Concrete in Japan

Concrete in Japan from 1945 to Tadao Ando: from detail and intimacy to megastructure.

The Japanese excelled in concrete, partly because its forming reused skills in wood that created traditional Japanese buildings. But the Japanese also saw the powers of concrete to build massive cantilevered structures, which led the metabolists to go further upscale to the idea of the megastructure. This essay illustrates the wide range of Japanese ways with concrete.

Japan has an ancient history of hunter-gatherer settlements dating to the Ice Age, and through the early part of the millennia, however, some of the major evolutions toward modern Japanese culture began with the introduction of Buddhism; coherently with the native Shinto spirituality, and the arrival of the Chinese, beginning around the 6th century. This “rapidly transformed Japan into a land of Chinese civilization”. [1] Architecturally this period is highly important in the development of what we now consider as traditionally Japanese. Nothing else seems to have had a greater impact on Japanese architecture than spirituality. Buddhism became a catalyst for architecture. Temples were constructed across the country, (such as Hōryū-ji figure1) demonstrating great amounts of Chinese influence, which spread to other forms of architecture, and foundational values for Japanese architecture were set in place. Proportions such as ken units were first used, and archetypes such as the Minka house were ratified, and Japan began to diverge from the influential Chinese styles. Tea ceremonies in Chashitsu (drinking spaces), “and other customs associated with Zen philosophy”[2] were popularised in their architecture, a particular school of Buddhism. This was a great influence on the light Byobu, Fusuma and Shoji interior structures of Japanese buildings, and the use of traditionally made Tatami woven mats.

Figure 1

[1] p.p.290, Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press, London, 1982.

[2] p.p.7 Kultermann, Udo. New Japanese Architecture. Architectural Press. London. 1960.

Japan went a long period of minimal influence or changes in culture, but in the era known as the Meiji period, Japan began modernising its social and economic structure, creating an empire. An attempt was made to unite Asia: occupying cities in China, Korea and across eastern Asia.

To ensure world competence, during the industrial age European architects were employed for large-scale commercial projects, where traditional Japanese construction would not have been viable. Some Japanese carpenters emanated western styles in wood, known as

Figure 2

giyōfū. Despite the aggressive militant tactics of the Imperial period, Japan could not turn away to the influence of western society on culture and architecture, as seen in the Homei Den, in Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. (figure 2) The imperial regime Japan undertook led to foreign intervention, and in turn the Second World War. A disastrous loss meant the empire surrendered at the end of the war in 1945, and Japan became a democratic nation occupied by the United States General, Douglas Macarthur. Alongside newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, Japan’s economy was transformed highly successfully.

Modernism was rising hugely in popularity across Europe and America in the early 20th century.

The Japanese had realised the benefit of the materials recently used by European architects in Japan, but combined them with a skeletal frame to give greater resistance to earthquakes.

Evolutions in historical Chinese construction came partly due to the different natural environment: a hot humid summer, snow in winter, with rains and earthquakes in between. “The Japanese learnt early to adjust themselves to these natural forces, not by defying them, but by accepting them in their lives.”[3] Timber became used more and more prominently: such as cedar, larch and pine, because of the “vast resources of timber, and, on the other, by the many earthquakes, which make swift reconstruction and a high capacity for resistance essential”[4]. This began being translated into Modernist Japanese architecture in concrete, after seeing the failure of masonry buildings in earthquakes at that time.

3. p.p.7 Kultermann, Udo. New Japanese Architecture. Architectural Press. London. 1960.

4. p.p. 281–294. McNeil, Peter. "Myths of Modernism: Japanese Architecture, Interior Design and the West c. 1920– 1940". Journal of Design History 5 (4): 1992.

Major exponents of Modernism visited Japan, and though it hadn’t taken off completely in the west, it began a process of

Figure 3

development, with huge Japanese influence, and “the west discovered the quality of space in traditional Japanese architecture through a filter of western architectural values”.

[4] Demonstrated early in the 20th century by Sutemi Horiguchi in his Oshima Meteorological Station in 1928 (figure3) and Mamoro Yamada, the idea of modernism seems to develop around Japanese architecture, rather than be adopted there.

