The Pritzker 2013 laureate, Japanese architect Toyo Ito, came to Moscow to deliver a lecture as part of the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design Summer Program.
Archi.ru: Your first architectural office was called Urban Robot. Why? Is there some kind of dialogue with the metabolic group behind this name?
Toyo Ito: The late 1960s and early 1970s are a watershed moment in the history of Japanese society. The 60s was an era of economic growth, when cities grew rapidly, everyone had a dream, and metabolists were architects who aspired to make this dream come true. And in the 1970s, stagnation began both in the economy and in politics. And at that moment, in 1971, I started practicing architecture. When we were students, we admired metabolists, which is partly why we came to architecture. Then student unrest began, economic growth ended, and dreams did not come true. It turned out that ultimately people became robots - this name contains a certain sarcasm, disappointment of the deceived. And the first message of our architecture was "turn your back to the city and face to nature." And the metabolists themselves have changed a lot after 1970 - the era of dreams has come to an end for them.
Archi.ru: In the 70s, you opposed the overloading of architecture with symbolism. What do you think about symbolism in architecture now?
Toyo Ito: I opposed a certain direction: Kazu Shinohara was very popular in the 70s, and I protested against the symbolism in his buildings. All this took place in a rather limited circle.
In general, modern architecture has largely taken shape due to the rejection of symbolism. However, nowadays cities have become so standardized that it is difficult to say how much the concept of a symbol can be applied to them at all. A symbol is something common for people, something that serves as a support for the human soul.
Archi.ru: Metabolists were modernists, do you see yourself as a modernist or a postmodernist?
Toyo Ito: I believe that the term postmodernism should be used with caution, because we continue to live in the era of modernism, this time is not over yet. A system that could replace modernism has not yet been found in society. From this point of view, I am a person of the society of the era of modernism, who has to deal with architecture in the system of this society. Am I satisfied with this system? In no way, on the contrary, I have the impression that this is a society in which problems are only getting worse. And here the question arises - what can an architect do about these problems? Of course, I think about it, but in no case would I call myself a postmodernist.
Archi.ru: Is your architecture local or global?
Toyo Ito: Since I see my style as part of modernism, from this point of view, I think that my architecture is global. Recently, however, I have been paying more and more attention to buildings with a local or historical flavor, and I am trying to comprehend how this flavor can be weaved into the architectural canvas.
Archi.ru: What do you think about contemporary architecture education?
Toyo Ito: An architect does not exist without an idea, without a concept. But when you look at modern architectural education, you can see how narrow-minded everyone is, how small their horizons are. Architects create some kind of abstract image of society, purely architectural, and the main problem is the limitation of this vision. It is necessary to speak directly with people, and not to act within the framework of the established image.
Archi.ru: Has your approach to architecture changed during the design process for the 2011 tsunami victims?
Toyo Ito: I studied architecture for a long time, I had some ideas. And suddenly it was a terrible catastrophe - people lost their homes, entire cities were destroyed. This raises the question - how to communicate with them, how to talk about my ideas to people who find themselves in such a situation? So I criticize others, but in fact, my approach to architecture was pretty much abstract up to this point. Therefore, I decided to forget that I am an architect and start a dialogue with the residents of the affected areas from scratch, unite with them and think together about what architecture should be like. For example, enagawa - an open gallery that wraps around a traditional Japanese house - is a transition from outside to inside. Modern Japanese architects don't make this transition. Or a room with an earthen floor in old houses. We communicate with residents, and if any ideas or requests arise, we take them into account. Thus, we are deviating from a certain established architectural ideal, and we believe that this is precisely where the possibilities for creating the architecture of a new era lie.
Archi.ru: How do people use these buildings?
Toyo Ito: People who have lost their homes live in temporary structures - rather cramped and not very comfortable. We collect donations from all over the world and create “Homes for All” where people can gather, spend time, have a drink, talk - these are the meeting places. These buildings are very popular among residents - within the framework of this project, six houses have already been implemented and by the end of the year it is planned to build another five or six.
Archi.ru: How can architecture improve people's lives?
Toyo Ito: I believe that a person is happy when he lives in nature. After all, when we find ourselves inside some kind of architectural structures, we often become conservatives. Therefore, the question arises - how to free a person from this conservatism. For example, if an architect came up with something, and people discover it and exclaim: "But it was true, and we did not pay attention!" There are stereotypes within the framework of which we live - the library should be like this, the home should look like this, and nothing else. And if an architect is able to somehow destroy these stereotypes, then by doing so he has fulfilled his mission to a certain extent.
