S I T E L E S S 1001 Building Forms
François Blanciak
SITELESS
k'12
SITELESS 1001 Building Forms
François Blanciak
The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
© 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please email
[email protected] or write to Special Sale Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Helvetica Neue by the MIT Press and was printed and bound in Spain. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blanciak, François. Siteless : 1001 building forms / François Blanciak. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-262-02630-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Architecture—Composition, proportion etc. 2. Form (Aesthetics) I. Title. NA2760.B52 2008 721—dc22 2007015858 10
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
vii
Introduction
ix
Chapter One: Hong Kong
1
Chapter Two: New York
23
Chapter Three: Copenhagen
35
Chapter Four: Los Angeles
51
Chapter Five: Tokyo
79
Chapter Six: Scale Test
101
Credits
116
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has been prepared in various countries: China, Denmark, the United States of America, and Japan, over the course of the last five years. Only in its final stage could I focus on this work full-time. Hence, I have to first thank the Japanese government for subsidizing my first years in Tokyo as an ind ependent researcher by providing me with a fellowship. It is surprising that one of the most unaffordable and supposedly chaotic cities in the world turned out to be the most stable environment for gathering and developing my ideas. Debt is al so owed to my former employers; Aaron Tan, Bjarke Ingels, Peter Eisenman, and Frank Gehry, for enabling me to develop my work on the side from different urban locations and diverse dogmatic approaches. Yet, in the serial, crafted, and siteless nature of this study, a greater deal of inspiration comes from the architects Iakov Chernikhov, John Hejduk, and Hermann Finsterlin. A number of individuals have also either encouraged or questioned my work with sharp criticisms, and pushed me to enhance its quality. Among them (in no specific order): Al i Tabatabai, Nap oleon Meraña, Yoram Lepair, Michael Sorkin, Aida Mirón, Masashi Nagamori, Leopoldo Sguera, Tom Russotti, Vytautas Bal tus, Tynnon Chow, Amadou Tounkara, and Siri Johansen managed to formulate constructive comments. In addition, the insights of Michael Wert and André Moore Guimond have been helpful in the editing of my manuscript. Finally, I must avow that the p hysical condition of Tokyo—a city that threatens to collapse at any time—is what forced me to publish this rather venturesome oeuvre without furthe r delay.
F. B., Tokyo, January 2007
vii
We think the more directions that architecture takes at this point, the better.
— Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi Learning from Las Vegas, 1972
INTRODUCTION
The body of work that follows aims to fill the expanding gap between a profession that glorifies morphological originality through media exposure and a more secluded field of architectural research which, unlike its scientific counterparts, paradoxically neglects experimentation and the manipulation of form through its sole focus on writing. Proposing a creative alternative to critical academic literature, this study develops a prospective series of forms that focuses on the nucleus of architecture, the building as a unit (whether touched by others or left aside), and on the clarity of expression of its generative idea. As a result, in the coming chapters, text has radically been replaced by form . In order to multiply the range of potentialities in architecture, this study accepts the physical aspect of buildings as its primary component (the periodic denial of which proving vain) and proceeds by trial and error. Rather than striving to identify a singular design method, it searches in as many directions as possible, then isolates a multitude of devices intended to differ from each other and to be open for further development. As a bank of ideas from which articles can be picked to fit particular sites and purposes, it embodies the desire to exceed the sum of concepts that come to mind when confronted with the overwhelming situation of an actual project. The traditional sequence “program plus site equals form” is here intentionally inverted: as in ancient column orders, schemes are conceived prior to site insertion and subsequent relationships or adaptations. Yet beyond archaic dogmas, although a number of these figures constitute mere criticisms of recurrent paradigms in the discipline, most aspire to innovate and envision a more diverse future; to the point that many require construction techniques not available to date, if not different gravitational values. In the absence of any given site, chapters are simply named after the locations from which the ideas they contain were conceived.