Some architects began a movement of a “so-called Imperial Crown Style”[5] where reinforced concrete was realised with tradition Japanese tiled roofs. Many architects rebelled against this in favour of functionalism, with distinct references in visions of modernist architects, such as the Jugendstil movement and Frank Lloyd Wright, and vice versa. The work of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe came with great inspiration to architects such as Maekawa and Sakakura, working with Corbusier directly. This brought Corbusier’s knowledge of reinforced concrete he had gained from August Perret, “one of the pioneers of reinforced

Figure 4

concrete.”[6] Maekawa and Sakakura developed the international style in Japan hugely, beginning with the post-war push for affordable housing. The economic boom of the 1950’s allowed architects to regain the use of concrete in the architecture after major rationing. The economy naturally brought industry, and the “a spate of large projects was initiated by regional and municipal administrations; town halls, administrative centres, libraries, museums, concert halls and hospitals. Private enterprise required factories, offices and banks.” [7] Most of these buildings used

Figure 5

5. pp. 16. Cooper, Graham. Project Japan: Architecture and Art Media Edo to Now. The Images Publishing Group. Australia.

2009.

6. pp. 196. Richards, J.M. Whos Who In Architecture: From 1400 to the present day. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London. 1977.

7. p.p.16, Tempel, Egon. New Japanese architecture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1969.

reinforced concrete and prefabricated elements. A typology was exposed to the Japanese: use of cantilevers, exposed concrete, and curtain wall glazing; first attributed to Antonin Raymond’s work in Tokyo. “The Readers Digest Building incorporated exposed concrete of hitherto unknown perfection.” [8](figure 4) This led to architects like Maekawa adopting new technologies. His Nippon Sogo Bank in Tokyo (figure 6) used a steel frame with prefabricated concrete panels, and a complex interior material palette, “forcing the building industry to adopt new methods of construction.”[10] Maekawa’s following projects expressed a tendency towards exposed concrete; skilled in it’s forming for tactile curved balustrades and columns piercing horizontals in balconies, seen in the close relationship of carpenter and sculptor to material. (figure 5) Sakakura also expressed this in his Museum of Modern Art in Kamakura (figure 7), also clearly displaying his experience working with Le Corbusier, and the use of formwork to leave a hint of wooden imprint in the concrete surface, a notion of being unfinished and roughness applied in traditional Japanese architecture.

Figure 6

Figure 7

It may have been these hints at traditional materials in concrete that inspired a breath of traditional Japanese forms and decoration in the modernist style, exhibited by architects like Togo Murano and Yoshiro Taniguchi.

Maekawa and Sakakura began working with younger architects like Kenzo Tange, arguably one of the greatest architects of the century. Tange developed a highly individualistic style, and despite the existing influence of Japanese architecture on Modernist architects Tange learned from, he has been quoted as saying that tradition “cannot be considered to generate creative energy”, where he seems to be referring to the traditionalist architects of the era. Tange’s education in Japan had taught a traditional style of Japanese construction, using frames and Kiwari modularisation, which he translated into his post-war concrete architecture. His dynamic engineering ability, expressed in the

8. p.p.16, Tempel, Egon. New Japanese architecture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1969.

9. p.p.16, Tempel, Egon. New Japanese architecture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1969.

likes of his hyperbolic paraboloid roof in Shizuoka (figure 10) may have been the inspiration for future Japanese architect’s structural designs, perhaps while a university professor.

His first notable project was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, (figure 9) demonstrating many elements of Le Corbusier influence. This then led to commissions like the Kagawa Prefectural Office Building (figure 8), where Tange displays distinct references to the traditional wooden structures of Japan, such as the temples and pagodas, with concrete beams resembling tokÿo, a traditional form of carpenter’s bracketing, in an attempt to divert the traditional ideas of Japanese designers. There was also a distinct wooden texture, (like his 1957 Kurashiki City Hall, figure 11) whilst utilising the skilled carpentry of the Japanese

Figure 8

tradesmen to create angular and highly complex forms, a process exhibited by Sakakura.

