Dominique Perrault in Osaka.
It looks a lot like Shinagawa office area.  I hope he considered the different relation of this office buildings with the urban context when they are built in Tokyo ( because of sarari man working hours, in the dark the building form disappears and only the ceiling lights can be seen. )

Finland:Europe = Japan:East Asia
Can we consider this true?
While thinking about it here is the artist of the week: Sami Rintala

Se non l’avete visto guardate il numero di report sulla capitale morale d’Italia, la città europea in cui si vede chi comanda. A quanto sembra i futuri eroi saranno i grandi costruttori. Ligresti e co. se la sentono veramente di prendersi questa responsabilità?
Loro ragionano solo in cubatura e prezzo al mq.
I politici… lasciamo stare.
Gli architetti pronti a prostituirsi e associarsi a qualsiasi operazione speculativa al fine di costruire qualcosa.
Il problema non è il progresso ma sono i parametri che si seguono.
Quindi prepariamoci a lodare la nuova architettura finanziaria!

Before writing a few things about yesterday’s japanese test you can find a video and some pictures from the opening of the museum.