ix
This chaotic sequence of places is employed to reveal a content that resists the primitive reaction of classification and thereby acknowledges the discontinuous nature of the creative process. Within a series that eventually generates its own context, scale—its a priori building material— is left to the imagination of the reader from one item to the next, with a range that can span from megastructure to cabin size. For the sake of versatility, the illustrations of this series have been drawn freehand. What could appear as a deliberate reaction to the quasi-unanimous computerization of both architectural representation and building design process is, in fact, a simple choice of convenience. Not unlike the way physical modeling materials influence form, operating systems turn out to induce software-specific shapes, to the extent that they become ba rriers to the production of diversity. Making room for various layouts, freehand drawings have been reduced here to their most neutral expression, in order to minimize the input of the gestural and to extract the essence of the concept in its most intelligible formulation. This abatement of representational effects is extended to the adoption of a constant viewing angle, which, in turn, enhances the perception of both peculiarities and kinships. In its layout, the present volume reproduces the graphic framework of a language. Not unlike the way a plurality of syllabaries cross each other in Japanese writing, several levels of character complexity are here juxtaposed with a quasi-absence of punctuation. Each entry is allocated the same amount of paper space (basically a square), whether extremely complicated (like kanj i , or Chinese ideograms), simply curvy (like hiragana ) or bluntly straight (like katakana ). The parallel can be stretched
to the reading experience itself, which can be carried out horizontally as well as vertically, and almost invariably from left to right or the reverse. Under each element though, captions, which in many cases preceded the drawings themselves, have been added to support or complete the depiction of their respective meanings. Like a centrifugal escape from the cycle of serial fantasy, the last chapter reconnects with the cultural realities of an existing site in Japan, and becomes a scale test. Literally rescuing this opus from art book shelves, it exploits and shows the ability of this series to morph
x
into proper building proportions with the outcome of a project, as the opposite of a conclusion. Selected for its median qualities in terms of size, program hosting capacities, and feasibility rather than for its demiurgical pretensions, a single scheme is released in the dense urban environment of central Tokyo to show the inherent flexibility tha t this set can offer. In return, this final part intends to reveal the sitelessness of all the other items by contrast.
INTRODUCTION
xi
CHAPTER ONE
HONG KONG
1
2
mosaic slab
4
3
dissected facade
5
blown corners
7
panel globe
6
kneeling pyramid
8
split column
9
stretched arch
triangle bridge
zoning windows
column jam
swollen triangulation
elbow tower
CHAPTER ONE
HONG KONG
3
13
14
sigma building
16
packed slab
17
pixel circle
19
18
20
22
inflatable floors
21
acoustic slab
23
sleeve towers
optician building
pitched-roof dilemma
alternate cantilever
4
15
pebble square
24
physical sketch
windproof tower
25
26
house arena
28
27
pinned-down tower
29
stretched wire frame
31
30
fan slab
swollen tiling
32
genealogical tower
34
33
climbing pitched roof
35
blown shafts
pebble tower
reduced high-rise
36
window reel
structural parasites
CHAPTER ONE
HONG KONG
5
37
38
hula hoop cone
40
dissected plan
41
43
42
44
fingerprint windows
46
continuous wire frame
45
cushion landscape
47
minced cantilever
base pleat
columnless arcades
hopping frames
6
39
tentacle columns
48
recycled yards
double-Y tower
49
50
underground program
52
51
split building
53
lava slab
55
54
seismic columns
56
palm block
58
skin = circulation
57
cone lanes
59
lifted halls
courtyard splash
sphere cross
60
buoy structure
creeping tower
CHAPTER ONE
HONG KONG
7
61
62
hinge slab
64
P tower
65
