Good evening.
Thank you all so very
much for being here.
It's a really special occasion
to be able to welcome back
Toyo Ito to the GSD.
As you know.
Ito-san is a friend
of the school.
He's been involved with the
school for a number of years.
And I think many of us feel
lucky to have him as a friend
and so committed to all
his various activities,
involvements with the school.
The lecture that Ito-san
is going to give tonight
is really being
presented, as you've
seen from the poster outside,
under the rubric of the Kenzo
Tange lecture.
And I'm sure everyone in this
room knows who Kenzo Tange was.
And I'm not going to ask
for any "raise your hands"
or anything like that.
I don't want to
get into trouble.
But you should know
that the school
has had a very, very long
history of connections
with Japan.
And so much of actually what
is happening today in terms
of, for example, our celebration
of the work of Fumihiko Maki
and others--
[? taniguchi-san-- ?] this
grows out of the relationship
with the school when they were
actually students here.
And so we feel very connected
to contemporary Japanese
architecture, but really
to the lineage, the history
of this architecture as well.
We've had a very long
history of something
like 25-plus years of
connection with the Kenzo Tange
professorship,
which is something
that happens here every year.
And in the fall, Toyo Ita taught
at the studio based in Tokyo,
the studio abroad, where he
was the Kenzo Tange professor,
and he now gives the
lecture this semester.
But we're very happy
that he's here.
He's also here with
one of his colleagues,
Julia Lee, who's
also an architect.
And we're very happy
that she's here.
And both Julia and Ito-san
have been collaborating
with a series of studios that
have been happening in Japan.
It started in 2011 when they
dealt with the [? tohoko ?]
region.
Then this past fall, they focus
on an island called Omishima.
And next fall, we will
have another studio
that will be working on
the island of Omishima.
And in fact, this
morning, Ito-san a
made the presentation for
this studio for next fall.
That will be located in Tokyo,
but actually the project
will be based in Omishima.
I think everyone
knows that Ito-san
has had a very long history
of connections to really doing
amazing architecture,
and architecture
that is also very much
linked with issues of nature.
Landscape has played an
important part in his work.
But more recently,
I think he has also
become increasingly
involved in the relationship
between the architectural,
if you like,
landscape issues
and social issues.
And this has been obviously
demonstrated by the work
that he's done in the area,
the tsunami-hit area in Japan,
in the way in which
he has also organized
a kind of collaborative
of contemporary Japanese
architects to really
think through some
of these big issues that
face Japan as a collective,
rather than as
individual practices.
And it's exemplified by a
move towards the smaller scale
and really using, if you like,
a kind of acupuncture urbanism
to develop a series of
small scale projects
that are also more easy to
construct, more manageable.
But they can also have
much more direct impact
in terms of how quickly they can
be built, the kind of audiences
that they can address.
And so I think that that has
been a very noticeable shift.
And I think this
has been something
that is very much
reflected in the teaching
that he has been doing with us.
Obviously, it's also
important to mention
that this kind of continuity
of this kind of work
also goes hand in hand with
focus on much larger scale
projects like the very
well-known Sendai media tech
and its focus on the
interrelationship
between the architectural,
the structural, and really
a different kind of
conception of the public,
and many other projects such as
the Taichung Opera House, which
he will show us also tonight,
which is about to open
officially later in the year.
Ito-san has also of course
been recognized in 2013
with the Pritzker Prize,
with the Golden Lion
award at the Venice Biennale.
And he's someone that I think
is truly deserving of all
the recognition that is
out there for architects,
because he's really
unbelievably committed
to the creation of ideas,
developing incredible places,
and making an important
contribution to society
through architecture.
So please join me in welcoming
Toyo Ito and Julia Lee.
[applause]
Thank you very much, Mohsen-san.
And I am very happy to
give a lecture here.
This evening I want to speak
about how I create places.
I always don't like
to divide spaces.
For me, the space is just
void, expanding unlimitedly.
When I design spaces,
I put some elements.
