Arata Isozaki

ARATA ISOZAKI AND MODERNITY IN ASIAN ARCHITECTURE: THE OPENING FORUM FOR IN FORMATION

10

11

The opening forum to coincide with the launch of the In Formation exhibition, “Arata Isozaki and Modernity in Asian Architecture,” featured rich and indepth exchanges around the architect’s transcontinental intellectual lineage and his insights into Asian modernity. The event was jointly organized by the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University, the Power Station of Art, the Academic Committee on Architectural Culture of the Architectural Society of China, and the Academic Committee on Architectural Criticism of the Architectural Society of China.

Jingtang He

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Professor, South China University of Technology Arata Isozaki is deeply rooted in the East yet transcends geographical boundaries to forge an innovative path in the development of both Eastern and Western cultures, surpassing historic and contemporary realities.

For millennia, the peoples of Asia have crafted splendid civilizations, culminating in a distinct urban culture unique to the region. As the pivotal nation in Asia, China boasts a rich history spanning over 5,000 years. Today’s architects in China face the challenge of both preserving this heritage and innovating to meet the current needs of urban development. They must transcend geographical boundaries and foster connections with the global community.

Tadashi Kawamata Artist Arata Isozaki’s works are more akin to architectural artworks than mere buildings. His works embody deeper meanings within the realm of art. Therefore, I believe that his artistic visions will continue to influence architectural design for many years to come. Looking ahead, the role of art in architecture is likely to expand significantly, further enriching the discipline.

Arata Isozaki and Modernity in Asian Architecture: The Opening Forum for In Formation

Xinggang Li

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Chief Architect, China Architecture Design & Research Group Arata Isozaki once said, “When I was growing up, my hometown was destroyed in an instant.” Therefore, his initial encounter with architecture was essentially a void, a happenstance. Similarly, having experienced the Tangshan earthquake

ARATA ISOZAKI AND MODERNITY IN ASIAN ARCHITECTURE: THE OPENING FORUM FOR IN FORMATION

10

11

The opening forum to coincide with the launch of the In Formation exhibition, “Arata Isozaki and Modernity in Asian Architecture,” featured rich and indepth exchanges around the architect’s transcontinental intellectual lineage and his insights into Asian modernity. The event was jointly organized by the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University, the Power Station of Art, the Academic Committee on Architectural Culture of the Architectural Society of China, and the Academic Committee on Architectural Criticism of the Architectural Society of China.

Jingtang He

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Professor, South China University of Technology Arata Isozaki is deeply rooted in the East yet transcends geographical boundaries to forge an innovative path in the development of both Eastern and Western cultures, surpassing historic and contemporary realities.

For millennia, the peoples of Asia have crafted splendid civilizations, culminating in a distinct urban culture unique to the region. As the pivotal nation in Asia, China boasts a rich history spanning over 5,000 years. Today’s architects in China face the challenge of both preserving this heritage and innovating to meet the current needs of urban development. They must transcend geographical boundaries and foster connections with the global community.

Tadashi Kawamata Artist Arata Isozaki’s works are more akin to architectural artworks than mere buildings. His works embody deeper meanings within the realm of art. Therefore, I believe that his artistic visions will continue to influence architectural design for many years to come. Looking ahead, the role of art in architecture is likely to expand significantly, further enriching the discipline.

Arata Isozaki and Modernity in Asian Architecture: The Opening Forum for In Formation

Xinggang Li

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Chief Architect, China Architecture Design & Research Group Arata Isozaki once said, “When I was growing up, my hometown was destroyed in an instant.” Therefore, his initial encounter with architecture was essentially a void, a happenstance. Similarly, having experienced the Tangshan earthquake

ential by inviting architects from around the

cians, yet borrowed from external cultural models,

critical to examine his concepts of time, place,

world, including Isozaki, to New York and then

linguistics, art history, philosophy, mathematics

and object. Isozaki’s dialectical perception of

organizing the Anyone conferences in the 1990s.*10 Re-ruined Hiroshima, from Electric Labyrinth, 1968

34

time is evident in his interpretation of “ruins,”

and science. Together they also sought to break

past, present, and future, that form the theoreti-

According to Eisenman’s assessment, Rossi and

P

out from the “claustrophobic rhetoric of a so-

Venturi “focused on different historical aspects

A

called natural or classical language of architec-

of architecture’s classical conventions. Rossi

R

was concerned with recurring types and Venturi

ture.”*13 As Eisenman himself asserted, “one must13 Eisenman, Eisenman Inside Out