concentric columns
67
66
68
70
high-rise plot
69
napkin structure
71
liquid cuts
magnetic portholes
grid line
defragmented tower
8
63
topo column
72
garland tower
volume vs. lines
73
74
cross tower
meteor facade
76
75
vegetal shafts
77
pillar crown
bubbling tower
79
78
cracked towers
80
translation block
burried square
82
81
83
infinite tower
program falls
84
stretched referential
CHAPTER ONE
giraffe tower
HONG KONG
9
85
86
tower mime
88
tripod house
89
skewered origami
91
90
92
94
paw columns
93
double-loop tower
95
cardioid arena
sliced floors
ground-floor stretch
S cuts
10
87
paper slab
96
butterfly block
permanent scaffoldi ngs
97
98
hollow tower
100
99
rounded corners
101
cubical dome
103
102
moment balconies
104
hollow girder
106
pitched cross
105
pyramid teepee
107
fractal pyramid
foundation free
crafted corners
108
circular cantilever
CHAPTER ONE
pumpkin block
HONG KONG
11
109
110
sliced balance
112
oblique floors
113
pebble facade
115
114
116
118
continuous balconies
117
skin vs. volume
119
cubic jaws
translated hall
mosaic lasso
roof column
12
111
slide tower
120
racquet tower
continuous block
121
122
global slabs
124
123
flake slab
milled portholes
125
bipolar block
127
126
compressed path
128
stem towers
130
129
fiber program
131
hatched floors
locked tower
pitched floors
132
digital slab
district tower
CHAPTER ONE
HONG KONG
13
133
134
pyramid shield
136
gill windows
137
lotus globe
139
138
140
142
dried panels
141
cone dome
143
program dodge
introverted tripod
sunken erasure
simple top
14
135
comet structure
144
atomic towers
fractal heap
145
146
revolving bundle
148
147
lifted diagonal
149
balcony pyramid
151
150
chalky cantilever
152
solid wire frame
154
opus tower
153
WTC proposal
155
peeled facade
inflated disk
recycled tower
156
pitched stair
CHAPTER ONE
timber windows
HONG KONG
15
157
158
limp corridors
160
double roof
161
hirsute facade
163
162
164
166
stalactite structure
165
telescopic corner
167
checkered arch
checkered portholes
hunched cross
flat circus
16
159
node hub
168
forced grid
floor stretch
169
170
city-block stack
172
171
hatch building
173
tower jet
175
174
crawling slab
176
horseshoe tower
178
window stretch
177
double arch
179
wall projections
crumpled regulation
pyramid tower
180
armor tower
CHAPTER ONE
scalped dome
HONG KONG
17
181
182
radar tower
184
shrunk plot
185
diagonal sphinx
187
186
188
190
floor loop
189
column boa
191
cavity yard
jiggling gr id
spilled structure
city-block chain
18
183
dancing column
192
spool tower
crumpled disk
193
194
planted arena
196
195
slab splits
197
pitched-roof column
199
198
mineral crop
echo block
square trap
203
centrifugal columns
soundwave corner
201
200
202
evaporative tower
eroded program
204
middle settling
CHAPTER ONE
facade sheets
HONG KONG
19
205
206
tower node
208
inertial windows
209
forced towers
211
210
212
214
drain tower
213
fiber columns
215
double U block
huddled slab
fractal bridge
lambda floors
20
207
radial hall
216
wood slab
stellar column
217
218
orientation tower
220
219
forensic housing
222
221
3/4 cantilever
223
elastic block
Paris plan windows
jaw slab
224
half-moon tower
buried star
CHAPTER ONE
HONG KONG
21
CHAPTER TWO
NEW YORK
225
226
tuning tower
228
227
ignited slab
229
crunched corners
231
230
walking circuit
232
buttress towers
234
hanging antenna
233
pitched crown
235
roof crack
ripped corridor
musical openings
236
tome stack
tectonic floors
CHAPTER TWO
NEW YORK
25
237
238
reciprocal floors
240
globe stretch
241
Z building
243
242
244
246
structural heroism
245
prop block
247
shelf building
sparkling block
projected park
disk hops
26
239
filled outline
248
lying towers
pitched corner
249
250
cantilevered trunk
252
251
blown pyramids
253
expansive windows
255
254
bark facade
256
checkered pitched roof
wrestling slabs
257
facade surplus
lying totem
258
rotary cantilever
259
split disks
260
corner wedges
CHAPTER TWO
outlined windows
NEW YORK
27
261
262
extruded ruin
264
program knuckles
265
split tower
267
266
268
270
pixel meteor
269
calendar panels
circulation tower
271
globular tower
circumventing towers
dotted block
mesh building
28
263
272
amoeba windows
pennant slab
273
