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~2 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN December 1964 Price 4/­

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Volume XXXIV

December 1964 12

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AD5 & AD7 Book notes 586 News. Notes. Translations

Sir Leslie Martin 595 Science buildings: notes on the study of a building type

Hanaki Kurokawa 603 'The architecture of action' Edited by Gunter

Nitschke

GOnter Nitschke 608 The work of Klkutake

Arata Isozakl 612 Library at Olta, Japan

Max Bill 614 Swiss National Exhibition, Lausanne

Safdie, David 620 Habitat '67, Montreal, Canada &roll and Boneva

Frey & Schroder 627 Hill housing

Hubert Bennet & 630 Crystal Palace Centre Sir Leslie Martin

John McHale 632 The geoscope

636 Design notes

638 Trade notes

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Kenneth Frampton Terence Bendixson Anthony Stockbridge Judith Wilkinson Walter Bor, Theo Crosby, Erne Goldfinger, Gontran Goutden, Denys Lasdun, Frank Newby, Peter Smithson. ArgenUne Gerardo Clusellas. Australia Mary Andrews, Andrew Young. Austria Wilhelm Schutte. Belgium Roger Thlrion. Brazil Harry Cole. Canada Anthony Jackson, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Peter Oberlander. Chile Carlos Garcia Huldobro. Colombia Alec Bright. Ceylon Geoffrey Bawa. Denmar/( Christian Enevoldsen. Finland Olavl Kantele. France Bernard de la Tour d' Auvergne, Yon a Friedman. Germany (Berlin) Peter Plankuch. Germany (West) Hans 'Kammerer, Gunther KOhne, Hong Kong C ng Wah Nan. Hungary Elemer Nagy. India Prol. EI'l Chowdhury, K. V. Satyamurty . lsrael Olga Sims Tie ' er. Italy Panos Koulermos, Letizia Fralilch Ponti, Teodora Olga Sammartln!. Japan Nobuo Hozuml. Kenya Richard Hughes. Malaysia Stanley Merer. Mexico Jorge Gleason. Netherlands Jan Plet Kloos. Norway Bengt Kn utsen. Peru Eduardo Orrego J. Poland Prof. Boleslaw Szmidt. Roumania Anton Moisescu. Spain Carlos Flores. Sweden Orlan LOnlng. Swllzerland Lucius Burckhardt, Roland Gross. Uruguay Ernesto Puppo. USA Arthur Baker, Peter Carter, John Fowler, Henry Hill, Burdette Keeland, David Lewis, Sy Mintz, Tim Vreeland. USSR Prof. N. D. Koili.

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CONTENTS Cover Design by Anthony Stockbridge based on the laboratory planning grid discussed In Sir Leslie Martin's article.

AD Paco]

~ effects that are obtainable when various glass­working techniques are used in combination. Reed Millican craftsmen used four-colour silvering in conjunction with brilliant culling and a variety of acid-etched tones and stipples on a panel of plate glass 5' x 2' 6' - the final result-well, judge for yourself! If you would like to see further examples of our decorative glasswork, or discuss designs, your enquiry will receive prompt and skilled attention.

Subsequent to Gunter Nitschke's article on the Ja~anese Metabolist's which was published in our October issue, we are printing this supple­ment edited by Gunter Nitschke, which examines in some detail the more recent work by prominent members of the metabolist movement. This supplement is introduced by a precis of an article by Kurokawa which appeared In the September 1964 issue of Kenchiku-Bunka,

jThe Architecture of Action' by Noriaki Kurokawa

1 Of this tradilional print Kurokawa writes, 'In the experience of hell, symbolic for destruction and chaos, one can arrive at a philosophy of new action, from which may result the beauty of Melabolism'

2 Japanese painting is always dynamic; the centralized perspective of western painting is absent. The observer chooses a particular section of interest to him, and 'moves' from this point, thus functioning as a co ­creative element in the design

