HOUSE VISION

Jun 12, 2011

The house is like the fruit that becomes the tree growing in the soil of our desire for living. If you want good fruit, it's more important to take care of the tree than of the fruit itself, and even more important to fertilize the soil in which the tree stands. I think the economic and cultural sphere that is the soil of contemporary Japan is pretty fertile. Today, the supersonic growth has passed, the expanding economic development has slowed, and we are no longer manipulated by steeply rising land prices. Naturally we turn our attention to satisfaction in our daily lives. Rising economic prosperity brought us more opportunities to go abroad, but as people experience more contact with outside cultures, they become more conscious of the values and idiosyncrasies of their own countries. Naturally Japanese people have begun to recognize the dormant resource of the aesthetics at their very feet.
There is a sensibility in Japan that shies away from attachment to a house in which one spends his life in this ephemeral world, which, in Buddhist terms, passes in an instant that is equivalent to 1/75th of a second. However, that is the very reason for the blossoming of our unique aesthetics. We want to see the Japan that blooms next.

Once, the architecture of Japan was rich and fertile. Not limited to Katsura Rikyu, [Katsura Imperial Villa], by which the German architect Bruno Taut was moved to tears, saying that it had attained the height of perfection, traditional Japanese architecture had beauty and dignity. The form of fusuma [opaque sliding screens] and shoji [translucent sliding screens] was determined more by the ordering of the body, that is, the way in which one opens and closes them, the mannered carriage of standing, walking and sitting on the tatami-mat floor, than by the ordering of the space. They certainly didn't come about in response to loose corporal needs. They are one with a mentality that lives in a space that allows one to engage with the world with beauty and modest dignity. What moved Taut was the simplicity and humility uniting mentality and architecture. It is this cultural sustenance that is behind the contributions of Japanese architecture and design to the global context.
Today, real estate development, having metamorphosed into a financial business based on rising land prices, has finally begun to shift from determining house value based on land value to determining it based on the quality of the residence.

In order to preserve traditional industries, say Japanese lacquer, appealing lacquer ware pieces have to be developed. But suppose such a piece is sold capriciously, carried home and put on a table littered with remote controls, and a toppled teddy bear; it will make no impression at all. The distinct existence of a table empty of objects is the prerequisite for the beauty of a piece of lacquer ware. The same is true of ceramics, kimono and even ultramodern products.
Some electric appliances and high-tech equipment will be gradually incorporated into a house. Air conditioners, televisions and lighting will be installed in walls or ceilings. Whether tradition, high technology or design, they all arrive at the same place: house.
The Meiji era (1868-1912) is distant history. As is the postwar period. Now it's the Great East Japan Earthquake. This momentous punctuation is an opportunity to change something. So we want to consider houses in Japan. We plan to create something that will make the world say, "Have you seen those Japanese houses?" We will deliberate with a panoramic vision, working with the national government, energy companies and a wide variety of industries.

VISUALISE JAPAN

Jun 12, 2011

The Great East Japan Earthquake punctuates our history. I visited the afflicted districts of Ozuchi, Kamaishi, Sanriku, Rikuzentakada, Ohunato and Kesennuma, but the loss of an entire region, encompassing urban areas stretching several hundred kilometers north to south, far exceeds the imagination. After suffering such an enormous disaster, what kind of reconstruction will be possible in Eastern Japan? This question isn't just for the places directly affected, but for the future of Japan and the world. The dual disaster of 3/11 2011 that we now call "311" has transformed the world's interest in Japan.
We believe that by collecting wisdom from Japan and around the world, we can create the circumstances in which intelligence and ideas from all sides can be mobilized for the reconstruction of East Japan, with proposals resulting from the collection and analysis of information. From the standpoint of communication design, we think that rather than offering ideas, we can help by organizing information and comprehensibly visualizing the multitude of reconstruction plans flitting about.
This disaster has brought about an unprecedented crisis of radioactive contamination to Japan. While our immediate concern is the physical problem of the nuclear plant, we believe that we can help minimize the damage that industry has suffered due to the negative image of a radiation-contaminated Japan, by objectively communicating to the world the present situation, at least based on supporting scientific evidence.