274
pinecone flats
276
275
courtyard triangle
277
tamped cone
279
278
expanded block
280
bifurcated balconies
282
chapped column
281
floor hook
283
inverted ruin
quartered globe
slalom structure
284
radial facades
CHAPTER TWO
caryatid towers
NEW YORK
29
285
286
lopsided stack
288
program bondage
289
structural sheet
291
290
292
294
brushstroke building
causeway towers
roaring pilotis
can flats
30
287
column jaw
293
rolled circle
295
rubber facade
296
packaging top
trimmed heap
297
298
corner hubs
300
299
glowing square
301
d ot te d-mar ks tower
303
302
d r y cur ta tai n wal ls
304
square vs. tower
306
facade drag
305
prop cantilever
307
wrung city block
dotted frame
flat curve
308
floor trap
barrel square
CHAPTER TWO
NEW YORK
31
309
310
f lo o r co ntain er
312
l i f te d g ro und f l o or
313
315
314 31 4
316
pro g ram over l oad
318
projected slab
317
b lo ck jam
319
ramp r i ng
sky seizure
switchboard block
flat column
32
311
bicephalous tower
320
floor press
evan esce nt towe r
321
322
horizontal stalactites
324
323
at t ache d tower I
325
O p l a n N s e c ti o n
326
c o r n e r t r a c ti o n
328
327
shutter bulge
at tached towe r II
sp ir al trench
329
open plan
circus towers
330
dome vs. cupola
CHAPTER TWO
NEW YORK
33
CHAPTER THREE
COPENHAGEN
331
332
pentagon tower
334
333
fingerprint urbanism
335
oblique twist
337
336
finger-frame towers
338
ramified tower
340
foliate facades
339
star vs. square
341
open city block
cornet slab
volume simulacrum
342
medallion slab
CHAPTER THREE
XY Z megastructure
COPENHAGEN
37
343
344
grid vs. frames
346
column spray
347
girder globe
349
348
350
352
reeled windows
351
frame blend
353
flexible ban
UN building
heaved hall
column floor
38
345
street cupola
354
foliate block
dried floors
355
356
spool disk
358
357
bubble arch
359
column vs. column
361
360
autophage city block
362
tendrilled loop
364
wood-stock building
363
penguin tower
365
shucked facades
functional towers
concurring arches
366
leaning city blocks
CHAPTER THREE
globes vs. globe
COPENHAGEN
39
367
368
tissue hall
370
frame set
371
beam bundle
373
372
374
376
circular cubes
375
audio facades
377
program oozing
shinto tower
ascending floors
sinus slab
40
369
sitting arches
378
solid stages
introverted facades
379
380
extruded zoning
floor bud
382
381
383
cement slab
385
384
corner radiation
386
extruded erasure
388
window film
387
paper comet
prop walls
389
fourfold floor
beveled edges
390
radius overlap
CHAPTER THREE
facade tension
COPENHAGEN
41
391
392
underground arch
394
facade towers
395
corner tower
397
396
398
400
magic pilotis
399
tangential globe
401
score windows
homothetic square
pinned column
urban arch
42
393
dotted sequence
402
envelope building
canvas slab
403
404
woven dome
406
405
escalator block
407
forced louvers
409
408
program dragon
410
bloom section
412
cantilevered link
411
# building
413
hidden corners
circulation worms
unravelled corner
414
pitched-roof slab
CHAPTER THREE
decanted tower
COPENHAGEN
43
415
416
concentrate gravity
418
regulation wrap
419
circle vs. cone
421
420
422
424
unraveled slab
423
pitch ceiling
425
shelter tower
cone seal
in-and-out column
graphic-scale building
44
417
finger yards
426
window tape
triangle towers
427
428
429
roll tower
430
captive buildings
431
section windows
433
432
circulation corners
434
dancing balconies
436
vascular balconies
435
ignited strip
437
edge target
trapped dome
tree globe
438
room carving
CHAPTER THREE
functional section
COPENHAGEN
45
439
440
lasso structure
442
strip release
443
confetti towers
445
444
446
448
liquid square
447
outlined cantilever
hatched pyramid
449
domino slabs
plug-in columns
expanded dice
rearview windows
46
441
450
nuclear tower
fold-averse slab
451
452
jacked-up blo ck
454
453
extensive corners
455
ocular tower
457
456
anchored block
458
directive building
460
pitched-roof cube
spiral cyclops
spring floors
459
back-to-back towers
461
cement towers
462
structural strata
CHAPTER THREE
paper architecture
COPENHAGEN
47
463
464
viral tower
466
walking pyramid
467
room chain
469
468
470
472
moving target
471
structural obstacles
473
continuous pillar
swollen facades
