THE NIGHT SPENT WITH ART
The project is a proposal for an art complex containing an exhibition hall, a visiting artist residence, a café, a sculpture park and three art accomodation units. The site is a parking lot located in a busy area of Jiyugaoka, fac- ing one of the main shopping streets. The part facing the main road is occupied by an old tra- ditional wooden japanese house accompanied by big old trees which are `hiding` the inner part of the site where accomodations are lo- cated and create a quiet lagoon in the middle of this busy district.
The main concept of the proposal is to high- light the cultural history of Jiyugaoka and al- low visitors to experience art from a different perspective, that is to say the opportunity to spend the night together with art.
The artist residence connected to the exhibi- tion hall provides a special experience where the artist can be seen working at the time of ongoing exhibition.
During the day, the accomodations are open to the public as part of the sculpture park. During the night the units, designed to have their own private `gardens` transforms from
exhibition units to accomodating ones.
This transformation was one of the main focus points during the design process of the pro- posal.
The location of the site, disposition of the units on site in a sequence gradually opening up and the fact of unexpected usage of these units re- flects the head theme of unpredictability.
Shibuya Backflow
Societies have understood and approached the commons from many different point of views that have shaped our cities for centuries. The ʻʻjuristʼʼ point of view can be simply described as looking at the urban realm in two main areas, the private and the public, which work together and perceive the commons as by-products of their relationship. This approach degrades the importance and value of the commons (resources). On the other hand, an entropy perceives the commons (resources) as the foundation of society, followed by the public and then by the private. Therefore, in our proposal we are unlocking this resource and use it as the basic element that will influence both the public and the private, and not the other way around, as in the juristʼs point of view. Due to the limited use, the river is underutilized which gives a private distinctiveness. In the case of Shibuya River, there are important questions to ask one selves. What is the reason of the current bad shape of the river? And in what way should the natural resource be limited to ensure a long-term viability for the city? The plan is to revitalize and unlock Shibuya River.
Toilet
The development of the toilet and the treatment of excrement in Japan are closely linked to a growing mechanization of the lavatory as a device and its progressive shift vis-à-vis the house from outdoors to indoors. In the Edo and early Meji Periods toilets were located at the edge of or outside the house. Conceived as a squat-latrine system, made out of wood, it was adapted for the easy collection of the excrement, which was then used as fertilizer. Between the World Wars, new systems, new materials, and even new toilets (for instance toilet bowls) were slowly introduced, while the collection of sewage became more and more mechanized, with basket collection being successively replaced by trucks, then mobile vacuum-extraction units, and later still by a Western type of sewage system with pipes. In recent years the predominant European-based device has become hyper-Japanized, highly automated (including washing, drying, background noise, cleaning, disinfecting, etc.), and even described and praised as something kawaii (cute, adorable) in the public narrative.
Elderly Care / Age is No Hinderance
In Jiyugaoka, a residential area is located at the top of the hill, and an elderly care facility and a school are located next to each other at the bottom. However, there is no interaction between these two facilities, and the elderly care facility is closed. Therefore, in order to allow children to enter the facility, a section of the building was manipulated and three plazas were created in plan. In this way, interaction between the elderly, school children, and local residents is created, and the elderly, who used to only receive care, are now actively involved.
WATERSIDE ARCHIVE
Until now, the spatial imagination has been defined by the dualism of objective and subjective. Through his critique of the double illusion, Lefebvre appealed to the need to remove the powerful constraints of the logic of dualiism, and proposed trinomialization as a critical othering. The specific methods are as follows.
1 A completely different way of thinking about space, which has been obscured by the exclusive fixation of illusory materialistic and idealistic interpretations.
2 To define the scope of the infinitely expandable spatial imagination in a comprehensive and radically open style (as an aleph).
FIRST SPACE
Practice of space (perceived space): The spatial prac- tice that poses and presupposes social space slowly and surely produces space as it dominates and takes possession of it. It is mediated by human activity, be- havior, and experience (repetitive routines).
SECOND SPACE
Representation of space (space to be thought). Iden- tifies lived experience and perceived objects with thought objects. It is constituted through the means (knowledge, symbols, rules) of decoding spatial prac- tices (actions) connected to order and design.
THIRD SPACE
A space that differs from, but encompasses, the other two spaces. The third space is different from the other two spaces, but encompasses them. It embodies a com- plex symbolic system (the darkness of social life, under- ground aspects, art, etc.).
HISTORY
In the past, Ikebukuro was located in the valley of the Tsurumaki River, which is rich in spring water, and peo- ple used to access this abundant water source to make a living by growing vegetables. However, as time went on and development progressed, the valley was filled with soil, the Tsurumaki River was culverted, and the water was no longer visible from Ikebukuro, and its fertile past was forgotten by the people. By unlocking the under- ground water in the basement of Marui, which is locat- ed on the border between the plains and the valley, and making it behave above ground, we can create an every- day relationship between water and people, and make it a place where the memory of Ikebukuro is passed on.