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

With advancements in technology, the scale of things like highways made an impact on the scale of structures being produced, catalysed by their uses in reinforced concrete. Maekawa had also utilised this relatively new scale breakthrough in some his office buildings, up to 130 metres tall. When Tange taught at MIT, some student’s work “exemplified Tange’s ideas clearly”: “cannot we conceive of a major structure and a minor structure which, like the trunk and leaves of a tree, are linked, but which change according to different cycles? Can the major structures not have the same possibility of growth as a tree trunk?”

Pp24. Riani, Paolo. quoting Kenzo Tange., Kenzo Tange.

This influence is possibly attributed to the tradition of renewal of Japanese architecture, which “cannot be explained by the rapid decay of wood – Japanese timber buildings dating back to the 7th century are still standing; it would seem rather to stem from Shinto religious beliefs, being regarded as a symbol for growth and decay of nature.”[10] Upon this notion, Tange began a process of design and education, working with younger architects, already known as the metabolists, including Kiyonori Kikutake, Kisho Kurokawa and Fumihiko Maki. The movement was initially demonstrated in the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne 1959 and the Tokyo World Design Conference of 1960, beginning to explore new urban concepts of modernism and megastructures.

Figure 12

Figure 13

Essays, named Ocean City, Space City, Towards Group Form and Material and Man with utopian visions were created in light of their manifesto, for organic urban expansion with flexible uses.

Kikutake developed ‘tower shaped city’ alongside Tange; a metabolist city based on tall structures (figure 13). Kikutake also developed the Sky House, a very important development in Japanese concrete architecture. It translated the spatial flexibility of Japanese building interior design of the past into a modern family living space. (figure 12.)

Concrete was proving highly important in the development of the ideas of the Metabolists, impossible without the development. Tange, Kurokawa and Kikutake presented radical plans for Tokyo, to expand the city across the bay, using some of the ideas developed at MIT, for floating concrete megastructures accommodating organic urban growth.

10. p.p.6, Tempel, Egon. New Japanese architecture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1969.

Figure 14

Many of the Metabolist visions remained unbuilt, however some were realised. Tange’s concept of a central core with attaching modules was addressed in his Yamanashi Broadcasting Centre, as well as his Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting tower. The building is of concrete, with aluminium cladding used as a complex formwork, a further, highly original material development. Kurokawa’s Nagakin Capsule Tower encompassed the values of the Metabolist Manifesto, a concrete megastructure with plug in capsules.

Experiments in these megastructures with steel and concrete led to downscaled versions of the visions, such as Tange’s Kuwait embassy in Tokyo (figure 14), displaying a central core with great cantilevers, giving usable space in the midst of the building.

Figure 15

Figure 16

Meanwhile, the Olympic games were becoming a great catalyst for Modern Japanese architecture.

Tange’s Olympic Stadium (figure 16) is iconic in its form. Tange’s signature hyperbolic paraboloids were used at a great scale, following “the pattern of his inspiration with a profound awareness of the structural possibilities”…”to make the tensile structure possible, the compression of the base is necessary. The arch then becomes the keynote for the concrete structure.” [11] The same principles were also applied in his St Mary Cathedral, in Tokyo. Concrete and steel formed a hyperbolic paraboloid, which Corbusier had recently exhibited at The Legislative Assembly in Chandigarh. The Japanese principle of Wabi Sabi, employed in traditional architecture, is the nature of an unfinished and imperfect texture or object. (figure 15) This is not evident in the exterior, where a modern metal system of formwork and cladding was applied, however the interior displays the imprint of a wooden formwork, and rough texture.

11. pp.35. Riani, Paolo. Twentieth Century Masters: Kenzo Tange. The Hamlyn Publishing Group. Middlesex. 1970.

His later work with his associate practice in greater, worldwide commercial buildings, seem to be have been somewhat dictated by statement skyscraper fashions of value concrete structures with curtain wall glazing, rather than his signature raw material design.

