The event attracted a lot of people. Even before the opening of the gallery, people armed with tickets were crowding the steps. The beginning of the lecture was delayed by half an hour due to the weak throughput of two ushers and two guards. But Russians accustomed to restrictions and "slingshots" were worried only about whether Kengo Kuma would be offended, sitting alone. What if he leaves without waiting for the audience?
But the patient Japanese did not leave and saw the hall filled to capacity - they even sat in the aisles. Looking ahead, we note that the display of architectural masterpieces was accompanied by applause of admiration and gratitude.
It was not so much a lecture as a conversation - Kengo Kuma did not teach, but confidentially shared his impressions, thoughts and observations with like-minded people. The topic of the meeting is projects that are significant for the author, the role of traditions, nature and last year's tsunami in his work …
The goal of the first project, which Kuma spoke about, is "the disappearance of architecture at the zenith of its glory." The mayor of the village asked to build a building and, for the convenience of the designers, leveled the site by cutting off a piece of the mountain. But the author believed that grief has its own architecture: “I didn't like it at all. I wanted to return to the natural state of the mountain, which I suggested. The building "goes" uphill. This is my favorite job."
Continuation of the theme of literal merging with nature - "Museum of the Canal" (Kitakami Canal Museum, 1999). The plan is based on a tunnel cut into the bank of the Kitakami River, which is used as an exhibition space.
Architecture is tactfully embedded in the landscape as an integral part of it. When two-thirds of the city was destroyed by a tsunami last year, the museum was not damaged.
And even earlier there was the Water / Glass project (1995). Kengo Kuma was inspired by the research of the German architect Bruno Taut, who had to leave Nazi Germany for Japan in 1933. Not receiving orders from the Japanese, he studied traditional Japanese architecture and made various designer crafts. The Kengo Kuma family has a treasure - a wooden box bought by the architect's father, made by Bruno Taut. By the way, later, when asked who your favorite architect is, Kengo Kuma named Taut: “I have always admired him. His works are on my desk, and I re-read them. He perceived his role in the connection of Europe with Asia”.
So, Taut wrote that Japanese architecture is futuristic and harmonious. This is how it differs from Western architecture, which is characterized by formalism, since it primarily focuses on form and shape.
With his Water / Glass Villa project, Kengo Kuma tried to convey the idea of fusion of spaces, continuity and the transition from building to ocean. The house symbolizes two elements - air and water. Air and light represent the upper part of the building, and the lower one merges with water.
The continuity of human activity, nature, culture and history is best embodied in the project Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art (2000) - the Hiroshige Museum. Kengo Kuma made it inspired by the painting by the 19th century Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige “People on the Bridge. Surprised rain. " The vertical bars represent rain. Light penetrates through the "jets" and fills the space of the museum. Its plan coincides with the layout of a typical Japanese village: the main street runs in the middle and leads to a mountain, in the depths of which there is a holy tomb. Here the museum building serves as such a "street" that leads to the mountain, connecting in the minds of people of their life, this museum, and the shrine. This is typical for Japan, where religious buildings are taken out of the city and are located in the forest, in full merger with nature. Whereas in Western European cities, the church is located in the center.
Kengo Kuma said that in the 20th century, even in Japan, it has become a common situation when both residents and architects forget about important shrines, abandon and destroy them: “I think that the goal of architects in the new century could be to restore links between holy places and the center cities . And one more thing: “this is the strongest and most important message for our audience - it is necessary to keep the mountains and forests intact”. However, local materials were used for the construction - wood and stone. According to the author, “it is very important to use the material that is available in this area”.
In the Suntory Museum of Art (2007), wine barrels have become such an affordable material for interior decoration. Suntory, a renowned winery and whiskey maker, didn't know what to do with the wooden barrels of the whiskey. Kengo Kuma used them to make two layers of vertical blinds that regulate the insolation of the premises. This technique is taken from traditional peasant dwellings, who could not afford glass windows.
He did not talk about it, but one can imagine that the aroma of heated wood, soaked in fragrant Suntory whiskey, was added to the three dimensions. I wonder how such a setting affects the perception of art?
And for the exterior, graceful ceramic plates with a durable aluminum core were used. They embody the spirit of fragile porcelain.
The Nezu Museum (Nezu, 2009) is located on the main "fashionable" street in Tokyo. It is always crowded, noisy, bustling here. The creative challenge that Kengo Kuma has set himself is to create an oasis of silence. For this, an inclined entrance to the museum was made, stretching for 50 meters. The rise takes visitors to another level, adjusts them to another dimension. As Junichiro Tanizaki wrote in his book Praise of the Shadow, in Japan, shadows are the most important element of architecture. The main technique of the architect is to create a thick shadow. It turned out that even in the very center of Tokyo, you can get amazing darkness and privacy: “We have developed a roof with large overhangs, which are only 2.5 meters high. Bamboo was planted nearby, emphasizing the darkness and privacy."
The architect also loves bamboo as a building material - "it is natural and at the same time very straight and even, so that it can be used to create natural straight lines." Bamboo house (Bamboo) is all built of it, even the columns. In order to strengthen the strength of the columns, concrete was pumped into the hollow shaft and reinforcement was installed. But first, with special devices, it was necessary to remove the stem bridges characteristic of this plant. At the stage of the project, a model of a bamboo house was made, which is the norm for Kengo Kuma: “Models are very important for me and paramount for working out the details. I don't believe in drawings and sketches. It seems to me that it is important at the very first stage to work with the material in order to more clearly understand the size of the object and the distance between the elements of its structures."