prostrate tower
fission section
48
465
square tornado
474
column heap
erupted pyramid
475
476
disk roll
478
477
dotted farandole
479
minced slab
tube pack
480
tower follicles
CHAPTER THREE
balloon building
COPENHAGEN
49
CHAPTER FOUR
LOS ANGELES
481
482
olympic building
484
483
linear vs. concentric
erected veil
485
limp tripod
487
486
488
underground towers
490
489
projected block
extruded camouflage
491
wheel tower
capsule tree
back-pass towers
492
billboard floor
CHAPTER FOUR
vertical zoo
LOS ANGELES
53
493
494
resurrected building
496
parcel crash
497
corner squid
499
498
500
502
Goode projection plan
Lobkowitz tower
shading frames
mummy slab
54
495
room geyser
501
dotted tower
503
corner arch
504
stapled slabs
grid shot
505
506
tripartite globe
508
507
walking circle
509
bottomless tower
511
510
spinning rooms
512
stellar weaving
514
competing towers
513
locked slices
515
slab kick
chute tower
treble-clef tower
516
piercing structure
CHAPTER FOUR
pillar takeoff
LOS ANGELES
55
517
518
519
chalk tower
520
city-block hug
521
vitruvian circulation
523
522
checkered cantilever
524
coiled steel
526
56
structural rendering
525
wired structure
527
oblique pixel
e-building
stretched city block
528
dome stack
ribbon tower
529
530
trenched dome
532
531
ground-bound floors
533
spool steps
535
534
paper floors
536
eye slab
538
ballast dome
537
puddle pyramid
539
tube dome
mold facade
dancing floors
540
pitched-roof belt
CHAPTER FOUR
viral structure
LOS ANGELES
57
541
542
statistic structure
544
thick tape
545
Beuys tower
547
546
548
550
wired shading
549
twofold canyon
551
tower glass
girder cone
extruded path
globe glove
58
543
puzzle facades
552
napkin slab
city-block jam
553
554
ivy screen
556
555
tower arena
557
program glass
559
558
pyramid pennant
560
convergent towers
562
free Plan Voisin
561
dome plus
563
log-joint building
pillar stock
cube screw
564
cube hug
CHAPTER FOUR
garland floors
LOS ANGELES
59
565
566
program pie
568
edentate block
569
chimney column
571
570
572
574
animal caryatids
573
scribble glazing
575
solar grid
drying antennas
magnet square
building melee
60
567
obstructed periscope
forsaking cantilever
576
linear globe
577
578
walking node
580
579
skyline jar
581
ferris elevator
583
582
solid glass
584
sequence towers
586
rotative arena
585
UC block
587
dripping skylight
diagonal release
hoop columns
588
cantilevered pennant
CHAPTER FOUR
flat hinges
LOS ANGELES
61
589
590
tower globe
592
dog-eared pyramid
593
calendar cone
595
594
596
598
housing slabs
597
bondage columns
599
forced facades
belt structure
S frame
walking slab
62
591
half-S section
600
braid tower
roof cap
601
602
curtain slab
604
603
U-turn tower
605
shriveled square
607
606
creeper columns
608
ostrich arch
610
chain tower
609
bundle block
611
drilled rock
grid dome
pyramid crunch
612
D tower
fractal whale
CHAPTER FOUR
LOS ANGELES
63
613
614
leprous block
616
spit towers
617
meshed slab
619
618
620
622
telepathic towers
621
peeled ceiling
623
hoist tower
hinged flats
unstuck windows
diameter axis
64
615
lattice slab
624
city-block dome
curly plus
625
626
coral portholes
628
627
vertical Atomium
629
digital section
631
630
city-block spool
632
eye slab
634
optional corners
633
progressive grid
635
amplified facade
globe vs. dome
funnel wire frame
636
U-turn building
CHAPTER FOUR
interface facades
LOS ANGELES
65
637
638
global cross
640
collision crop
641
topo facades
643
642
644
646
pigtail towers
645
finger-frame lock
647
horned corners
internal battle
amoeba slab
exponential balconies
66
639
program texture
648
ticket tower
crown jaws
649
650
frame slab
652
651
wire-frame column
653
block hug
655
654
spiral bowl
656
topo stairs
658
cubical ivy
657
oblique wave
659
climbing balconies
program potato
striped bowl
660
corner columns
CHAPTER FOUR
column jaws
LOS ANGELES
67
661
662
globe stack
664
square stretch
665
beam trap
667
666
668
670
needle column
669
circular stairs
671
floored facade
structural scales
mixed floors
double hinge
68
663
digressive columns
672
skittle block
unit evaporation
673
674
comb house
676
675
vacuum towers
677
dog-eared slab
679
678
inverted pitch
680
oblique table
682