A

... look at Isozaki’s writings and projects of

adumbrated the nuances — the complexity and

D

the time to understand his anxiety with modernism

through the geopolitical dynamics of the exchange

contradictions — of such types. Both assumed that

O

and its overweening reliance on the reason of a

between East and West. Finally, the multiple

architecture functioned as a language that was

X

scientific and technological hegemony that rained

physical and perceptual experiences of the cube

known, Rossi focusing on the norms of the lan-

I

destruction on his country during the 1940s. This

illuminate Isozaki’s understanding of the object

guage, Venturi on its deviations.”*

Isozaki and

C

is particularly true of his series of essays in

of architecture positioned within an open-ended

Rossi both wrote extensively on the city, although

A

the journal Kenchiku Bunka entitled ‘Notes on a

geometric framework. These aspects, as elaborated

Isozaki focused on its invisibility and its “vir-

L

Counter Architecture.’”*

below, collectively form the time/space of ma ( 間 )

10 The Anyone Corporation together with the MIT Press published ten books edited by Cynthia Davidson documenting t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l , c ro s s - d i s c i plinary annual conference from 1991–2000 in which Eisenman and Isozaki were central participants.

11

11 Peter Eisenman, Eisenman Inside Out Selected Writings 1963– 1988, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004, p. xi.

cal and physical foundation for his architecture.

Selected Writings 1963–1988, p. vii.

It is precisely these14 Eisenman, “Aratacism: On the

Ruins of Arata Isozaki,” writings which outline Isozaki’s personal method. Theoretical in Arata Isozaki Works 30: Architec-

tual body” rather than on typology.*12 Isozaki and

1 2 S e e K e n Ta d a s h i O s h i m a , Arata Isozaki, Phaidon 2009, “Invisible City,” pp. 191–197, and “ C i t y, ” p p . 1 9 8 – 2 0 1 ; a n d A l d o Rossi, The Architecture of the City, trans. by Diane Ghirardo and Joan Ockman, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1982. Isozaki further discusses the impact of Rossi’s work through the ideology of Tendenza or Neo-Rationalism from the 1973 exhibition Tendenza at the 15th Milan Triennale. See Ken Tadashi Oshima, Arata Isozaki, Phaidon 2009, “Architecture,” pp. 236–242.

14

35

Eisenman both probed architecture as architects,

P

In order to situate Isozaki’s architectural

rather than as historians or academic theoreti-

R

process — that bridges theory and practice — it is

O C E S S E S

tural Models, Prints, Drawings, Tokyo: Rikuyosha, 1992, p. 190. “Notes on a Counter Architecture” is published as “Han kenchiku nōto,” in Kenchiku Bunka no. 306 (April 1972), no. 308 ( June 1972), no. 314 (November 1972), no. 335 (September 1974), no. 336 (October 1974), no. 338 (December 1974), no. 339 ( January 1975), no. 342 (February 1975), no. 341 (March 1975), no. 345 ( July 1975), no. 348 (October 1975), no.

366 (April 1977), no. 373 (November 1977) and no. 383 (September 1978).

The place for Isozaki’s process is not limited to Japan but rather emerges in the “space between”

from which his architecture unfolds. ░

ential by inviting architects from around the

cians, yet borrowed from external cultural models,

critical to examine his concepts of time, place,

world, including Isozaki, to New York and then

linguistics, art history, philosophy, mathematics

and object. Isozaki’s dialectical perception of

organizing the Anyone conferences in the 1990s.*10 Re-ruined Hiroshima, from Electric Labyrinth, 1968

34

time is evident in his interpretation of “ruins,”

and science. Together they also sought to break

past, present, and future, that form the theoreti-

According to Eisenman’s assessment, Rossi and

P

out from the “claustrophobic rhetoric of a so-

Venturi “focused on different historical aspects

A

called natural or classical language of architec-

of architecture’s classical conventions. Rossi

R

was concerned with recurring types and Venturi

ture.”*13 As Eisenman himself asserted, “one must13 Eisenman, Eisenman Inside Out