3 An example of a 'side-walk', In designing the labour centre In Kyoto, Kurokawa became obsessed with the notion of a 'sidewalk', as a posilive architectural element

4 Perspective of Kurokawa's Christian labour centre in Kyoto

In a recent issue of Kenchiku Bunka, Noriaki Kurokawa attempted to redefine the 'aesthetics of metabolic space-making', The methods which he propounds as basic to metabolism, sound somewhat similar to the basic principles of Buddhistic philosophy, outlined in my intro­ductory article to the work of the Japanese Metabolists in AD October 1964, Firstly the doctrine of phenomenality or impersonality which proceeds analytically, to split existence into its ultimate constituent parts, into mere empty and unsubstantial phenomena and I secondly the doctrine of dependent origination ') which proceeds synthetically to show that all these phenomena are, in some way or other, conditionally related to each other,

Consequently Kurokawa sees 'metabolism' as employing two basically complementary methods, Firstly, the analytic method, which looks into growth, expansion, plot-type, and thus Into the basic principles determining the quantity of space, Secondly, the unifying method which postulates conceptions like the architec­ture of the road, of the side-walk and of I

movement generally; concepts such as these .J determine the quality of space,

The present-an experience of hell Kurokawa defines this symbolically as destruc­tion and change not only affecting our environ­ment as such, but also the ideas of ClAM, of Futurism and generally of the 'established' heroes in Japan. Out of this chaos now arises a new philosophy of action, from which may eventually derive the 'beauty of metabolism',

Life is movement~road is architecture What Kurokawa means by this concept becomes clear in his design for the Christian labour centre in Kyoto, which is a concretization of

4 603

December 1964

pedestrian movement within built-up blocks similarly in a recently completed hotel, he no longer speaks of the layout of masses, but of a 'flow chart'; not of a but of a 'road or side-walk'. Kurokawa this 'road or side-walk' as having the texture as the real exterior road or In this context one thinks not of rooms individual 'houses', not of lounges or meeting rooms, but of 'squares' . What is meant is clarified by Its application ' a project of larger scale, such as his design Tel Aviv-Jaffa 1963. Here his manner of necting the two existing conurbations Aviv and Jaffa leads to a new city-i utilizing two existing routes, which on,' ln"o ' ~' area of obsolete slums, destined to new commercial centre. His flow-chart superimposition of : 1. Black lines indicating pedestrian tending towards the sea-side and commercial linear centre . This movement on natural ground and also in the shadow terraced housing. Along these streams pedestrian movement are the shopping facil here arranged like oriental bazaars. 2. Roads indicating car movement fed two interurban connectors, from which the ribs to wh ich circular garages are "tI,""npif ). catering for approximately 60 per incoming cars stationed there all day, for the rest of 40 per cent of shoppers, facilities are provided along the bazzars 3. Tinted arrows indicating breeze movem An essential movement to be utilized recognized in tropical countries, here it along the shaded areas of the housing in the sea. 4. A broad tinted line indicating winter ment along the existing coast with n,..,,..,,,dnn, .1 inlets .

1 The principle of the 'flow chart'. Entry by Kurokal'(~

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for the Tel Aviv-Jaffa International Competition 1963 _1JI1"'1iIa~ 2 ·Helix·. Kurokawa's floating city consisting of ,c",.V'~CIL.IIIt . structures built on artiflcial land 3 'Futurism' . The one movement that tried to caplure entity and essence of movement 4 'The plot type' method of growth. Traditional JapMese'.ji'! buildings which arEl complete at each stage of unit growth; I.he Nijo Castle and the Katsura Palace

5&6 Two stages of growth in the Kyoto Conference Centre project 7 The 'Mellorama', environmental sculpture by Munari 8 Plans showing stages of growth and use, both horI­zontally and in vertical layers. Shadad areas indicate connected levels. The levels are designated as follows: First level : representatives, members of Congress.Second level: TV, journalists, radio, etc. Third level: general public audience. Fourth and fifth levets: offices