substracted columns
solid lighting
rotary city block
681
outline overlaps
683
map tower
684
globe corner
CHAPTER FOUR
tripod hug
LOS ANGELES
69
685
686
girder arch
688
corner lift
689
oblique slices
691
690
692
694
erectile shutters
693
block wave
695
corner locks
global plan
glazing snare
lifted towers
70
687
acoustic rooms
696
frequency block
double cone
697
698
rotary Plan Voisin
700
699
square mapping
701
seizing courtyard
703
702
structural antenna
704
flattened hemisphere
706
hollow star
705
excursive corner
707
turbine block
half structure
refused skyscraper
708
vanishing sequence
CHAPTER FOUR
A4 buil ding
LOS ANGELES
71
709
710
corrugated corners
712
tower dissection
713
ribbed slab
715
714
716
718
insulation facades
717
triple fold
719
mac tower
sleeve tower
line pack
housing towers
72
711
coefficient walls
720
paper balconies
slab steps
721
722
chamfer tower
724
723
structural scene
725
audio corner
727
726
crossed pitched roof
728
barbed-wire structure
730
solid fishnet
729
dimension block
731
ionic cantilever
grid bulges
squeeze-box facade
732
stapled floors
CHAPTER FOUR
split column
LOS ANGELES
73
733
734
suburban tower
736
735
simulated sphere
737
congested corner
739
stellar towers
sticker panels
crushed arena
741
bobbin facade
743
frayed square
74
738
740
742
quadruped slab
fern columns
744
hurricane facade
corner impact
745
746
corner steps
748
747
revolving stripes
749
stretched pyramid
751
750
pillow structure
752
cantilevered satellite
754
sea-horse column
753
peeled sphere
755
flattened block
facade wrinkles
sawtooth edges
756
pyramid cube
CHAPTER FOUR
crown tower
LOS ANGELES
75
757
758
shaft locks
760
crown square
761
diamond tower
763
762
764
766
cloud carousel
765
imbricated slits
767
peeled roll
tortile wire frame
facade suction
flint pitched roof
76
759
snooker urbanism
768
corner substitutes
sunken windows
769
770
dried grid
772
771
stamen block
773
telescopic city block
XXX floors
774
landed Sputnik
corner cloud
775
crisscross sections
CHAPTER FOUR
LOS ANGELES
77
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
776
777
pixel magnets
779
778
clover tower
780
ball-bearing floors
782
781
radial dome
783
incremental program
785
dog-eared chessboard
784
street-pattern tower
786
tube tower
radar slab
erectile cantilever
787
flattened globe
crater portholes
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
81
788
789
corset tower
791
dipped city block
792
tangential beams
794
793
795
797
deflatable tower
796
eight tower
798
menhir jam
hollow pyramid
grid chunk
hesitant cantilever
82
790
flag building
799
maelstrom plan
beam building
800
801
twig square
803
802
flaccid edges
804
bundletower
806
805
structural hub
807
pyramid blimp
809
akimbo tower
808
global tower
810
modern buttresses
stealth circle
splash towers
811
columnless floors
bumped geode
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
83
812
813
continuous Cerdà
815
room studs
816
can wave
818
817
819
821
window spray
820
insulation block
822
triple E
sag bridge
column jaw
vying arches
84
814
glove slab
823
yard tape
pillar facades
824
825
column spray
827
826
structural orbits
828
underground Atomium
830
829
program shake
831
coaxial floors
833
iconic building
832
spiral straitjacket
834
swollen streets
tile floors
circulation ivy
835
wrung floors
kanji tower
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
85
836
837
tower belt
839
cone rebound
840
plunger facades
842
841
843
845
discharge structure
844
cr ane tower s
846
kanji plan
chain-link towers
extra corner
jaw circl e
86
838
g l ob e menhi r
847
perspiring program
plastic atrium
848
849
bondage floors
851
850
girder building
852
lateral twist
854
853
rot ar y ce nte r
855
katakana tower
857
tur b in e s p here
856
homothetic slabs
858
f acad e sp ray
wrung block
curtain-wall can
859
war head f acad es
b r i dg e b l ock
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
87
860
861
polar columns
863
plunger facets
864
brick flats
866
865
867
869
o r namental p lan
868
whirling tiles
870
co nce ntr i c towe rs
spring block
symmetr i c towe r
triangle trunk
88
862
sub ur b an cit y b lo ck
iteration escape
871
