a+u Architecture and Urbanism 20.08_599

Publisher: A+U Publishing Co., Ltd. Distributor: Shinkenchiku-sha Co., Ltd. Kasumigaseki Building 17F, 3-2-5, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-6017, Japan Tel: +81-3-6205-4380 Fax: +81-3-6205-4386 E-mail: ja-business@japan-architect.co.jp URL: http://www.japlusu.com Fax: 03-6205-4387 E-mail: au@japan-architect.co.jp URL: https://shinkenchiku.online Introduction Essay: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” but not the 1970s Harry Mallgrave I. The Presumed Crisis of Meaning White & Gray: Eleven Modern American Architects Peter D. Eisenman and Robert A. M. Stern Bye Residence, John Hedjuk / House VI, Peter Eisenman / Office for Gunwyn Ventures, Michael Graves / House in Connecticut, Robert A. M. Stern / Franklin Court, Robert Venturi / Vacation House in Maine, Edward Larrabee Barnes / Douglas House Richard Meier / Austrian Travel Agency, Main Office, Hans Hollein / The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Arata Isozaki Commentary: Architecture in 70s Jun Aoki II. The Real Crisis of Urban Theory Essay Reprint:…

Most conventional collections of Isozaki’s works discuss architecture as a concept, and contain reductive or simplified diagrams consisting of silkscreen or ink drawings. In order to try and offer a critique of Isozaki in terms of the physical aspects of architecture, on the other hand, this publication focuses on working drawings that have not been previously published. Fortunately, Arata Isozaki & Associates has conserved not only sketches and design drawings, but also many of the original working drawings, and was able to provide us with many valuable resources. We invited Jun Aoki and Taira Nishizawa to serve as editorial supervisors and to conduct the interview, based on their reading and understanding of these drawings. The interview, which was conducted in Okinawa and Karuizawa and spanned more than 10 hours, was a…

This special issue has four unique features that cannot be found in conventional collections of Isozaki’s works. Below, Taira Nishizawa will attempt to outline the first and second of these features, while Jun Aoki will seek to outline the third and fourth. Firstly, only works by Isozaki from the 1970s have been included in this special issue. One of the reasons for this is because his work from this period is unforgettable to the selection committee even today. Another reason, however, is that the 1970s marked the “beginning of the contemporary,” in a certain sense. Almost all of the social, political, and economic problems plaguing the world today appeared in the 1970s. The economic crisis that originated in the United States, for example, has persisted in different forms from the 1970s up…

Concerning This Special Edition Jun Aoki: For this interview, we selected four of your works from the 1970s that were as different as possible in the direction in which they pointed, works that opened up four distinct paths. We limited their number because we wanted to ask you about each one in detail. In reexamining past texts, we noticed you haven’t discussed your own buildings much. Arata Isozaki: I’m asking people to look at the buildings. Aoki: Yes, I understand you’ve said little about them because you adopt such a stance. I’m worried you may not tell us much either, but nonetheless, we want to ask you in detail about each individual building. First, there are the West Japan General Exhibition Center (pp. 124–149) and the Kitakyushu Central Library (pp. 96–123). Isozaki: Both in Kitakyushu. Taira…

Kitakyushu Central Library Aoki: Shall we discuss the Kitakyushu Central Library? This is a drawing showing the site at the time of design (p. 50). The original Kokura Library is included. Isozaki: There was a park in the back. Is it all still there now? Nishizawa: Adjacent lots and streets have undergone considerable improvement. The streets have been widened, and a bridge resembling a pedestrian deck has been built between the site and an adjacent lot. Isozaki: Here are the city hall (p. 50, top left corner) and the castle (p. 50, middle left). There was a movie called “Muhomatsu no issho” (Life of Matsu the Untamed) around the time the library was under construction. Members of a local community association practice on taiko, and at the end, they parade through the streets near…

Oita Medical Hall Extension Jun Aoki The main street runs through the center of the city along the east-west axis, bordering the south side of the Oita Castle ruins. Isozaki’s first project, the Oita Medical Hall, was completed in 1960. It was built at the end of the road leading north along the moat towards the ruins from its southwest corner. Featuring tubes with elliptical cross-sections suspended in the air, the building is supported by standalone columns situated between columns with cores measuring 16,400 mm across that rise from either side. Looking back on the time, Isozaki would later write in his book Towards Space that “to my mind, cities seem to have gradually taken on a more molten state. It is the significance assigned to the architecture of these shifting…