Sometimes it's columns,
or sometimes it's
natural light or many elements
in the void of spaces.
Between these elements,
there comes different places
like swirls in the stream
or ripples in the water.
I explain some example, but
my English is very slow.
So I'm sorry.
I asked Julia Lee from my office
in Tokyo translating Japanese
to English.
The first drawing is very old.
It's--
[speaking japanese]
So this sketch of
his actually shows
a really fundamental principle
behind his architecture.
[speaking japanese]
So it is still very
common until this day
when during the
sakura season, people
will congregate under
the sakura blossom trees.
But actually, back
in the older days,
they used to use this
kind of fabric screen
to actually create a place.
[speaking japanese]
The most important thing
is the people actually
choose where they want to be.
[speaking japanese]
So the main point is
how people would choose
the place they want to be.
For example, obviously
in this situation,
they would find
maybe the best tree
they want to be under,
or more importantly,
how the views are at that
place, whether the ground is
dry or wet, whether the
wind blows through the space
enough or not.
So they choose
their place almost
with their animal instincts.
[speaking japanese]
So this is an image
showing how ripples
would dissipate in water.
[speaking japanese]
So actually, the way
the waves dissipate
as you saw in the
video just now is
very similar to how Japanese
language is structured.
He feels that the way that the
language is positioned in space
is very similar to how a
ripple is dissipating in void.
[speaking japanese]
So very different from
the English language,
Japanese language is
basically structured in a way
that there are these
key elements that
are floating in the space.
[speaking japanese]
There's no strict structure
to how you conduct a sentence.
So in Japanese language, it's up
to the people's interpretation
and also into the
person who speaks.
They can choose their own
words and how they structure it
accordingly.
[speaking japanese]
So similarly for
architecture, he
has the same
principle behind it.
[speaking japanese]
For example, in the Sendai
Mediatheque, as you all know,
we have 13 tubes in one
plan in the building.
So these are the elements
in the architecture.
[speaking japanese]
So in this case, because
the tubes are also
a structural element, that is
what dictates their positioning
and so on.
[speaking japanese]
So this is the National Taichung
Theatre, which we are actually
building in Taichung.
[speaking japanese]
So in this case,
the tubes basically
interconnect vertically
and horizontally
in a three-dimensional manner.
But basically, the
thought behind it
is very similar to what
Sendai Mediatheque is doing.
[speaking japanese]
So in this case,
the third building
is the GIFU Media Cosmos.
It's a library complex that
was complete last year.
We will go into
more detail later,
but basically it's
also the same principle
where we have these
globes that we call places
and elements in this space.
[speaking japanese]
In his architectural
image, there
is never a confinement
to the architecture.
It actually should always
dissipate infinitely.
[speaking japanese]
So in actual case, you
can see obviously there's
an envelope to the building.
But to him, it's not really
considered as a facade.
It's actually a
sectional cut, so
that it's actually meant to
continue infinitely in space.
[speaking japanese]
It's the same image when
he designs furniture.
[speaking japanese]
Even for product design, it
also embodies the same language.
[speaking japanese]
So when he makes
architecture, he
often refers more to the
making of Japanese gardens
rather than making of
Japanese architecture.
[speaking japanese]
So as you all know,
this is really
a well-known Japanese
garden, Katsura Rikyu,
which was built 400
years ago in Kyoto.
[speaking japanese]
So from the top, where he
pointed just now at the top
is where you would enter
the entire premise.
But then you'll walk slowly
into the main building.
And around the pond
which is in the middle,
we have these elements that
are scattering around the pond.
[speaking japanese]
For example, tea
houses, resting places,
or even like a symbolic tree,
these elements basically
create places around this pond.
[speaking japanese]
So there is no defined way
of connecting these places.
[speaking japanese]
So with these different
types of complex elements,
every person individually
would choose the way
they experience the garden.
So every person has a
different experience
of the Japanese garden.
[speaking japanese]
Even in the micro
way of designing
in these Japanese
gardens, you can
see these stepping
stones are also,
rather than all
forcefully connected,
they're all scattered.
