INSIGHTS

2018.10.24

R&D DISCUSSION Vol. 03

Thinking about future redevelopment from postwar "buildings" [Part 1]

Shunsuke Kurakata historian

R&D DISCUSSION TOP

Currently, various redevelopment projects are underway in central Tokyo.
From the perspective of an architectural historian, how should we respond to the current redevelopment boom?
Are you watching?

A: The area around Tokyo Station is also undergoing major changes. Amid this redevelopment, architecture from the Meiji and Taisho periods is being highly praised, and some efforts are being made to preserve and restore it. In my book "A Walk Through Tokyo Retro Architecture," published by Ex-Knowledge in 2016, I refer to pre-war architecture as "retro architecture," and introduce it in a slightly romantic style, describing it as "having a story in the details" and "having a certain atmosphere," rather than as an article for specialists or the general public, particularly women.
On the other hand, many of the buildings remaining in this area that were built after the war to the 1970s and are more than 50 years old are being demolished. Perhaps because they have not been talked about until now, society is indifferent to the demolition, and it is not often reported in the media. In fact, I didn't pay much attention to it before, but about 10 years ago, I came across the Shin Tokyo Building and the Kokusai Building in front of Yurakucho Station and was shocked by their splendor. In my recent book "A Walk Through Modern Architecture in Tokyo" (Exknowledge, 2017), published last year, I call the buildings built from the postwar period to the 1970s "modern architecture" and explain in an easy-to-understand way for the general public how to appreciate them.

The word "retro" is now common, but for that reason it has rarely been used in the world of architectural history. The same goes for the word "modern." However, if you think about it carefully, these are appropriate terms, and I thought they should be treated strictly in order to widely convey their appeal. Rather than starting with an explanation of technical terms, I will go through the explanation before that and call prewar architecture "retro architecture" and postwar architecture "modern architecture."
During the Meiji and Taisho periods, Japan adopted European architectural techniques and design methods, referencing appropriate styles from the past. The term "retro architecture" is appropriate because it is not just old buildings from a modern perspective, but Western-style architecture that looks back to the past and tries to create a sense of unity as if it had existed in the past.
In contrast, the characteristic of postwar "modern architecture" is that it does not try to start from the style of the past. Therefore, it aims to create architecture that is unadorned, has "unseen shapes," is democratic, and is easy to use for "everyday use." For example, before the war, theaters, schools, and offices always had stairs in front of the entrance, and people were required to climb them to enter, which expressed their high status, but after the war, the flat entrance was designed to make it easier for people to enter. "Modern architecture" is characterized by a design that is democratic, functional, physical, and brings out the beauty of the materials. Also, as direct Japanese-style design became prohibited, techniques that exude a Japanese atmosphere in modern architecture flourished, and internationally acclaimed architects such as Kunio Maekawa and Kenzo Tange were born. The modernist architecture that they led is technically called "modernist architecture," but "modern architecture" is a broader term. Modernist architecture was highly acclaimed at the time, and many public buildings adopted it, but that was not the only postwar Japanese architecture. For example, commercial architecture was considered vulgar and was rarely covered by the media, but if you look closely, you will find that there is a lot of architecture that is full of the modern spirit. By evaluating "modern architecture" itself, including unknown architecture, it may be possible to historicize postwar architecture for the first time, independent of the evaluations made by contemporary journalists. That's what I've been thinking lately.

There are now many books to refer to on such "modern architecture," but until recently, there was a scarcity of them. In the co-authored "Tokyo Architecture Guide Map" (Xknowledge, 2007), published about 10 years ago, we tried to create a new era of Tokyo architecture guide, and we covered not only Meiji, Taisho, and prewar architecture, but also postwar architecture up to the 1970s. The reason why we only covered the 1970s is that architecture from the 1980s onwards is covered in "Architecture MAP Tokyo" (TOTO Publishing, 2003), which covers modern architecture in Tokyo. Terunobu Fujimori's generation has accumulated information on prewar architecture. However, the era of buildings in between was completely missing. Of course, it was quite difficult, and it would have been nice to have Google Street View at the time, but it didn't exist yet, so we would repeatedly make our mark in old architecture magazines and go to see them in person. Many of the buildings had already been demolished and disappeared, but there was a lot to learn from the architecture that we encountered that had continued to be used without being demolished. I wondered why they had not been talked about. This was what prompted me to focus on post-war buildings.