The same ideas were embodied in the second bamboo house - in China, near the Chinese Wall. It is called appropriately: Great (Bamboo) Wall. At first, a Chinese construction company opposed the use of bamboo, claiming that the material was short-lived, fragile and suitable only for temporary housing on a construction site. However, the Japanese managed to convince the Chinese and teach the method of preserving the durability of bamboo, the secret of which is known to carpenters from Kyoto.
By the way, at the end of the meeting, the architect was asked how to prepare and preserve bamboo. For everyone who is going to build from it, here's a recipe from Kengo Kuma: you need to harvest the grain in September-October, dry it at 290 degrees and not for long, otherwise the fibers will lose strength.
The uniqueness of the building is given by the line of the hill, which can be seen on the horizon: “We did not want to crash into this natural line, we had to preserve it. The roof of the house added a second level to the hillside,”noted Kengo Kuma. This house gained a lot of popularity in 2008, when the Olympic Games were held in China, and a film was made in which the Bamboo House was filmed. Now the architect is asked to build such houses and houses from paper in many countries around the world. He believes that "due to industrialization, people want to live surrounded by natural materials."
The next project shown by the architect also draws on the traditional foundations of handicraft in Japan. It is called Chidori (Cidori, literal translation of "1000 birds"). Cidori is an antique toy made of wooden blocks with grooves, from which any spatial composition can be folded. The pavilion, assembled from such a wooden constructor without a single nail or glue, was shown in Milan in 2007. It was collected in just 5 hours.
According to the architect, his dream was to build a full-fledged building from сidori. The structure was tested for strength and it turned out that this is possible. This is how the small museum Prostho Museum Research Center appeared (2010).
Glass is installed in the wooden lattice, which is completely invisible and does not create a barrier.
The Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum (2009) also uses the idea of cidori, but on a different scale. True, this is a village bridge, but the interior space can be used as an exhibition space.
Following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated a large area of Japan, Kengo Kuma's workshop, in collaboration with traditional Tohoku artisans, manufacturers and retailers, launched the EJP (East Japan Project) project. The project should help people return to their usual way of life, give them support and perspective.
The artisans here are distinguished by a high level of craftsmanship and thoroughness of work. Together with young designers, they create unique products based on traditional Japanese values, for example, the image of a wooden kokeshi (or kokeshi) doll. In the form of this pupa, salt shakers, pepper shakers and lanterns are made. The architect involved a famous rice paper maker to create the design of a special fan. After the tragedy, they had to save electricity and not use air conditioners, and the fan became indispensable for the Japanese.
There was also a use for cidori: from it, adding plates, they developed various types of furniture, which everyone can assemble on their own.
The Starbucks Coffee project (2011) is also based on the cidori design. Moreover, the planks sticking out of the ceiling and walls are not decorations, but supports - an element of load-bearing structures.
At first, the company representatives were very surprised by this idea, but after the visitors began to flock to the cafe from everywhere, they calmed down.
One of the last objects of the workshop - the tourist center of the Asakusa region in Tokyo, was built near the historical complex, a place of pilgrimage for tourists. This is a small shopping street with stalls for artisans and antiques sellers, stretching between the temple and the ancient gate. The architect needed to maintain harmony with the temple and erect a 40-meter building. Kengo Kuma divided the tower into 8 living spaces - houses, stacked one on top of the other. Gaps filled the technical rooms. “It was important for us that people inside a high-rise building could feel the comfort of small wooden houses,” the author comments on his decision. "This area is unique: skyscrapers and a century-old temple are adjacent here, and my building is between them."
Today Kengo Kuma's workshop is working on another major project - the reconstruction of the Kabuki Theater in Tokyo. The new building will be modern, high-rise, but you don't want to give up the old image either - neither the theater actors, nor fans, nor tourists will forgive. And the architect found a way out - the old house will serve as the entrance to the tower attached to it. A simple solution to its facade will emphasize the brightness and elegance of the usual appearance of the theater. The new building will open in April 2013.
Kengo Kuma also builds in Europe. He is currently designing the Victoria and Albert Museum for Scotland. Sloping concrete walls are cut with ledges and niches, which create the texture of weathered slate rocks. Here is how he explained his decision: “The museum will be built on the embankment, and I had to create an image that would resemble rocks made in concrete. Sturdy, but not bulky or boring. I was inspired by the extraordinarily beautiful reef. It was also important to preserve the space of transition from nature to the city. This is done through an arch between the two buildings. As a result, the interior space of the museum is an amphitheater, on the steps of which you can sit and watch concerts and performances."
Summing up the conversation, Kengo Kuma said: “In all projects, it is important for me to convey the essence of the place - the spirit of history and nature. The materials help to do this. It is in the materials that we trace the history and essential points. In the 20th century, architects tend to forget how important the material is. They have a preference for glass, steel and concrete and proudly call them international materials. But these international materials are killing the nature of the place itself, the essence of its traditional life and craftsmanship. It seems to me that both Japanese and Russian architects could think together and cooperate in order to create such an image of the place."
There were also questions and answers:
"What advice would you give a young architect?" - "Forget about the computer."
"What advice would you give to a middle-aged architect?" - "One of the treasures of our time is experience - this is a unique opportunity."
After that the distribution of autographs took place.