[speaking japanese]
So your views and
directional views
would change as you move across
these different elements.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see that
there is a combination
of different elements here,
even for stepping stones,
where people can actually
choose their own path.
[speaking japanese]
You can see it's a very
beautiful of using stone.
[speaking japanese]
So we now go on to a project
that was back in 1976,
as one of his earliest works.
And back at the time, he already
has this notion with him.
[speaking japanese]
So this was built when
he was 36 years old.
And you can see that
the design was--
he was determined to create this
really kind of rigid design.
So this is courtyard.
[speaking japanese]
So this whole length
of this internal space
is almost 15 meters long.
But by using light
as an instrument,
he creates these
different places also
in the architecture.
[speaking japanese]
So for example, light
coming from the top, where
he's pointing now, or light
coming from horizontally.
And again, the right from the
top and the right from the top.
[speaking japanese]
So then you get these zones
of light and dark, darkness,
that are dissipated
across the space.
[speaking japanese]
Although it's a
very simple U shape,
we have these little
elements where
he would change the curvature
of the curve at places
and sometimes where he
would introduce a corner.
So these small elements
and details actually
create these places also.
[speaking japanese]
So the light coming from
the horizontal direction
would create a very bright
space at the dining area.
But with a slight
change in curvature,
you can see that there is a zone
that is slightly talk behind
the curved wall.
[speaking japanese]
So we've go on to
Sendai Mediatheque.
[speaking japanese]
So this is a model created
during a competition
submission for the Sendai
Mediatheque in 1995.
[speaking japanese]
So it's a very simple
composition of tubes and plates
that intersect each other.
[speaking japanese]
So this is one of the earliest
sketches in his notebook.
And if you can look at
the top sketch, actually
again you can see
the ripple concept.
[speaking japanese]
So in between these
tubes, basically you
will see that there
are these ripples that
form in places that would
happen between these tubes.
[speaking japanese]
So now we look at how
these places basically
happen between the
tubes in actual life
after its completion.
[speaking japanese]
So basically there are
seven different flows.
And with the tubes in
a similar location,
you would imagine
a similar plan,
but by using different furniture
combinations and compositions
actually different places
can be experienced.
[speaking japanese]
This furniture was designed
by Kazuyo Sejima-san.
[speaking japanese]
So the ability for
the users to choose
where they want to be
in terms of a place
is very important for
him in his making,
in all his architecture.
[speaking japanese]
So through tubes, you
create relationships
even between flows as well.
[speaking japanese]
So next, we go on to
the National Taichung
Theater, which started
exactly 10 years ago.
[speaking japanese]
So finally, the building
is almost complete.
[speaking japanese]
So Mohsen was in the jury
for this competition.
[laughter]
Thank you very much.
[speaking japanese]
He's really grateful for you,
because a project like this
will never happen in Japan.
[speaking japanese]
So at the time of
the competition,
there were hardly any
of these high rises.
But after over years and years,
there a lot of real estates
and a lot of buildings
happening around the area.
[speaking japanese]
So this is within a
large development.
So the building is within
a landscape design.
[speaking japanese]
So if we look at the
ground floor plan again,
you can see how the landscape is
interconnected to the internal
spaces and how
the tubes are also
interconnected in the space.
[speaking japanese]
So this is the structure of
the building, as you can see.
As we mentioned earlier
for the Sendai Mediatheque,
the tubes were basically
positioned with respect
to the structural
calculations and they
were positioned in a
certain way that the span is
limited to how the span works.
But here, it's very different.
It's a complete different story.
So he was saying that actually,
the way this was built
was from a grid.
And it was deformed
slowly and then
it becomes a
three-dimensional grid.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see that here,
we have three main theaters
within this opera house.
The first one is the grand
theater, the red one,
with 2000 seats.
The second one, we call
the playhouse in blue.
It has 800 seats.
And the third one, the smallest
one, we call it the black box.