A

... look at Isozaki’s writings and projects of

adumbrated the nuances — the complexity and

D

the time to understand his anxiety with modernism

through the geopolitical dynamics of the exchange

contradictions — of such types. Both assumed that

O

and its overweening reliance on the reason of a

between East and West. Finally, the multiple

architecture functioned as a language that was

X

scientific and technological hegemony that rained

physical and perceptual experiences of the cube

known, Rossi focusing on the norms of the lan-

I

destruction on his country during the 1940s. This

illuminate Isozaki’s understanding of the object

guage, Venturi on its deviations.”*

Isozaki and

C

is particularly true of his series of essays in

of architecture positioned within an open-ended

Rossi both wrote extensively on the city, although

A

the journal Kenchiku Bunka entitled ‘Notes on a

geometric framework. These aspects, as elaborated

Isozaki focused on its invisibility and its “vir-

L

Counter Architecture.’”*

below, collectively form the time/space of ma ( 間 )

10 The Anyone Corporation together with the MIT Press published ten books edited by Cynthia Davidson documenting t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l , c ro s s - d i s c i plinary annual conference from 1991–2000 in which Eisenman and Isozaki were central participants.

11

11 Peter Eisenman, Eisenman Inside Out Selected Writings 1963– 1988, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004, p. xi.

cal and physical foundation for his architecture.

Selected Writings 1963–1988, p. vii.

It is precisely these14 Eisenman, “Aratacism: On the

Ruins of Arata Isozaki,” writings which outline Isozaki’s personal method. Theoretical in Arata Isozaki Works 30: Architec-

tual body” rather than on typology.*12 Isozaki and

1 2 S e e K e n Ta d a s h i O s h i m a , Arata Isozaki, Phaidon 2009, “Invisible City,” pp. 191–197, and “ C i t y, ” p p . 1 9 8 – 2 0 1 ; a n d A l d o Rossi, The Architecture of the City, trans. by Diane Ghirardo and Joan Ockman, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1982. Isozaki further discusses the impact of Rossi’s work through the ideology of Tendenza or Neo-Rationalism from the 1973 exhibition Tendenza at the 15th Milan Triennale. See Ken Tadashi Oshima, Arata Isozaki, Phaidon 2009, “Architecture,” pp. 236–242.

14

35

Eisenman both probed architecture as architects,

P

In order to situate Isozaki’s architectural

rather than as historians or academic theoreti-

R

process — that bridges theory and practice — it is

O C E S S E S

tural Models, Prints, Drawings, Tokyo: Rikuyosha, 1992, p. 190. “Notes on a Counter Architecture” is published as “Han kenchiku nōto,” in Kenchiku Bunka no. 306 (April 1972), no. 308 ( June 1972), no. 314 (November 1972), no. 335 (September 1974), no. 336 (October 1974), no. 338 (December 1974), no. 339 ( January 1975), no. 342 (February 1975), no. 341 (March 1975), no. 345 ( July 1975), no. 348 (October 1975), no.

366 (April 1977), no. 373 (November 1977) and no. 383 (September 1978).

The place for Isozaki’s process is not limited to Japan but rather emerges in the “space between”

from which his architecture unfolds. ░

Electric Labyrinth 1968 E

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73

L E C T R I C

L A B Y R I N T H

pp. 72–74. Installation Views, EXPOSE 2002—Kenji Yanobe × Arata Isozaki, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1, Japan, 2003

E l e c t r i c L a by r i n t h was an interior installa-

stages of a corpse’s decomposition), and a

tion created by Isozaki with collaborators

future city as a photomontage with Hiroshima.

including composer Toshi Ichiyanagi, graphic

This work was recreated in its entirety in

designer Kohei Sugiura, and photographer

2002 for the Iconoclash exhibition curated by

Shomei Tomatsu. The labyrinth had sensors

Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel at the Center

that responded to the presence of people

for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM).

within the space to play discomfiting audio

This installation used the same tech-

and rotate the sixteen wall panels. The over-

nology as the EXPO ’70 Osaka Festival Plaza,

all theme of this presentation was that of

but in terms of content its hellish symbolism

violent response. The walls were painted in

is the polar opposite, demonstrating the am-

fluorescent colors, and there were depictions

bivalence of Isozaki’s practice, and thereby

taken from H e l l S c r o l l , S c r o l l o f t h e H u n g r y

revealing the essence of his thinking. (SM)

G h o s t s , and Ku s o z u (paintings of the nine

Electric Labyrinth 1968 E

72

73

L E C T R I C

L A B Y R I N T H

pp. 72–74. Installation Views, EXPOSE 2002—Kenji Yanobe × Arata Isozaki, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1, Japan, 2003

E l e c t r i c L a by r i n t h was an interior installa-

stages of a corpse’s decomposition), and a

tion created by Isozaki with collaborators

future city as a photomontage with Hiroshima.

