Mesa 1 Andrew Mesa Professor Monaghan Orientation to Architecture 23 November 2014 Final Paper Kengo Kuma Kengo Kuma is a brilliant man who was born in Yokohama Japan in 1954 and graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in Architecture. He then started to work for Nihon Sekkei and TODA Corporation, earning his living there working on various projects. After some time there, he found himself in New York furthering his studies at Columbia University from 1985 to1986 as a visiting researcher. Shortly after this, his firm was established with the creation of Spatial Design Studio in 1987, a mere three years he solidified his firm Kengo Kuma & Associates. Along with his education at the Universities of Columbia and Tokyo, he was educated at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and Keio University, where Kuma received his Ph.D in Architecture. He is greatly versed in the field of Architecture and has vast knowledge on different topics, such as urbanity and design that he teaches at the University of Tokyo within his own Laboratory, the Kuma Lab. It is an understatement to say that Dr. Kuma, is educated and experienced in the field of Architecture. Throughout his different pieces, one can see the influence and continuity of
Mesa 2 Japanese traditions within Architecture. Some of the concepts that he uses allow for a greater appearance of transparency and the use of light within a structure. He plays and experiments with the use of materiality, going far past the obvious possibilities. Interestingly, he still captures a multitude of Japanese traditions while using the latest technological advances with materials. The Bato Hiroshige Museum is an example of such use in advancements utilizing wood as the structure and using linear elements to manipulate light while creating a structure. His use of materials, and the style in which they are compiled give the illusion and representation of Japanese culture, however with a more thorough analysis, one can clearly see that it is a modernistic spin on tradition. The Asakusa Culture Tourism Center is a structure that can resemble the great Japanese temples, including subtle influences from them, such as stacking floors on top of one another with a small overhang, not entirely even, and without the great distinguishable roofs of the past. It uses that combination of form with materiality; glass and wood present a façade of curiosity, letting you almost see the contents of the interior. It is a structure that is easily distinguished from its environment, inviting and allowing spectators to question it. Works much like the Asakusa Culture Tourism
Mesa 3 Center that initially seem traditional at first glance are ultimately proven to be more dynamic and involved upon further inveestigation. While he Asakusa Center is an impressive example of this style, Kuma went even further; he put a twist on the Japanese tradition of Cidori. Cidori is an old Japanese toy made of wooden sticks assembled to create joints with unique shapes, generating a structure. The GC Prostho Museum Research Center is a gorgeous culmination of wooden sticks joined together to create an almost open structure. It creates what appears to be a grid-like system, in which each spectator feels that he is at his own point within said system. This structure brings together different colors and textures within the interior and exterior, creating the feeling of an enormous, grand construction. What I love about this structure is the use of simplistic and linear elements to create a space that is so complex, different, and revitalizing. Structures like the GC Prostho Museum Research Center bring an inventive concept to life, including many different elements of light, texture, and scale, all of which are noticed and appreciated by spectators. I feel that when people enter this building, it isn t like any ordinary museum; people will pause for a moment as they are taken aback, carefully examining what they are actually entering and what is surrounding them. This to me is Architecture, the creation of an environment that demands time to truly focus on and analyze
Mesa 4 said environment, even though one may not completely understand his surroundings. Kengo Kuma creates these works of art that people are able to ponder and celebrate, and they will always be something that people will consider and appreciate. Analyzing the Prostho Museum and its structures with wooden beams is similar to the Starbucks interior that Kengo Kuma created. The same material concept is integrated into the interior of the structure, but there is a completely different discipline in how they are used within the given environment. The same linear wooden sticks are used, but there is not a perpendicular joint, rather a more angular connection, creating a tunnel-like movement effect. His use of this basic material is intriguing; an uncomplicated linear element in space allows for connection and is the building block of every shape. It creates the feeling of motion, the feeling that there is a destination far off, it s a warm environment with rough and industrial materials. Kengo makes a normal space of concrete walls more than just a space, he brings to it a feeling of closure and travel, a nest and an almost portal to the future. But as always, the interpretation is dependent on the perspective and viewpoint of the spectator, as is every other artistic interpretation.
Mesa 5 Kengo Kuma is a man that manipulates material to create amazing spaces of comfort and function that make people feel at home and ready for what is to come. Kuma beautifully combines culture and history with modern and abstract styles, creating completely unique and striking pieces of architecture. He takes simple shapes and manipulates them in ways that bring a new light to something that is seen in everyday life. Kuma possesses a deep, meaningful understanding of Architecture, which is reflected in his work and designs, both of which create and evoke emotions in those who experience his creations. Impressions are left on the human mind by every encounter with the outside world, how can someone create something that can make that impression memorable. For Kengo Kuma, he has done that for me despite the fact I have never visited any of this buildings, but I can see how he has created spaces that have made an impression on myself as a person and designer. I see his work as a success in the fact that he himself found a meaning for Architecture that is evident to his core being. His creation of art and structure is a perfect blend that inspires myself as a designer, pushing myself not to form an understanding of Architecture from what others have told me but rather at a personal level create my own understanding through my work. I applauded Kengo Kuma on what he does and how he has inspired me through his work.
Mesa 6 Work Cited "Glass/Wood House, New Canaan, Connecticut, by Kengo Kuma & Associates." Architecture. Design Rulz. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.designrulz.com/architecture/2012/11/glasswood-house-new-canaanconnecticut-by-kengo-kuma-associates/>. "Starbucks Interior by Kengo Kuma and Associates." HomeDSGN. HomeDSGN, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.homedsgn.com/2012/02/25/starbucks-interior-bykengo-kuma-and-associates/>. ""Starbucks Interior by Kengo Kuma and Associates." HomeDSGN. HomeDSGN, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 29 July 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kengo_kuma>. "GC Prostho Museum Research Center / Kengo Kuma & Associates" 16 Jan 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 30 Nov 2014. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=199442> "Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center / Kengo Kuma & Associates" 05 Jul 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 30 Nov 2014. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=251370>