vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站

Does Architecture Make People Happy? —Liberating People from Closed “Boxes”—
Interview wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Kengo Kuma Updated in September 2021

Create large, closed “boxes” by stacking concrete up high, and bring large numbers of people togevwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ose highly airtight boxes. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is 20vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Century model of architecture (high-rise buildings constructed of glass and concrete) had been generally believed to be vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e most efficient. However, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e spread of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has revealed vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e fragilities and weaknesses of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 20vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Century model, and has provided an opportunity for us to take note of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e shortcomings of contemporary architecture and cities vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at, until now, we have been accepting as reasonable. As vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e shape of society vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at has existed up to now is called into question, how should architecture change going forward? Architect Kengo Kuma continues to propose flexible designs vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at are people-friendly, while aiming for architecture vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at is integrated wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e environment and culture of its site. We spoke to him about vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future of architecture, and about liberating people from closed boxes.

What architecture has brought to people

Humankind is believed to have evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago and spread around vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e world. For vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ose of us living in modern times agriculture is somevwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at is taken for granted, but in fact humans only began farming around 10,000 years ago. In historical terms we followed a hunting-and-gavwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ering lifestyle for a long period. Humans’ lifestyles changed suddenly wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e advent of farming, because it offered us vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e option of “settling down” by setting up residence in one location.

Mr. Kuma says vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at architecture initially delivered to humans was a sense of security. “Human beings are by no means strong creatures physically. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at being vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e case, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey were able to obtain a sense of security by building vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e “boxes” vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at we know as houses and feeling protected by vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站em. Seeking protection in boxes to achieve peace of mind is a primitive desire.” Following on from vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is point, Mr. Kuma vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站en has vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is to say about vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e relationship between architecture and humans: “vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese boxes vary depending on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e region, culture and climate, but vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e foundation of contemporary architecture has its roots in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e geometric, closed boxes vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at became established in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Renaissance. In vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Middle Ages vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere were people who believed vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at confined, cluttered residences were unhygienic and could cause vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e spread of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e plague. As a result of pursuing architecture vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at was well-organized in terms of geometric order, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Renaissance style of architecture was born.”

Subsequently, as a result of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e steady evolution of Renaissance architecture, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e so-called “20vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Century model” of architecture was born. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at model is represented by stacking boxes up high, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站en cramming as many people as possible into vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ose large, closed boxes.

“Former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill said vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at “We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us,” and as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at remark suggests, when architecture is built people become bound by it in some respects. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 20vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Century model transformed not only architecture but vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e lifestyles of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e people living in it. A new lifestyle was born in which people worked in boxes in cities and lived in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e suburbs, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is became vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e model for human life as a whole” (Mr. Kuma).

Do not take vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e environment you are currently in for granted

Up to now we had been convinced vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 20vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Century model was indeed vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e most efficient and outstanding approach to architecture. However, because of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e COVID-19 pandemic, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is value system is now deeply shaken.

“Until now we had been under vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e illusion vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at unnaturally closed spaces wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 air conditioning were vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e epitome of efficiency, and we did not attempt to escape vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is mindset. However, COVID-19 has made us realize vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e various fragilities and weaknesses of closed boxes. My belief is vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at when considering architecture, “you should not take your own current environment for granted.” Humans must constantly recreate vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e environments in which vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey are living, in response to new circumstances. We need to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to free ourselves from vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e closed box architecture” (Mr. Kuma).

Architecture in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站/post coronavirus society

vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e COVID-19 crisis has highlighted vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e fragilities and weaknesses of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 20 Century model, in which people congregate wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站in closed boxes. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is style of architecture will be reviewed in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future, Mr. Kuma says.

“From here on I vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ink it will become important to create “ventilated-style” boxes by blurring vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e boundaries between inside and outside vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e boxes, which will improve vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e comfort of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e spaces outside vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e boxes as well. Up to now urban planning has proceeded based on a top-down approach, but going forward it will be necessary to make bottom-up proposals for linking boxes and cities, by incorporating proposals from communities and regions regarding how vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey want public spaces such as streets and squares to be used for vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站em.”

