<13> Studio Heatherwick Exhibition (Tokyo City View, Mori Art Museum)①

“Building Soulfulness, Studio Heatherwick”

I visited the “Building Soulfulness, Studio Heatherwick” exhibition at the Roppongi Mori Art Museum (Tokyo City View).

The flyers and website use photographs of a strange New York architecture called “Little Island“, which is a water surface with many torch-like structures with plants on top. .

展覧会入り口サイン
Exhibition Entrance Sign
ヘザウィック・スタジオ《エアロ》
この写真は「クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 – 非営利 – 改変禁止 4.0 国際」ライセンスの下で許諾されています。

When I actually went the venue, I found that there were more photos, models, sketches, and explanations of the works than I had imagined. The venue was full of visitors, especially young visitors.

Speaking of architecture, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Arata Isozaki (1931 – 2022), who passed away at the end of last year, for several years starting about 30 years ago, and I was blessed with the opportunity to hear various stories directly from him.

In the summer, I visited Mr. Isozaki’s villa in Karuizawa, where his wife, artist Aiko Miyawaki‘s “Utsurohi” was installed in the garden of the villa. , and also had a chance to see the arbor ( or folly), which was used for Mr. Isozaki’s study, where you climb up to the second floor with a ladder.

Through this encounter with Mr. Isozaki, I was able to learn various things even though I was completely an amateur in architecture at the time. I also read a lot of books. I also learned a lot from Mr. Isozaki about the Expo.

Isozaki’s talk about architecture that left an impression on me includes the following (it’s an old memory, so it may not be accurate, but I think the outline is correct).

*
Architecture encompasses all forms of art. Music, fine arts, performing arts, etc., all take place within architectural or landscape designed objects. So architects need to study and understand all of them properly.

Now (at the time of the 1990s), at the end of the century, philosophers are also giving up their responsibility for what to do with the world from now on. They asked the architects including Mr. Isozaki to take the responsibility to lead people from various kind of fields. Therefore, Mr. Isozaki and his architect collegues have decided to hold an international conference every year that brings together philosophers, artists, and musicians from around the world.
*

This conference is the Any Conference Project organized by Mr. Isozaki and his international friends toward the final 11 years of the second millennium.

These conferences are the international conferences whose theme were 11 English words which have ‘any’ at the beginning of the words, such as ‘anyone’, ‘anywhere’, ‘anyhow’, and so on.

I was involved in the second ‘Anywhere’ project. This was held at the station building designed by Mr. Isozaki in Yufuin, Oita Prefecture, Japan.

As far as I remember, in addition to overseas participants such as Mr. Jacques Derrida, Mr. Shusaku Arakawa, Ms. Madeline Gins, from Japan Mr. Shigehiko Hasumi, Mr. Toyoo Ito, Mr. Tadao Ando, Mr. Kojin Karatani and Mr. Akira Asada, who was in charge of proceedings, participated in the event.

Mr. Isozaki was also involved in the 1970 Osaka Expo, under the direction of Kenzo Tange on the robots used in the Festival Plaza, and was also involved in the Expo 1990, Osaka (The International Garden and Greenery Exposition,Osaka,Japan,1990）as a General Producer. I was very fortunate to be able to hear the story directly from him.

But let’s leave Mr. Isozaki’s story for another occasion.

Overwhelming Heatherwick studio work group

This time, it is this “Building Soulfulness, Studio Heatherwick“.

Mr. Isozaki is said to be an architect who led postmodern architecture, and he also worked on quite experimental architecture.

I was, of course, much impressed by some of Mr. Isozaki’s works at that time. However, when I see the works of Heatherwick Studio this time, I am overwhelmed by its unique design.

Actually, these works are amazing.

According to the explanation panel, it says as follows;

*
Established in 1994 in London, Heatherwick Studio has undertaken innovative projects in many cities including New York, Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, evolving to become one of the most closely watched design teams in the world. Founder Thomas Heatherwick (born in UK in 1970) often recounts how he would often find himself moved during his childhood by the

“soulfulness” of small things that were made by craftspeople and artisans. Can the sprawling buildings and spaces that make our cities and towns also be imbued with this soulfulness? This is a question that often forms one of the key starting points for a project at Heatherwick Studio. …
*

There were a few works that I personally have seen in person.