including composer Toshi Ichiyanagi, graphic

This work was recreated in its entirety in

designer Kohei Sugiura, and photographer

2002 for the Iconoclash exhibition curated by

Shomei Tomatsu. The labyrinth had sensors

Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel at the Center

that responded to the presence of people

for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM).

within the space to play discomfiting audio

This installation used the same tech-

and rotate the sixteen wall panels. The over-

nology as the EXPO ’70 Osaka Festival Plaza,

all theme of this presentation was that of

but in terms of content its hellish symbolism

violent response. The walls were painted in

is the polar opposite, demonstrating the am-

fluorescent colors, and there were depictions

bivalence of Isozaki’s practice, and thereby

taken from H e l l S c r o l l , S c r o l l o f t h e H u n g r y

revealing the essence of his thinking. (SM)

G h o s t s , and Ku s o z u (paintings of the nine

92

I

93

N C U B A T I O N

P R O C E S S

pp. 92–93. Incubation Process, 1962

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N C U B A T I O N

P R O C E S S

pp. 92–93. Incubation Process, 1962

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O

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I T A

P R E F E C T U R A L

L I B R

Section Perspective, 1962–1966 A R Y

⁀ A R T

P L A Z A ‿

Interior View of Reading Room, 1966

Section Perspective, 1962–1966

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O

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I T A

P R E F E C T U R A L

L I B R

Section Perspective, 1962–1966 A R Y

⁀ A R T

P L A Z A ‿

Interior View of Reading Room, 1966

Section Perspective, 1962–1966

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Fukuoka Mutual Bank, Head Office

F

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U K U

Fukuoka, Japan 1968–1971 Demolished

O K A

M U T U A L

B A N K ,

Exterior View from Northeast, 1971

For the bank’s head office across from Hakata

H

Station in Fukuoka City, Isozaki employs a

E

strategy of transgression, using rule-breaking

A

items to disturb the system that controls the

D

overall design, thereby creating office space that transcends the uniformity of modernist

O

architecture such as Mies van der Rohe’s

F

universal space. For instance, red Indian

F

sandstone and red granite are distinguishing

I

features of the building’s exterior, but

C

these materials were thought of as manipu-

E

lable cladding, separate from the skeleton, thereby betraying the modernist principle of a straightforward expression of structure. Similarly, the interior has no systems that are consistent throughout. Instead, the intention is to create an accumulation of fragmented places (“ba”), with each room being decorated in an individual manner. (TK)

Model (1:100), 1991

118

Fukuoka Mutual Bank, Head Office

F

119

U K U

Fukuoka, Japan 1968–1971 Demolished

O K A

M U T U A L

B A N K ,

Exterior View from Northeast, 1971

For the bank’s head office across from Hakata

H

Station in Fukuoka City, Isozaki employs a

E

strategy of transgression, using rule-breaking

A

items to disturb the system that controls the

D

overall design, thereby creating office space that transcends the uniformity of modernist

O

architecture such as Mies van der Rohe’s

F

universal space. For instance, red Indian

F

sandstone and red granite are distinguishing

I

features of the building’s exterior, but

C

these materials were thought of as manipu-

E

lable cladding, separate from the skeleton, thereby betraying the modernist principle of a straightforward expression of structure. Similarly, the interior has no systems that are consistent throughout. Instead, the intention is to create an accumulation of fragmented places (“ba”), with each room being decorated in an individual manner. (TK)

Model (1:100), 1991

T

158

159

H E

K I T A K Y U S H U

Axonometric (Silk Screen), 1983 Model (1:100), 1990

C E N T R A L

L I B R

Section Perspective, Dated May 1, 1973 A R Y

T

158

159

H E

K I T A K Y U S H U

Axonometric (Silk Screen), 1983 Model (1:100), 1990

C E N T R A L

L I B R

Section Perspective, Dated May 1, 1973 A R Y

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Domus: La Casa del Hombre (Interactive Museum about Humans) La Coruña, Spain 1993–1995

D

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O M U S :

L A

Built C A S A

D E L

This science museum constructed on the west side of the A Coruña peninsula juts out

H

into the Atlantic Ocean, facing Orzán Bay.

O

The design was determined on the basis of

M

interpreting the local context, including

B

topology, climate, culture, and urban char-

R

acteristics. The simple form of the front

E

gives an unambiguous impression when viewed from afar. This approach was learned from the lighthouse that remains on the peninsula from Roman days, providing robust wall surfaces that can cope with the extreme weather conditions when the architecture is dashed by the winds and waves. The rear side that faces the city includes zigzag walls echoing the scale of passing pedestrians, creating a contrast with the wall on the front of the museum.