And it's basically
situated underground,
so it's connected to
the landscape as well.
[speaking japanese]
So this is a video
of the algorithm.
[speaking japanese]
So actually, a pattern,
a different pattern
happens on every floor if you
cut through the structure.
And it's smoothed afterwards
here, as you can see.
[speaking japanese]
So it's basically
formed from two groups
of tubes that are
interconnected both vertically
and horizontally.
[speaking japanese]
So now we can move on
to the sectional movie.
[speaking japanese]
So this is actually a video made
by cutting through the building
at 10 centimeters apart.
[speaking japanese]
If you do the same
in [? plan, ?]
you get the same video
probably-- same effect.
[speaking japanese]
So this is an almost
complete ground level.
This is the fifth floor--
[speaking japanese]
--where the offices, restaurant,
and gallery will happen.
[speaking japanese]
This is a photo of
the construction site
where the roof was
about to be cast.
[speaking japanese]
This is a very interesting,
poetic photo actually,
showing a cave-like
situation, but looking
into the modern
city from a cave.
[speaking japanese]
This is a photo of
the construction
site at the grand foyer.
[speaking japanese]
So this slide
basically shows how
we construct this structure.
And we call this the
truss wall construction.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see the
yellow highlighted
when exploded on the right.
Basically, it's composed
of linear truss units.
[speaking japanese]
So at 20 centimeters pitch,
these linear truss elements
will come together.
[speaking japanese]
Actually, the curvature
basically varies very slightly.
So by combining these
linear elements,
you could create a
three-dimensionally curved
unit.
[speaking japanese]
So on both sides
of this truss unit,
we would attach mesh
onto both sides.
And then the concrete
would basically
be poured into this truss unit.
[speaking japanese]
So this is a movie
at the construction
site showing how it's done.
[speaking japanese]
So at the ground
level near the site,
this is where the truss
units are being made.
[speaking japanese]
So the workers would mark out
by hand these units and outline
of the units and then
they would attach--
as you can see in
the video, they
would attach the bars, the
steel bars, accordingly.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see that actually,
the same rule applies
everywhere in this building.
But actually, it's a really
tedious task for the workers.
[speaking japanese]
So now they're connecting
it horizontally.
[speaking japanese]
So these walls are basically
split up into units.
They are transportable
to the site,
and then you can
see that they are
hoisted in a manageable size.
So they're attaching
the mesh now.
So there are two
types of meshes,
and they're basically combining
it, pouring the concrete.
[speaking japanese]
So when the concrete
is set, the mesh
is removed, as you can see.
[speaking japanese]
So about two years
or three years
of the same tedious
construction.
It just went on on-site.
[speaking japanese]
So last year in the
fall, the building
was opened temporarily
for one month, and only
the Grand Theater.
So you can see this is
the finished condition.
[speaking japanese]
So this is the foyer
for the playhouse
that was the medium-sized
one that houses 800 people.
[speaking japanese]
This painting on
the wall was done
by a local Taiwanese artist.
[speaking japanese]
So this playhouse is actually
experiencing the most delays,
but now we finally can
see it finishing up.
[speaking japanese]
So the Grand Theater
will officially
open on the 30th of
September this year,
whereas for this
playhouse, there
will be an event or performance
such on the 1st and 2nd
of October by a pianist.
And her name is Mukaiyama
Tomoko from Holland.
And we're designing the
stage design for it as well.
[speaking japanese]
The stage design
basically uses fabric
and is quite complex as well.
[speaking japanese]
So this is a black box that was
the third performance space.
And it's from the underground.
But it's connected to the
landscape, as you can see,
into an amphitheater.
[speaking japanese]
This is the roof
garden as of now,
but he anticipates the
plant to crawl up further.
[speaking japanese]
So the landscape and
the park around it
is already open and usable.
So you can see that
everyday people
would use this public space.
[speaking japanese]
So during nighttime, we
would have these projections
on the wall of the
building as well
as these light-ups, what they
would have maybe performance
outside.