Having broken finally wit,h ClAM, which for Kurokawa, was a cubist inspired movement and the architect now founds his thinking on futurism for its preoccupation with movement and change, on Munari's 'Merliorama' Sculp­ture, in which the observer (i.e. the client in the building process) takes a creative part in the aelual design and also on Team 10 for its research into communication systems and the relationsh!£ between the infrastruelure and its elements. From this basis Kurokawll sets up the new dynamic beauty of metabolism. His methods are as follows:

(a) The method of stimulation whi ch involves the setting of a new structure into a group of existing structures. This should not only allow the possibility of an unknown future growth, but stimulate it into a certain direelion .

(b) The method of plot-type, which he sees as the basic characteristics of trad itional beauty in structures like the Nijo Castle or the Katsura Palace, where at each separate phase of growth a vision of 'complete' beauty was established. There is nothing like a final static shape in these designs, but of a harmony achieved through balance.

Kurokawa is able to give examples to illustrate these principles; in particular his notion of the point stimulation system. The concentration of certain activities within a cluster with their tendency to radiate from these points of con­centration becomes the main infiuence for a dynamic infrastructure within a city.

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Kyoto conference centre 1963 Noriaki Kurokawa

An example of Kurokawa's point stimulation system is his design for the competition of a new conference centre in Kyoto 1963 : Here in con­trast to the first prize given to Otani, a former assistant of Tange, whose design can be looked at as a static compositional arrangement of sculptural elements, Kurokawa devises a point-stimulation system on a smaller scale, which allows for the phased construelion required in the first stage and for future exten­sion to double the volume of the first stage. The stimulating pOints here are the vertical, struc­tural and equipment shafts, which form the basic grid structure of the growth, between which a seemingly limitless variety of inner space arrangements is possible, whilst also permitting external growth. The four basic functions are divided up vertically, each of which can claim complete freedom of arrange­ment on its level horizontally.

805

FActory for the Nitto­Sihokuin Company 1964 Noriaki Kurokawa A rapidly increasing production capac ity which so far ha s doubled Itself every three years became the determining faclor in the can· cep tion of this unit-type factory. with a basic unit of 17 metres derived from stru c tura l and lunctional considerations, and the invention of iI stimulating column , a true sy mbol of the dynamic beauty of melabolism. This column not only rrovides a structul (1.1 point lor the SUPPO! t 01 the prefabricated roof, but serves also to sImulate the rhythm 01 tile production process itself and as a symbol 01 the anticipated and stimulated future growth . KUfokaw8 can deflnilely also claim an ecqnomic success with Ihls builJing for the lime between prefabrlcat· ing 1!18 elements and the completion o f the

lir e factory was only three months.

University, Osaka,

genera l approach is made ill 's compe tition design for a new Art

in Osaka. It is structured by the fun ctions. They are: sport acti vity,

activity (horizol1tal, because a common and living activily (verti cal, because or ired privacy).

illciples invo lved in the desi gn are as

an existing va lley is str etched the new infrastructure, con taining all common and communication elements like the

mini stratioJl , eating and meeting spaces, a nd libraries.

of thes e elements are situated the for lecture rooms, which then allow for

types of growth:

In ternall y by the structure being conceived 'major bridg e structure' with 'minor element

being situated on top of it.

x is designed for a maximum verti ca l of three noors, which obviates any verti cal commu nicallon shafls. The of the people In terms of stairs on

de of the building struc lures the i.e. 'movement is fac;ade' .

housing is provided in te rms of growing for the stu dents and lower blocks of a growth type for the professors .

gymnasium Is provided with all secon· lilies underg round and B stadium

01 the Shohuin factory. Columns are con· by KU fo l18wa 10 bo symbolic 01 ex pansion

'Movemenl is

and syslems 01 Urowlh 01 OsakD University

Architectulel Design December 1964

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Kyoto conference centre and Ichigaya project Kiyonori Kikulake