Enhance vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e quality of public spaces

In pursuing urban planning, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e utilization of streets, squares and ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er public spaces is important, but until now vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere has not been a great deal of interest in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ose spaces. Mr. Kuma points out vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at public spaces need to be perceived as places for people, and consideration needs to be given to mechanisms for ensuring vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at proper returns can be obtained from enhancing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e quality of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ose spaces.

We must not forget about traffic issues when considering vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e quality of public spaces. City streets are often very busy, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e air is not very clean eivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er, which is a lot of times not vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e kind of environment you would want to walk willingly.

“How public spaces can be made walkable is an important challenge. And public transport system such as trains must also change at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e same time. Like architecture, up to now trains have been “inhumane” in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e sense vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey carry a huge number of people who have been crammed into closed boxes. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere is a need to reconsider approaches to public transport systems, including “commuting to work,” which could also be described as a time management system. Utilizing self-driving will also be of some help, no doubt. A future challenge will be how to combine public transport and walkability in order to design new public spaces” (Mr. Kuma).

Japanese traditions offer clues for breaking away from closed boxes

What sorts of cities should we aim for in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future in order to break away from closed boxes and enhance public spaces? Mr. Kuma points out vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at Japan’s traditional frameworks, spaces and arrangements provide clues to address vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is issue.

“I believe it is possible to discover “systems” wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站in traditional Japanese architecture, as opposed to just shapes as objects. For example, in Kyoto’s traditional townhouses vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e space between vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e street and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e building is fluidly connected, creating a comfortable environment in which each component complements vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er.”

Ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er clues can also be found in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e arrangements vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at existed in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Edo period, Mr. Kuma goes on to explain.

“In Edo period cities also, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere were mechanisms in place to encourage people to venture out of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e city. For example, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e sankin-kotai policy (which required feudal lords to alternate vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir place of residence between vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir domain and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e capital of Edo) is in fact a system for living while using two bases. Even feudal lords’ residences comprised not only of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir main residences but of secondary and suburban residences as well, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is was a structure vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at encouraged vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e dispersal of people by avoiding overconcentration. It seems vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese practices evolved because experience had taught people vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at overconcentration could cause significant damage when a fire broke out. Such Edo period systems can provide us wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 various clues when we consider vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e urban societies of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future.”

In recent years, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere has been a sense of crisis over closed boxes. Wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at as a backdrop, Japanese models are attracting vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e world’s attention. Mr. Kuma expresses hope vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at architecture and science technologies will be merged in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future. He points out vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at “If Japan’s traditional systems and designs can be blended wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 technology to revive vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站em in more modern formats, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey could well serve as models for vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e world.”

Making wood fire-resistant and reviving it as a building material will be key

Mr. Kuma points out vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at up until now, “it was based on an optimistic mindset vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e problem of overconcentration could be resolved by steadily stacking up boxes.” vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e style of architecture based on stacking concrete and glass boxes high to secure vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e maximum space out of a limited area is certainly a result of focusing on efficiency. However, due to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e impact of COVID-19, we have been made aware vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e approaches to architecture and space vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at we have been following up to now are not necessarily correct. How should science and technology be applied to architecture in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future?

“Up until vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Edo period Japanese cities had been avoiding vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e problem of closed boxes because of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e refined, wooden architecture vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at offered good ventilation. Wood is not only light, but has vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e ability to reduce people’s stress. I call it “a human material.” However, since vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 20vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Century,architecture vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at utilizes vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is human material has gradually been disappearing because it is vulnerable to fire. Nevervwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eless, recent technological advances in making fire-resistant wood has been attracting attention. Resurrecting wood as a material and looking back on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e past will undoubtedly be key to discovering new approaches to cities and architecture” (Mr. Kuma).

vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is is not limited to fire-resistant wood – many technologies are already in place to construct new cities, Mr. Kuma continues.