[speaking japanese]
You can see the pools
are being used really
well by the children.
[speaking japanese]
So we move on to the next
project, the Minna-no-Mori Gifu
Media Cosmos, which was
complete last year in summer.
[speaking japanese]
So this building has
a similar program
to Sendai Mediatheque, however
it only has two stories.
[speaking japanese]
So one plan is 90
meters by 80 meters.
It's a very large plan.
[speaking japanese]
And flanking the west side,
we have these series of trees.
[speaking japanese]
Along the south side,
there will be a city hall.
It's not built, yet but they are
planning to build a city hall.
[speaking japanese]
So you already saw this
plan just now earlier.
On this plan, basically
this is the library.
And we have 11 globes
that are basically
suspended above the space.
[speaking japanese]
So this is a sketch, an early
sketch during the competition
phase.
And you can see
that these globes
actually creating
a spiral movement
like a whirlpool around it.
And it just infinitely
expands outwards.
[speaking japanese]
This is the south facade.
[speaking japanese]
So this is the west
promenade of trees.
And this promenade
is open a year
before the building opened.
[speaking japanese]
So around the
building, again there
are all these public
events and activities
that happen in these areas.
[speaking japanese]
So this is a very important
conceptual diagram
that shows how we
want to allow energy
efficiency in this building.
[speaking japanese]
So around this area,
groundwater is very abundant.
And so basically we want to
use this as much as possible
and maybe control the
temperature only slightly,
using this heated or
slightly cooled water
and feed it into the floor
slabs for both the ground
floor and the second floor.
[speaking japanese]
So that means that we have
radiant heating or cooling
flow system.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see that actually
the radiant floor panels,
there's an air movement
that is generated from this.
And basically, with the globe,
as you can see in the section,
during summertime
the heated air,
the really hot air
that is collected
at the top of the roof will
be dissipated on the top.
You can see in the diagram.
And during winter,
that top opening
will be closed so
that the hot air is
collected under the globe.
And natural light is coming
down around the globe.
[speaking japanese]
We also put solar panels
on some parts of the roof.
[speaking japanese]
We actually had a target
to allow for this building
to perform with an energy
cut of 50% in comparison
to a normal building
of this size.
So this is actually our proposal
during the competition stage.
But in actual fact, we have
almost reached at target.
[speaking japanese]
So another important
point for this roof
is that it's made out
of timber slats, which
are in a very domestically
available size,
locally harvested
timber, so that it's
very readily available.
[speaking japanese]
So as a first step, we used
plywood to make a mold.
And on top, we have layers and
layers of these timber slats
in three different directions.
So they basically are
stacked on top of each other.
And the size is about two
centimeters by 12 centimeters.
[speaking japanese]
This is a video
taken using a drone.
[speaking japanese]
So where the roof connects
to the steel column,
we have almost as much as 21
layers of these timber slats.
[speaking japanese]
So for the top areas where
the air is dissipated just now
in the section diagram,
it's almost half
of that amount of layers.
[speaking japanese]
We collaborated with
[? kanada-san ?] from
[? arap, ?] for this project.
[speaking japanese]
So you saw the more dense
areas are where the columns are
connecting the roof underneath.
[speaking japanese]
After this construction,
above this,
we had to put plywood and
insulation as well as a surface
layer on top with a
waterproofing layer as well.
[speaking japanese]
You can see that
at one time, there
were almost 150 workers on
the roof, working on the roof.
[speaking japanese]
So this is the
ground floor plan.
And you can see in the middle,
which is encased in glass,
is the closed stack for
the books that are closed.
But they're physical.
[speaking japanese]
So in all four
directions-- north,
south, east, and west-- people
can come into the building
as freely as they want.
[speaking japanese]
So where he's pointing now
is a multi-purpose hall,
which houses 200 people.
[speaking japanese]
Below it is the gallery space--
[speaking japanese]
--an open gallery space that
also opens out to the outside.
[speaking japanese]
And that's a restaurant
on the left hand.