"Tokyo Retro Architecture Walk"
(Exknowledge/2016).
"A Walk Through Modern Tokyo Architecture"
(Exknowledge/2017).
"Tokyo Architecture Guide Map"
(Exknowledge/2007).
Yurakucho Building from "Tokyo Modern Architecture Walk"
(Photo: Shimomura Shinobu).
Shin Tokyo Building from "Tokyo Modern Architecture Walk"
(Photo: Shimomura Shinobu).

Efforts to preserve these postwar buildings
Is this being carried out?

A: DOCOMOMO (Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement), founded in the Netherlands in 1988, is an international movement aimed at recording and preserving modern architecture. I am also a member of the Japanese branch, DOCOMOMO Japan, as a committee member. First of all, I think it is important to make a list of where these postwar buildings are located, and then propose preservation and renovation as necessary.
However, some have questioned whether DOCOMOMO is merely a list of famous architects, as it includes many works by modernist architects such as Kenzo Tange, Kunio Maekawa, and Togo Murano, as well as works that have won the Architectural Institute of Japan Award. In light of this, a series called "100 Selected Dokonomon" was started in 2008 on the Nikkei BP website, Kempplatz, to complement DOCOMOMO's activities. In a play on the word DOCOMOMO, the series refers to good architecture that is unknown to who or where it was built, and "100 Selected Dokonomon" (published by Nikkei BP in 2011) was published, introducing 23 examples of architecture.
Aside from me, there are an increasing number of people working to reevaluate postwar buildings. Originally, this kind of activity was started in the Kansai region, where I have been based since I became a professor at Osaka City University in 2011, and since 2013, we have been holding the "Living Architecture Museum Festival Osaka," an annual event that simultaneously displays attractive architecture for free. Shinichi Takaoka, who is also involved in this activity, has been promoting the appeal of unknown buildings in Osaka under the group name "BMC (Building Mania Cafe)." He has published "A Photo Collection of Good Buildings" (Pie International, 2012) and has been organizing events that allow people to enjoy architecture from the general public's perspective. He has held live performances in old buildings and Bon Odori dances in places that used to be cabarets. After all, it is meaningful for a "building" to be used. In Nagoya, a unit called the "Nagoya Shibu Building Research Group" was formed in 2011 and continues to be active. In recent years, there has been a quiet and growing movement to find appeal in things that are close to our everyday lives, such as housing complexes, civil engineering, topography, and culverts.
Post-war buildings are one such example, and I believe they demonstrate a certain value that goes beyond just their fame.

"Dokonomono"
(Nikkei BP / 2011).
From the Living Architecture Museum Festival Osaka 2018 website.
Continued in Part 2

PROFILE

Architectural historian

Shunsuke Kurakata

Shunsuke Kurakata

Born in Tokyo in 1971. Architectural historian. Associate professor at Osaka City University. Completed doctoral course at Waseda University Graduate School of Science and Engineering. In addition to researching the history of modern Japanese architecture, he is active in bringing architecture and society closer together, such as serving as an executive committee member of the architectural public event "Living Architecture Museum Festival Osaka" and a director of "Tokyo Architecture Access Point." He has written many books, including "Tokyo Modern Architecture Walks" and "Tokyo Retro Architecture Walks" (both published by Exknowledge), co-authored "Tokyo Architecture: Seeing, Walking, Telling" (Keihanshin L Magazine), "Dokonomono" (Nikkei BP), and "Yoshizaka Takamasa and Le Corbusier" (Okokusha).

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R&D TOP

Update : 2018.09.21

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