New York’s “Vessel”

One of them is a work in New York in the spring of 2019, the year before the Covid-19 swept the world.

It’s been over 30 years since I lived in New York for a little while, and since then I’ve been visiting it occasionally. The 2019 visit was the first in about two years.

One day during the trip in 2019, I visited the Chelsea area.

First, I checked the ‘Chelsea Market‘, a redevelopment of Chelsea’s former meatpacking warehouse, and then walked along ‘The High Line‘, a redevelopment of an abandoned elevated railroad line.

This “High Line” utilizes the remains of an elevated railroad, so you can enjoy various arts and greenery with the taste of a promenade in the air. When I lived in Manhattan some 30 years ago, it was unthinkable to walk in such a place, but I can feel that the city has become dramatically safer.

When I walk to the north on the “High Line”, I eventually came to an area called “Hudson Yards“, where I  found an uniquely designed building, or stair, or object, which had a copper color.

This is the “Vessel” designed by Heatherwick Studios.

According to Google Maps, in the “basic information” section, it says, ” It is a beehive-shaped outdoor attraction with 16 floors and 80 landings that can be climbed by stairs.”

「ヴェッセル」　ニューヨーク 2019
ヘザウィック・スタジオ《エアロ》
この写真は「クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 – 非営利 – 改変禁止 4.0 国際」ライセンスの下で許諾されています。
“Vessel” New York 2019

「ヴェッセル」　ニューヨーク 2019
ヘザウィック・スタジオ《エアロ》
この写真は「クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 – 非営利 – 改変禁止 4.0 国際」ライセンスの下で許諾されています。
“Vessel” New York 2019

On the other hand, according to the explanation of this exhibition, it says;

*
・・・Influenced by the Indian stepwells of Rajasthan, formed from multitudes of stone staircases reaching down into the ground, the studio became interested in the mesmerizing visual effect of the repeating steps, flights and landings. Composed of almost 2,500 steps, 154 flights, 80 landings and 16 stories, the resulting design is a climbing frame to lift people above the new square and reveal views across the Hudson River and Manhattan.・・・
*

Construction was completed in 2019. So, when I visited, it must have just been completed.
It is a building that would never disappear from my memory at a glance.

「ヴェッセル」 ニューヨーク 　2019年筆者撮影
“Vessel” New York, photo by Nobuaki Kyushima in 2019

A friend of mine who lives in New York told me that many people commit suicide by jumping off the Vessel.
I’m wondering if they have already had a proper measures to prevent it.

London Olympic Cauldron and London Routemaster Bus

In addition to this “Vessel”, there was also something about London, which I recently visited in the fall of 2019.

One is the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron design, and the other is the new design for London’s Routemaster Bus.

ヘザウィック・スタジオ《エアロ》
この写真は「クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 – 非営利 – 改変禁止 4.0 国際」ライセンスの下で許諾されています。

I also remember riding on this newly designed bus. Now I see, this was also Heatherwick’s design!

ルートマスター・バス
Routemaster Bus
ヘザウィック・スタジオ《エアロ》
この写真は「クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 – 非営利 – 改変禁止 4.0 国際」ライセンスの下で許諾されています。

Also in Tokyo, “Azabudai Hills” is under construction in a place which we can look down from the window of this exhibition venue “Tokyo City View”. Completion is scheduled for 2023 (autumn).

東京シティービューから見える「麻布台ヒルズ/低層部」
Azabudai Hills/Lower Levels, the view from Tokyo City View

「麻布台ヒルズ/低層部」
Azabudai Hills/Lower Levels
ヘザウィック・スタジオ《エアロ》
この写真は「クリエイティブ・コモンズ表示 – 非営利 – 改変禁止 4.0 国際」ライセンスの下で許諾されています。

Azabudai Hills/Lower Levels, the view from Tokyo City View

According to the commentary, “Azabudai Hills Lower Levels is the studio’s first built project in
Japan. “

It’s also a very unique design. I am looking forward to the completion.

Well, this time, I introduced the exhibition that left an impression on me as ① of the “Building Soulfulness, Studio Heatherwick” exhibition.

But, of course, what made me want to go to this exhibition was the Expo-related exhibition.

Next time, I will introduce it to the details…