[speaking japanese]
So on the west side is when
the workshop areas are.
There are also
these counters where
the local citizens can consult
about their daily matters.
[speaking japanese]
And are also these studios
where people can rent and use.
[speaking japanese]
This is an open gallery.
In this photo, you
can see that there
are workshops for the kids.
[speaking japanese]
This is a community
activity center,
where, as we explained earlier,
the citizens would use freely.
[speaking japanese]
So Gifu City is a city of
population 400,000 people.
And this base, ever
since it's completed,
we calculated almost 6,000
to 7,000 people a day
using this building.
[speaking japanese]
This is a grand tatami space.
Gallery space outside floor.
It's also using outside gallery.
[speaking japanese]
So this is facing the
promenade in the west.
[speaking japanese]
So you would proceed from the
first flow to the second flow
through escalator
into the first globe.
And you'll see as you
arrive the concierge globe.
[speaking japanese]
In the middle area
further down in the path,
you would see a reference globe.
[speaking japanese]
So around the globes
that we just explained,
we have these other reading
globes and study globes
as well as browsing
globes, research globes.
[speaking japanese]
So you can go around the
globes and into these areas
where the shelves are around.
And you can actually browse
for what you want to read.
[speaking japanese]
So rather than
having the shelves
ordered in a parallel
direction, having it
in kind of a whirlpool formation
is much easier for them
to refer to what
books they want.
[speaking japanese]
So there are two
kids' globes as well.
[speaking japanese]
So we also provide
outdoor spaces
where people can read
books, for example,
the one on the south, which
has ample, nice soft lights.
And on the east,
facing the east there
is the mountainous
scenery, scenic terrace.
And on the west we have
a terrace that sets back
called the promenade terrace.
[speaking japanese]
So you can feel as
if you're basically
slowly sucked in onto into
the second floor by the globe.
[speaking japanese]
So there are 11 globes in total
that are hung from the roof.
[speaking japanese]
We collaborate with one of the
most famous signage designers,
Hara Kenya for this signage.
[speaking japanese]
So from that point, you
can see which direction you
should go for certain books.
[speaking japanese]
So on that top of
the plinth, you
can see a floor plan where
each globe is located, and then
the number for that globe.
[speaking japanese]
So the shelves are
designed so that they
don't go further
than five levels so
that it's low enough
for an adult person
to have their vision
basically connected
throughout the entire building.
[speaking japanese]
So there are four
sizes of globes.
There's an 8 meter in
diameter, 10, 12, and 14.
The biggest is the 14.
[speaking japanese]
So the globe consists of
polyester fabric to begin with,
and on top, basically
added fabric
with the different
patterns as you can see.
[speaking japanese]
For example, this is a globe
where you can relax and read.
[speaking japanese]
So when you're
under the globe, we
have actually designed
the height of the globe
so that you feel enclosed,
almost like an interior.
But it's not
completely enclosed.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see this
is quite interesting.
It's a design for the sofa.
And you can see that facing
the inside of the globe
and outside of the globe
we have a different height
for the seats.
[speaking japanese]
So when you're facing inside
the globe and outside the globe,
you would have a
different posture.
[speaking japanese]
So there are also
globes where the kids
would be very hardworking
and working at a desk,
as you can see.
[speaking japanese]
This is small kids globe.
[speaking japanese]
So you can see this is a
terrace on the second floor.
[speaking japanese]
You also have counter spaces
that are facing outside.
[speaking japanese]
So same for other projects--
this is also very important,
where the uses for
of this building
can choose where
they want to be.
Night view.
This is the last slide.
In 10 days in Japan, cherry
blossom is full bloom.
So please come to Japan.
Thank you very much.
[applause]
So we would like to
have a few questions.
And one thing that I should
have mentioned at the beginning
is that the last time
that Ito-san was here,
we also had an exhibition
of Kyonori Kikutake.
And Ito-san was very
important in really
trying to enable their making
of that exhibition at that time.
Just before then, we had
spent quite a lot of time
with Kikutake-san,
and unfortunately he
passed away just before
we had the exhibition.