organic arkhitekton
872
873
spherical arkhitekton
875
874
moment towers
876
end bundle
878
877
square tostada
879
slab crawl
881
spiral sets
880
drip cantilever
882
slope piercing
USB tower
roof projection
883
shield walls
column star
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
89
884
885
shriveled pennant
887
convex floors
888
hatched block
890
889
891
893
capsule slab
892
hive cube
894
lattice globe
slough tower
corner mitosis
solar tower
90
886
concave floors
895
hinged slab
radar arch
896
897
leapfrog circle
899
898
cantilevered outline
900
crawling frames
902
901
tripod tower
903
post-and-beam tower
905
crumpled globe
904
claw towers
906
globe chain
skewer antenna
iteration leap
907
radial disk
omega block
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
91
908
909
JU tower
911
corner locks
912
tower eruption
914
913
915
917
column slalom
916
pixel flag
918
soft origami
girder tower
acanthus panels
bouncing tower
92
910
global strata
919
dried girder
ramp balconies
920
921
siamese floors
923
922
deep billboard
924
centrifugal balconies
926
925
score building
927
extension icicles
929
canopy slide
928
fungal balconies
930
glass meiosis
cuff circle
eye beam
931
slab lock
radial column
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
93
932
933
cor n er ex ten sio ns
935
p ane l g eyser
936
slab trail
938
937
939
941
fillet tower
940
whirling pillars
942
br i d ge tower
exc avated cantil eve r
grid bulge
panel locks
94
934
continuous facade
943
ma r bl e b lock
stre et set tli ng
944
945
jointt corner join corne r
947
946
column colu mn heap
948
g r i d s l e e ve
950
949
ve r t i c a l s k y l i n e
951
thick p or tho le s
953
introve r ted f ra me
952
p ee led con e
954
p i xe l p itch
histog ram circle circ le
al te r nate f acad es
955
l o c ke d c i r c l e
hatc hed tower
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
95
956
957
hatched curve
959
dan cing gr i d
960
tripartite column
962
961
963
965
stepped cantilever
964
mi ll ed p ro g ram
966
circu lar wave
ho motheti c tower
half house
w r i nk l ed cor n er s
96
958
ho usi ng stack
967
UV slab
r ic och et tower
968
969
solid firework
971
970
clamped city block
972
armed slab
974
973
rake pilotis
975
pitched tube
977
tile building
976
double-C tower
978
square mill
modernist pitched roof
column drip
979
trimmed facade
floor round
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
97
980
981
drape slab
983
exponential tower
984
centerfold building
986
985
987
989
knitting circulation
988
tension sheet
990
woven column
envelope slab
rebound structure
dome squares
98
982
shriveled circle
991
Malevich tower
grotto tower
992
993
forced pitched roof
995
994
dissected hall
996
circulation limbs
998
997
addition slab
999
legged loop
program rolls
stepped rhombus
1000
fluffed antennas
frequency strip
1001
nuclear cones
CHAPTER FIVE
TOKYO
99
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
Tokyo as testbed
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
103
A tangential leap from the fantastical into reality, this final chapter explores the possibility of implementing a single scheme from the previous series (figure 638) as a building. Formerly inspired by Tokyo’s rigid regulation system, the selected concept reconnects with the actual constraints of a site in that very city, landing on a plot adjacent to Yoyogi Park. The building—a usual combination of commercial, residential, and office spaces—is the result of the collision of twenty-three spheres (coincidentally equaling the number of Tokyo wards) of identical radius, which fuse inward to differentiate various spaces by vaults rather than walls. The seemingly random stacking of these elements allows groupings to create larger rooms when appropriate or divisions into smaller ones when cut by inner floors. The remaining outer membrane of the structure is cropped as it meets the boundary defined by city building rules, thus providing diverse diameters of openings to match the respective functions and locations of the rooms. Facades become sections, leaving the appearance of the whole as a mere by-product of a compelled site-specificity.