A student of his, Arata Isozaki highly developed the Figure 17

idea of the cantilever in Japanese architecture on a realistic scale, as well as some of his visions for megastructures, as in his Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art. (figure 17) Kazuo Shinohara seemed to directly translate the carpentry, and the visible floor plates of traditional Japanese buildings and gates into a concrete architecture. (figure 18) This was used in coherence with the natural textures of wood and stone for personal building parts, with a great inclusion of natural light. He also replicated the machine for living principles of Le Corbusier, “The partial cantilevered structure was necessary to provide space

Figure 18

to park two cars outside the first floor work area and architecture. It was more the legacy of Shinohara as a teacher that made an architectural impact in Japan.

The Shinohara School taught the young Toyo Ito, Itsuko Hasegawa, Shin Takamatsu and Masaharu Takasaki, who in a later period became some of Japan’s most iconic architects.

However an impact none so large after Tange was made by any architect until that of Tadao Ando.

Ando was applying the traditional concept of Wabi Sabi, as Tange and those before had, but with a much more exquisite understanding of its effects, somewhat exhibited in Tange’s later work. Upon naming his dog, he stated "First, I thought I would call her Kenzo Tange; but then I realised I couldn't kick Kenzo Tange around. So I called her Le Corbusier instead." [13] He utilised light and surroundings to complement the texture of the concrete; with direct light illuminating the surfaces directly, for instance the Koshino House (figure 20) and used the architectural element of the wall much more conceptually. He was influenced greatly by some of the rationalist styles of Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, and that exhibited by post war Japanese architecture. The further simplicity and relationship with emptiness with his architecture seems to [12] Shinohara, Kenzo. Text for House in Uehara, Shinkenchiku, vol. 52, no. 1, Tokyo, January 1977. First published in English in Japan Architect, Tokyo, 1977.

[13] pp. 197. Diedfendorf, Hein & Yorifusa. 2003.

bear direct correlation to the simplicity of Zen spirituality, and Japanese art and Haikus; highly evident in his sketching.

Though it is the materiality of his architecture that seems to have elevated him to be described as the “master of concrete.”[14] He seems to correlate nature with his architecture: vistas, contextual forms, and with the natural grey of concrete; the polished surface with tie and board forming markings seem to bear reference to the Ken proportion system of Japanese architecture. (figure 19)

Figure 19 Figure 20

Ando’s architecture seems to be a culmination of some of the rationalist architecture developed with both Western ideals and Japanese architectural principles; paired with the structural and material explorations of the metabolists. This is still being exhibited in recent years by Ando and others as a refined model, such as Shin Takamatsu’s work: (and a personal favourite) The Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography. (figure, fornt cover) Japanese architecture was one of the major motives for international modernism, as well as adopting it itself. Values of traditional Japanese architecture were mostly upheld, whilst pushing the boundaries of things that were impossible with traditional wooden structures. The metabolists were a series of investigations, which transformed later architecture of Japan.

[14] pp. Furuyama, Masao. Tadao Ando: The Geometry of Human Space. Taschen, Koln. 2006.]

Bibliography Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press, London, 1982.

Kultermann, Udo. New Japanese Architecture. Architectural Press.

McNeil, Peter. "Myths of Modernism: Japanese Architecture, Interior Design and the West c. 1920–1940". Journal of Design History 5 (4): 1992.

Richards, J.M. Whos Who In Architecture: From 1400 to the present day.

Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London. 1977.

Tempel, Egon. New Japanese architecture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1969.

Riani, Paolo. Twentieth Century Masters: Kenzo Tange. The Hamlyn Publishing Group. Middlesex. 1970.

Furuyama, Masao. Tadao Ando: The Geometry of Human Space. Taschen, Koln.

2006.

Diedfendorf, Hein & Yorifusa. Rebuilding Urban Japan After 1945. Palgrave MacmMillan, 2003.

Shinohara, Kenzo. Text for House in Uehara, Shinkenchiku, vol. 52, no. 1, Tokyo, January 1977. First published in English in Japan Architect, Tokyo, 1977.

Zhonggjie Lin. Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist Movement: Urban Utopias of Modern Japan. Routledge. New York. 2010.

Cooper, Graham. Project Japan: Architecture and Art Media Edo to Now. The Images Publishing Group. Australia. 2009.

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