And Ito-san had worked
with Kyonori Kikutake
and was one of the members
of the metabolists.
Just in the past few
weeks, we've actually now
have a book which
is partly based
on the exhibition, but partly
also something independent.
And it's been edited
by Ken Tadashi Oshima.
And Ito-san has also
written in that book,
and there are some photographs
of him when he was very young
and had just started
working in the office.
But also Mark Mulligan
has a piece in there,
and a number of really
wonderful things.
I think the book is
available in the library.
And so I should
have mentioned that.
The other thing is
that here, we are also
lucky this semester
to have Atelier Bauer.
So I think there's
a kind of continuity
that is going on in the school.
And it's wonderful that
Mori-san is also here with us.
Some of these works
that Ito-san is showing
has a kind of resonance
in terms of what
is happening in a way in
terms of the groups of people
who are in Japan.
But also I hope
that it demonstrates
our kind of seriousness
towards embracing
these projects and this work.
So Ito-san, one question
that I will have,
maybe because I'm
sure there'll be
other people who will ask you.
I wonder what you
think about this,
what I would say disjunction
or this slight difference that
exists between the idea
of working on projects
like Taichung Opera House, which
are very much based on very
sophisticated tools--
computation tools, modeling
tools-- to really understand
the formation of these projects
as idea.
Because these are very
difficult to draw.
And therefore you really
need the sophistication
of tools and techniques
and technology
to bring about
sectional building,
like the Taichung Opera House.
At the same time, it seems
that if you are left alone,
if you're left to
your own devices,
you're still someone
who really loves craft.
You seem to appreciate just the
sheer labor of architecture--
people working hard.
You are not a very
industrialization kind
of person.
It's all about the workers.
It's all about the welding.
It's all about how much
effort goes into that.
Sometimes it seems--
and you and I
have talked about
this thing-- sometimes
it seems that the
craft can't be quite as
precise as the computation.
And the computation
cannot be as imprecise,
which is also important
as the making.
So what do you feel?
What do you think
about this idea
of the relationship
between tools and precision
and the reality of construction?
What thoughts do
you have about that?
[speaking japanese]
So firstly, he
wants to say that he
thinks it's very important
for him to work with people.
When he designs architecture,
he would collaborate
with the staff who
would do computing maybe
and with structural engineers.
They do the calculations.
Obviously, he would work with
local people and the community
as well.
So of course he would
have an original, maybe,
a notion of a building.
But as the project
goes on, he would
communicate with all
these different people.
And then the project would then
basically evolve accordingly.
And he thinks that to think
about building alone, just
by himself, he can
only get so far.
But by working with
people, his project
would excel much further.
[speaking japanese]
So obviously, as
Mohsen has said,
the computer technique
is so precise.
But then at the end of the
day when you're building it,
it's always down to the
hands of the workers.
So there's a contradicting
kind of condition
that he always would feel.
[speaking japanese]
So especially when in Japan,
where the construction
techniques are so advanced and
the construction workers really
have pride in what they
make and what they build,
he thinks that in Japan when
he's building buildings,
he's been blessed by the
advancement of the construction
industry.
[speaking japanese]
So when the building is
complete, the more people that
would say, oh, I built this.
I actually am involved in the
building of this building--
the more people who say this,
the better the architecture
becomes.
Is that a good answer for you?
Oh, it's just that next week--
some of you may not know--
but next week we
are going to have
a kind of conference in London
which will be at the Leadenhall
Building.
And this is a building
which is otherwise
known as "The Cheesegrater."
Maybe many of you have seen it.
It's a building by Rogers,
Stirk, and Harbour.
And last semester,
we had Graham Stirk,
who is the designer of the
building come and give a talk.
And he-- this is a very
high rise building.
He made the point that
this was a building that
was built with 300 people.
Ito-san just has 300
people on the roof.
But in that building, 75%
percent of the construction
material is made offsite.
And basically, it's a high
rise that is assembled.