1 0.6
(north direction)
1
1.25 20m
10m
Zone 3 height regulation system from Shibuya City Office
104
Process model
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
105
N 0 10
Urban situation
106
50
100m
Aerial view
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
107
Street-level view
108
X4
X3
X1
X2
1 D012
RFL=GL+2224
1 D013
5 8 6 4
1 D151
7FL=GL+1755
5 D155
5 6 2 2
6FL=GL+1530
0 6 3 2
5FL=GL+1295
5 4 2 2 2
5 8 6 2
1
1
D102
D105
4FL=GL+1025
0 5 2 3
3 D153
3FL=GL+700
2 D152
0 0 2 3
2FL=GL+380
0 0 5 3
4
1FL=GL+30
D154
0 0 3
GL=+-0.00
2 0 0 9 2
B1FL=GL-290
D153
0 0 0 5
0 0 1 2
3275
1650
3275
8200
X4
X3
X2
X1
0
1
2
5m
Transversal section
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
109
1
1
D012
D014
2
1
1
D012
D014
D213
Y3
Y3
2 D210
0 5 3 6
1
1
D013
D013
+3.80
+0.30 0 5 3 6
5 7 1 0 1
5 7 1 0 1
1
Y2
Y2
D011
1 D011
6 2 8 3
6 2 8 3
2 D211
2 D212
Y1
Y1
3275
1650
3275
3275
1650
8200
X1
X2
3275
8200
X3
X4
X1
X2
X3
X4
N
Level 1 floor plan
Level 2 floor plan
1
1
D012
D014
0
1
5m
2
1
1
D012
D014
Y3
Y3
2 D215
2 D214
1
1
D013 0 5 3 6
D013 0 5 3 6
+10.25
5 7 1 0 1
+7.00
5 7 1 0 1
1
Y2
1
Y2
D011
6 2 8 3
D011
6 2 8 3
2 D216
Y1
Y1
3275
1650
3275
3275
1650
X1
X2
Level 3 floor plan
110
3275
8200
8200
X3
X4
X1
X2
Level 4 floor plan
X3
X4
1
1
1
1
D012
D014
D012
D014
Y3
Y3
1
1
D013 0 5 3 6
2
D217
D013 0 5 3 6
2 D218
+12.95
5 7 1 0 1
1
Y2
2 D220
5 7 1 0 1
1
Y2
D011
D011
6 2 8 3
+15.30
6 2 8 3
2 D221
Y1
Y1 2 D219
3275
1650
3275
3275
1650
8200
X1
X2
3275
8200
X3
X4
X1
Level 5 floor plan
X2
X3
X4
Level 6 floor plan
1
1
1
1
D012
D014
D012
D014
Y3
Y3
1
1 D013
D013 0 5 3 6
0 5 3 6
5 7 1 0 1
5 7 1 0 1
2 D218
1
Y2
1
Y2
D011
D011
2
+17.55
D218
6 2 8 3
6 2 8 3
Y1
Y1
3275
1650
3275
3275
1650
8200
X1
Level 7 floor plan
X2
3275
8200
X3
X4
X1
X2
X3
X4
Roof plan
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
111
1
1
D011
D013
RFL=GL+2224
1
1.25
W6
7FL=GL+1755
1
6FL=GL+1530
D105
W5
5FL=GL+1295
4FL=GL+1025
1 D103
W4 3FL=GL+700
1
W3
2FL=GL+380
D104
W1
2 D225
W2
1FL=GL+30 GL=+-0.00
East elevation
0
1
1
D012
D014
RFL=GL+2224
7FL=GL+1755
6FL=GL+1530
5FL=GL+1295
1
1
D106
D102
4FL=GL+1025
3FL=GL+700
2FL=GL+380
1FL=GL+30 GL=+-0.00
South elevation
112
1
2
5m
1
1
D014
D012
2
RFL=GL+2224
D226
W16
W15
7FL=GL+1755
6FL=GL+1530
W14
W13
5FL=GL+1295
W12
1
1
D102
D105
4FL=GL+1025 W11
2 D227
W10 3FL=GL+700
W9
2FL=GL+380 W8
W7
1FL=GL+30 GL=+-0.00
North elevation
1
1
D011
D013
RFL=GL+2224
1
1.25
7FL=GL+1755
1
6FL=GL+1530
D105
W22
5FL=GL+1295
W20
W21
4FL=GL+1025
1 D103
3FL=GL+700
1
W19
D104
2FL=GL+380
2 D228
W18 W17 1FL=GL+30 GL=+-0.00
West elevation
CHAPTER SIX
SCALE TEST
113
View from Odakyu Line
114