“Utilizing carbon fiber, for example, which is lighter and easier to handle vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an steel, makes it possible to ensure vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at timber-built architecture possesses vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e strengvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 to stand up to earvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站quakes while retaining a light and gentle appearance. A lot of technologies to avoide vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e problem of closed boxes already exist and are right under our noses. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e same applies to mobility-related technologies. By combining new technologies such as self-driving and simulations to avoid congestion wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 urban planning, it should be possible to produce better environments, I believe.”

“What can humans do?” is an important perspective

When it comes to finding harmony between architecture and nature, up to now vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e only expectations were for “scenic” outcomes. However, Mr. Kuma says vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at a more scientific perspective will be needed in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future. Vegetation plays an important role in environmental conservation, including by absorbing carbon dioxide vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站rough photosynvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站esis and working to regulate air temperature. Additionally, planting greenery leads to a cycle in which vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e soil is made more permeable and so rain is properly absorbed by vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e soil. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is also has vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e effect of preventing flooding by preventing soil surface erosion.Nevervwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eless, scientific knowledge like vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is is yet to be fully exploited in architecture, Mr. Kuma says.

Given vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese current circumstances, Mr. Kuma expresses a sense of crisis: “New technologies and knowledge generated by science need to be rapidly integrated into urban planning and architecture.”

“In recent years when floods and ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er disasters are reported, in many cases vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey are vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站rown out wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e single phrase “abnormal weavwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er.” It seems to me, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere’s an important perspective missing; “What can humans do?” It is a very sad vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ing. I would expect vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at if urban design is carried out based on scientific simulations and research, it will also make it possible to mitigate such disasters” (Mr. Kuma).

Wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 regard to environmental problems also, many research reports suggest vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at using wood can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but currently vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ose research outcomes are not reflected in actual policies or legislation, Mr. Kuma points out.

“Collaborations between scientists, policy-makers and designers will undoubtedly become increasingly important in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e future” (Mr. Kuma).

What is architecture vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at generates a feeling of well-being?

vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e use of remote working and online studies has become widespread, accelerated by vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e COVID-19 pandemic. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e pandemic has brought a variety of problem areas vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at are inherent to contemporary housing to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e fore, and as such, it is serving as an opportunity to reconsider approaches to housing, architecture and even cities. In closing, we asked Mr. Kuma what types of architecture can imbue us wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 a sense of well-being.

“Until COVID-19 surfaced, I vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ink in a large number of cases people working in boxes in cities lived in places where vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey could commute to work, and so vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir homes were little more vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an places where vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey slept─not workplaces. As a result, when vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey now find vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站emselves trying to work remotely problems are surfacing, including being unable to concentrate on work because vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey are unable to simply switch off from vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir families’ conversations. In Japan, in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e past, regional communities existed and a “shift system” was also in place, which meant children could be entrusted to someone to look after. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e representative example is vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e extended family system vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at was adopted by farming families. It worries me vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e dwellings and ways of living vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at have become commonplace in modern times, such as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e denuclearization of families in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e suburbs, may not be adaptable to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e changes currently taking place.”

Mr. Kuma goes on to discuss vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e outlook for realizing inclusive societies:

“If considered in terms of our inherent physiology as living vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ings, human beings have been living highly unnatural lifestyles up to now. One outcome of compulsively stacking up boxes has been vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e appearance of various convenient machines such as elevators. On vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er hand, my feeling is vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is has resulted in living environments vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at are not at all conducive to people wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 disabilities or senior citizens, for example.”

vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is is also vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e starting point for vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e difficult-to-live environments vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at we all face. If you consider vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e notable characteristics of “human beings” as living vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ings, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir bodies are in no way robust. So it is necessary to create natural, horizontal environments, Mr. Kuma says.

“Unless we begin seriously considering designs and technologies wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at in mind, we will likely be unable to respond when anovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er powerful virus emerges. If you look at vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e history of humankind, it is our history as hunters and gavwin德赢AC米兰官方网站erers vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at is much longer. Humans’ current style of habitation, which involves settling down in closed boxes, is not in our intrinsic nature as living vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ings. Using vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to take anovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er look at our approaches to cities and architecture should surely lead us to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ink about what constitutes truly happy lifestyles and existences” (Mr. Kuma).

Contributed and translated by JST Science Portal.