So I think this issue of a
kind of-- it's not resistance,
but in some ways, a kind
of some form of resisting
industrialization
and actually putting
the emphasis on the labor
is something interesting.
But related to that, it
seems that, for example,
with the Gifu project, the
roof, and ways with Taichung,
there's also something
now about multiple layers,
about density, about weight.
And so does that mean that
the next building will just
get thicker and
thicker and there'll
be more layers because
there'll be more people working
on the site?
Is that the theory?
It's just a joke.
[laughter]
I didn't joke that long.
[laughter]
[speaking japanese]
So he's explaining
that of course,
sometimes it's
inevitable to have
a lot of people
involved, especially
on a construction site.
But he's saying that there is
a difference between computing
techniques and
people's hands crafts.
But maybe he didn't
show the projects today,
but for example at Todd's, the
building at Todd's, as well as
there's a [inaudible]
project in Fukuoka.
Also, the people involved, they
both understand the computer
graphics as well as making
with their own hands.
So it's actually--
sometimes you get people
who are involved in both.
And it's not just a gap
between the difference
between the computer and the
hands is not sometimes not
so evident.
[speaking japanese]
So he's explaining that
he recently visited a site
last year in October in Mexico.
It's a museum--
sorry, in December.
And at the time, there
were almost 1,000 people
on the site.
But he is not sure
that everyone was
a worker, because
there were kids
and there were family members.
So it's very strange.
But then he feels
that maybe it's
not so bad to have the
construction site already
becoming a community on site.
So he finds it quite amusing.
[speaking japanese]
So in Japan, for
Japanese construction,
you will see obviously
the absolute opposite
of how they would try to
reduce the number of workers
as much as possible and make
it as efficient as possible.
He thinks that maybe
that's also another extreme
and he actually prefers maybe
the more humane situation
on site.
Any questions?
Please, we have some mics.
And anybody else,
if I could just know
if you plan to ask a question.
It will help us.
Anyone from the back?
Yes?
First, thank you so
much for your talk.
And I really liked what you said
about the beginning about where
the ripples and there's no
confinement in your design
and always dissipate
this kind of things.
But I also wonder that, because
I'm also from an Eastern
culture, I can understand
this kind of philosophy and/or
spirit or something.
But they're not something
that's completely logical.
So they have, like, guidelines
for you to guide your design.
So I was wondering, how can
you adopt this kind of thing
into your designs?
Is there a certain
way of training
that you can approach to this?
For example, I
really liked the way
how you arrange the stones
and things like that.
[speaking japanese]
So, to answer your
question, obviously there
needs to be a balance between
the spiritual and the logic.
And that he thinks
that, for example,
when he builds the
home for all, there's
a lot of logic involved.
But at the end of the day, the
aim is to open towards nature.
So either way--
sometimes he would
justify a way of creating
a place here or there.
And it's basically,
he's ultimately
trying to open out,
connect more to nature.
So it's actually kind
of a counterargument
to what modernism does.
And he wants to
propose something that
is more positive in that sense.
Ito-san, thank you.
You showed Sendai and
Taichung back to back.
And I thought of a
project in between them,
an American project
that wasn't realized,
the Berkeley Art Museum, as
sort of perhaps a stepping stone
between those projects.
And I wondered if
that's true at all
and if the museum's
inability to be realized
was partially due to labor,
which Mohsen has brought up.
If you could just
speak to those things.
[speaking japanese]
So actually the design concept
for the Berkeley museum
was after the concept,
after Taichung came out.
And so actually, the
Berkeley Art Museum
although unfortunately
wasn't realized,
the concept was used later on
in the Mexican museum project
that we just talked
about, where there were
a lot of workers on the site.
So that is basically
being reapplied,
which means that
actually to him, Taichung
is more directly related
to Sendai in comparison
to Berkeley Art Museum.
Ito-san, thank you very much.
Everyone is going
to come on join you
with the cherry blossom
in 10 days' time.
So thank you again.
And thank you, Julia.