Exterior design of this nature conceals internal function, but at the same time it is taxed with the role of providing a sort of skin that symbolizes the museum’s character.

(TK)

Exterior View from North, 1995

192

Domus: La Casa del Hombre (Interactive Museum about Humans) La Coruña, Spain 1993–1995

D

193

O M U S :

L A

Built C A S A

D E L

This science museum constructed on the west side of the A Coruña peninsula juts out

H

into the Atlantic Ocean, facing Orzán Bay.

O

The design was determined on the basis of

M

interpreting the local context, including

B

topology, climate, culture, and urban char-

R

acteristics. The simple form of the front

E

gives an unambiguous impression when viewed from afar. This approach was learned from the lighthouse that remains on the peninsula from Roman days, providing robust wall surfaces that can cope with the extreme weather conditions when the architecture is dashed by the winds and waves. The rear side that faces the city includes zigzag walls echoing the scale of passing pedestrians, creating a contrast with the wall on the front of the museum.

Exterior design of this nature conceals internal function, but at the same time it is taxed with the role of providing a sort of skin that symbolizes the museum’s character.

(TK)

Exterior View from North, 1995

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Qatar National Library Project Doha, Qatar 2002 Unbuilt

Perspective, 2002

A multifunctional complex planned for central Doha, the capital of Qatar, expected to be both a landmark for the capital and the nation. At the client’s request, Isozaki referred to the design of the City in the

Model (1:2500), 1996

Air, Shibuya Project, from the beginning of his career. In Shibuya, the rationale for the project had been closely related to the state of Japan’s cities in the aftermath of World War II, but here the shape is only selected as an icon. This move to actually construct an unbuilt project from the 1960s stemmed from the project’s recognizability, losing the utopian connotations of the original. Instead, it reflected trends in global capitalism, particularly trends from the 1990s onward. (TK)

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Qatar National Library Project Doha, Qatar 2002 Unbuilt

Perspective, 2002

A multifunctional complex planned for central Doha, the capital of Qatar, expected to be both a landmark for the capital and the nation. At the client’s request, Isozaki referred to the design of the City in the

Model (1:2500), 1996

Air, Shibuya Project, from the beginning of his career. In Shibuya, the rationale for the project had been closely related to the state of Japan’s cities in the aftermath of World War II, but here the shape is only selected as an icon. This move to actually construct an unbuilt project from the 1960s stemmed from the project’s recognizability, losing the utopian connotations of the original. Instead, it reflected trends in global capitalism, particularly trends from the 1990s onward. (TK)

238

The Millennium House—Sheikh Saud Al-Thani Villa Project Doha, Qatar 1999–2014 Unbuilt

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T M

H

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M

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P

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S

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Perspective of Main House, 2002

H E

Model of Main House (Detail), 1999

Model of Main House and Guest House, 1999 I

This private house project situated in a suburb of Doha, the capital of Qatar, involved top designers from around the world and was planned as a contemporary reprise of a maharaja’s project from the 1930s.

Isozaki was responsible for the architecture overall, with the design of individual rooms

K H

S A U D

left in the hands of designers selected in conjunction with project client Sheikh Saud Al-Thani. As a result, the interior contains site-specific works associated with particular rooms by some of the best-known designers of the 20th century, responding to the idea of creating a villa that would be a microcosm of the whole culture of that century. (TK)

Site Plan, 2002

Perspective of Master Bedroom, 2002

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The Millennium House—Sheikh Saud Al-Thani Villa Project Doha, Qatar 1999–2014 Unbuilt

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A

H

L

E

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T M

H

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E N

V

N

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M

A

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P

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R

U

O

S

J

E

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—

C

S

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Perspective of Main House, 2002

H E

Model of Main House (Detail), 1999

Model of Main House and Guest House, 1999 I

This private house project situated in a suburb of Doha, the capital of Qatar, involved top designers from around the world and was planned as a contemporary reprise of a maharaja’s project from the 1930s.

Isozaki was responsible for the architecture overall, with the design of individual rooms

K H

S A U D

left in the hands of designers selected in conjunction with project client Sheikh Saud Al-Thani. As a result, the interior contains site-specific works associated with particular rooms by some of the best-known designers of the 20th century, responding to the idea of creating a villa that would be a microcosm of the whole culture of that century. (TK)

Site Plan, 2002

Perspective of Master Bedroom, 2002

264