COMMON GROUND.Itsuko Hasegawa's latest community centre is a fluidly informal set of volumes that draws on traditional Japanese means of enclosing space for cultural events. Until quite recently, public architecture in Japan has been the outcome of a top-down system of commissioning, design and procurement, with little room for community involvement. Set against this, ltsuko Hasegawa has always sought to achieve a more inclusive architecture that involves the public in the actual process of design through workshops and discussions. Hasegawa's iconic i·con·ic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or having the character of an icon. 2. Having a conventional formulaic style. Used of certain memorial statues and busts. Shonandai Cultural Centre (AR August 1990) marked a turning point in terms of integrating architecture, the community and the wider environment. Since then, provinces and municipalities have initiated similar projects and adopted her working methods. A new generation of Japanese designers has also begun to reflect on the relationship between architect and building user. Following the early success of Shonandai, Hasegawa has designed several cultural and community centres throughout Japan. From object buildings in the landscape such as the Museum of Fruit at Yamanashi (AR March 1996) to structures embedded in the densest of urban settings such as the Sumida Cultural Centre (AR September 1995), her architecture has undergone a gradual process of enquiry and refinement. The exuberance and playfulness of earlier projects has now matured into a more thoughtful and responsive sensibility. Hasegawa's most recent work is a community centre for the small town of Fukuroi in central Japan. The programme called for a diverse range of recreational activities, from cooking to calligraphy calligraphy (kəlĭg`rəfē) [Gr.,=beautiful writing], skilled penmanship practiced as a fine art. See also inscription; paleography. European Calligraphy In Europe two sorts of handwriting came into being very early. , together with a swimming pool, library and 400 seat hall. In terms of form and organization, the building draws on a traditional Japanese means of defining space by enclosing it with a lightweight membrane or manmaku. Within its confines, artistic or dramatic events were usually staged. Enclosed by a tautly planar A technique developed by Fairchild Instruments that creates transistor sublayers by forcing chemicals under pressure into exposed areas. Planar superseded the mesa process and was a major step toward creating the chip. skin of concrete and glass, the Fukuroi project is a contemporary reinterpretation re·in·ter·pret tr.v. re·in·ter·pret·ed, re·in·ter·pret·ing, re·in·ter·prets To interpret again or anew. re of a manmaku. A public foyer or salon acts as the building's organizational spine. This is conceived as in informal gathering and social space. Eight workshop spaces for different activities extend outwards from the spine, separated from one another by interstitial In a separate window. See interstitial ad. (World-Wide Web) interstitial - A World-Wide Web page that appears before the expected content page. Interstitials can be used for advertising (intermercial, transition ad) or to confirm that the user is old enough to view the gardens. The gardens can be used as extensions of the interior-for instance, art production and installation at the handicraft handicraft: see arts and crafts. workshop, and sunbathing outside th e swimming pool. Trees provide shade and act as a means of environmental regulation. Together these workshops and planted courts develop the notion of a manmaku that wraps around and enfolds the spinal foyer. As with Hasegawa's previous projects, the new centre aims to go beyond the limiting confines of particular activities and stimulate exchange between building users. Rather than provide a rigidly functional plan, she celebrates the potential of impromptu events and unpremeditated happenings. The loose amalgamation of spaces and their fluid interpenetration In`ter`pen`e`tra´tion n. 1. The act or process of penetrating between or within other substances; mutual penetration; also, the result of a process of interpenetration. Noun 1. suggests both constant animation and accessibility. Fukuroi also continues Hasegawa's experiments with the filtration and diffusion of light through the building's external skin. However, unlike some of her urban projects, there is no need to screen out the blare and distraction of the surrounding city. Here, vertical bands of clear and translucent glazing alternate rhythmically with precast concrete precast concrete Concrete cast into structural members under factory conditions and then brought to the building site. A 20th-century development, precasting increases the strength and finish durability of the member and decreases time and construction costs. panels that make up a portal frame-like construction. Attached to foundation beams, each panel is structurally independent and provides the necessary seismic resistance. The building's transparency reveals its interior life, encouraging visitors to explore and light gently diffuses through the generous public spaces. Brightly coloured furniture enlivens the mainly monochrome palette of concrete and glass. Larger volumes such as the concert hall and swimming pool are placed on the east side of the spine, overlooking a new urban park, also designed by Hasegawa. Workshop spaces undulate undulate /un·du·late/ (-lat) 1. to move in waves or in a wavelike motion. 2. to have a wavelike appearance, outline, or form.un´dulatory and extend towards the park which can be used for outdoor concerts and theatre performances as well as seasonal ceremonies such as cherry blossom viewing, night festivals, and flying New Year kites. The building links the park with the surrounding housing, acting as a revitalizing presence and stimulus for the energy and imagination of its local users. COMMUNITY CENTRE, FUKUROI, JAPAN ARCHITECT ITSUKO HASEGAWA Itsuko Hasegawa 長谷川 逸子 (1941 - ) is a noted Japanese architect. Hasegawa was born in Shizuoka, received her degree in architecture from Kanto Gakuin University (1964), trained with Kiyonori Kikutake until 1969, and then studied and worked 1 Swimming pool, concert hail and craft workshops overlook a new park (under construction). 2 Smaller workshop spaces are attached to the west side of the curved circulation spine. 3 Planted courtyards between workshops form spaces for outdoor activities. 4 Handicraft workshop, with some young users. 5 Crafts Workshop with tatami ta·ta·mi n. pl. tatami or ta·ta·mis Straw matting used as a floor covering especially in a Japanese house. [Japanese.] mat floors and shoji shoji In Japanese architecture, sliding partition doors and windows made of a latticework wooden frame and covered with a tough, translucent white paper. When closed, they softly diffuse light throughout the house. screens evoking traditional Japanese architecture Japanese architecture, structures created on the islands that constitute Japan. Evidence of prehistoric architecture in Japan has survived in the form of models of terra-cotta houses buried in tombs and by remains of pit houses of the Jomon, the neolithic people of . COMMUNITY CENTRE ARCHITECT FUKUROI, JAPAN ITSUKO HASEGAWA 6, 7 Luminous volume of swimming pool is one of the major set-piece spaces. 8 External courtyard, between one of the two workshops, epitimizes the fluidlty and informality of the building's organization. Architect Itsuko Hasegawa Ateller, Tokyo |
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