Kikutake's preoccupation with prefabrication, I.e. with the building process itself and with the growth and decadence of cells in forming the environment manifest in all his 'sea·projects', also appears in his 'Iand·projects', like his suggestion for a system of terrace housing in Ichigaya, Tokyo. Here, in opposition to the traditional Tokyo chaos of two·storied terrace houses in wood, which provide no privacy, no flexibility and hardly more than just a spot of private green, he proposes a system of r.c. equipment shafts (ct. Isozaki) which support artificial land for terrace housing . This system, if related to existing natural features, seems to satisfy a demand for prefabricated elements capable of cellular metabolic changes.

It is not surprising that such ideas on pre· fabrication, structuring and exchangeability, when interpreted in modern construction, create forms somewhat similar to the age·long tradition of Japanese timber building. An example of this is Kikutake's commended entry for an international conference centre in Kyoto. Because of this resemblance, many of these ideas find a favourable reception amongst conservatively minded laymen, as, for instance, in Kikutake's building for the priests at the 'Great Shrine of Izumo Taisha', a building complex, where the use of wood seems to com· prise an essential part of the religion.

4

1 Site plan for the Kyoto conference centre

2 Lower floor plan, offices for the Kyoto centre

3 Upper floor plan conference halls, foyer, etc., Kyoto centre

4&5 Site ptan and building system for Ichigaya project, Tokyo

6 Elevations and sections for Kyoto conference centre

5 608 Architectural Design December 1964

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Tatebayashi city hall, Seconic factory and the Great Shrine of Izurno Taisha Kiyonori Kikutake

As in the 'productive belt' of 'Unabara' ocean city, Kikutake feels that productive structures should be able to adapt themselves to future expansion or contraction requirements , In other words, what is required is a kind of biological space unit system affording limitless expansion or conlraction of cellular structures in any direction. He has recently applied these ideas in a new factory design-the Seconic factory- based on two different space units, a 250m 2 eight-s toried productive space and shafts containing the necessary services and systems of vertical communication . The same system may be applied to the horizontal expan­sion of the productions halls themselves, having a lower vertical height.

A similar structural/space conception seems to have been incorporated in his building for the new city offices in Tatebayashi.

This hall has double height upper and lower ground floor reception halls for public use, with office noors mounted on three large cantilever­ing decks above. One of these office noors embraces the council chamber within its core.

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4 610 Archilec tural Design December 1964

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Library at Oita Arata Isozaki

Isozaki's library has been evolved around a theory of'process planning' deliberately avoiding the creation of a complete piece of architecture with provision for future extension, and instead postulates a system of growth, Since it is impos­sible to foresee the total final shape and since we can only see parts of the process as a whole, emphasis is put on the invention of a system, according to which a process of design can take place in time.

Isozaki's library at Oita on the Kyushu, which is going to be built at the end of this year embodies this princ ipl e. He arrived at his particular 'process' by the following chain of thought:

First step: Function: the relation between the case desk and the stack-with increasing growth, group classification must occur within which Aexibility must be granted . These group elements must have the possibility to grow according to their own inherent laws.

Second step: A critical point in the growth· process is reached, when the introduction of a skeleton becomes necessary. The form of the ske leton must be of an open character, because in the future, it will direct the growth·process.

As we are never able to foresee the ultimate totality of the bui lding, the section under con ­struction at Oita implies, in its detail syntax, the appearance of something which is 'under way', of the unfinished. The box·beam sections and the duct ·walls show a complete integration of structure and service installation.

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1,2& 3 Sketches demonstrating the relation between parts constituting a process

An analysis of components; Ihe relationship between control desk, readers and book slack

2&3 Sketches of possibfe relations between control point, readers and book stacks, each being considered as self-contained elements which are progressively added to the whole

4&5 Ground floor and first floor plans of the library

6 Roof and block plan of Ihe Oila library

7,8& 9 Various views of the model of the library

613