TOYO ITO: GRIN GRIN PARK, FUKUOKA

ESPAÑOL

Grin Grin Park is a pilot project designed by Toyo Ito. It is located on Island City, in Hakata Bay, north of Fukuoka, Kyushu, in South West Japan. In this exciting and innovative project, conceived between 2002-03 and built between 2004-05, Ito combined the site and the building design by means of a multidimensional walk-through experience.

ISLAND CITY 

The city of Fukuoka is located in a prime position in East and South East Asia, given its proximity to major urban centers like Busan in Korea and Shanghai in China as well as connections to Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore.
Island City is an artificial island located northeast of Fukuoka, in order to reinforce the functions of the port, create a whole new industry, improve the traffic system east of Fukuoka and in turn create a comfortable urban space to house a pleasant residential environment.

See location on Google Maps

GRIN GRIN PARK

Amid Island City is a park surrounding a bean-shaped pond. It is noteworthy that the location of the park is not directly on the waterfront but  landlocked, a decision perhaps influenced by the cold winds that blow over Fukuoka in winter .


The park has three areas: the pond, around which other elements are organized, the greenhouse, located west and that somehow protects against the sea breeze, and the other amenities that surround the pond, such as playgrounds , promenades, etc.


As we approach the greenhouse, the unique urban furniture indicates that we are standing in a special place. The play grounds, the restrooms and even the seats have sculptural forms in addition to their function.


Not all of them are successful, though, such as these circular seats that remain empty because they are very uncomfortable and do not favor any activity.


However the most striking structure at the Grin Grin Park is the greenhouse. Ito's project aims to integrate architecture to the park's landscape. From the pond, the architecture seems to blend with the site, generating a topography that  is a combination of the natural and built, perhaps an analogy to the mountainous character of the country.

Photo courtesy of K Ooni

Another architect, Emilio Ambasz, has a proposal not far from here that shares the idea embedding a building in a construction, using terraces to vertically extend a park along a building, the ACROS Fukuoka International Hall. However, Ito's proposal goes further by providing a kinetics experience in the visitor, modelling the park on the basis of the topological relationships generated on its surface. In any case, the visit evoked me the experience of walking though  FOA 's Passenger Terminal in Yokohama  rather than that of Ambasz's proposal .

Working in partnership with Sekkei Sougo Kenkyujo, Ito chose the image of circles (waves) radiating from the Central Park to the whole island, as the basis of his proposal. The enormous circles became craters and mounds to cover various human activities and to produce incremental topological changes to the Central Park. Therefore the architecture is shown throughout undulating sequences in spiral, integrating itself with the undulations of the ground rather than standing out as an architectural object.

In this conceptual model the genesis idea can be seen: a ribbon is twisted twice generating spaces illuminated by three elliptical skylights.

The architecture has a covered an area of approximately 5,000 m2, and it is a central facility located in the park. There are 3 spaces prepared around the gardens with flowers and plants, each with an area of 900 to 1000 m2.

It is interesting to observe how the architect uses the building to define the boundary of the park, but at the same time he makes it quite permeable, being possible to walk through it, climb it, see through it or enter inside.


These three spaces are concatenated by routes that not only remain at ground level or enter inside the building, but that are elevated forming bridges and walkways and following the surface of the roof, offering various visual experiences.

Green spaces are mixed with the built spaces in a way in which one can not only appreciate the greenery but also read books, have lunch or participate in workshops. 

Photos courtesy of K Ooni .

It is precisely this sequence that gives the user freedom to experience the building in various forms and from multiple points of view. Walkways offer views of the park connecting the interior and exterior, following the topography of the roof. (watch this sequence in the video tour at the end of the post).



The concrete slab and the skylights or glass partitions switch roles as ceiling and walls, but whereas the windows ensure visual integration with the park, the skylights help to highlight the spaces grouped around the planters under the game of light.

Photo courtesy of scarletgreen

The skylights are controlled automatically according to the ambient temperature, allowing ventilation on hot days or being closed in case of rain or cold weather. The cantilever structure also offer protection from the summer heat. By contrast, during the winter, the tropical temperature required inside the building is controlled by heaters.


Although it is a relatively small project, Toyo Ito takes the opportunity to highlight its theoretical concepts in relation to architecture and nature. This relationship is based on the conception of the natural world and the architecture and it had already been expressed by Ito previously in his Sendai Mediatheque , and also in the Library at the University of Tama , despite the formal difference between them. Their relationship with nature is not only poetic, but emphasizes its concern with the technology of our era.


But this communion between architecture and nature is it based solely on sensory and phenomenological parameters? Is it the same experience to walk around the park that Grin Grin Park than to visit the  Yoro Park, "Site Reversible Destiny" by Shusaku Arakawa , for example? Certainly not, Ito set his own rules, and followed them precisely.

The technique that enables this design is a completely unique structure, called the method of shape analysis. First, a form is chosen, whose variations are simulated on the computer so that the load of torsion, energy of tension and distortion would be minimal. Then, a structurally optimal form is obtained as an evolved form. Feedback to this process are exchanged several times between architectural and structural designs. Finally the result was an architecture with a shell of 40 cm reinforced concrete. 

One of the most important contributions of the building (beyond its architectural achievements) is its social role, particularly regarding to  education. The collection of various exotic species of flora and fauna provide opportunities for people to expand their knowledge of science while touring an enjoyable and interesting building.

In the following video you can see more photos of the park and the building as well as a sequence of the walk-through .

SEE ALSO

- OTHER WORKS BY TOYO ITO

• Egg of the Winds, Yokohama, Japan. (1991)
• Mikimoto Ginza 2, Tokyo, Japan. (2005)
• Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai, Japan. (2001)
• Shinonome Canal Court, Tokyo, Japan. With Kengo Kuma and others (2004)
• Tama Art University Library, Tokyo, Japan. (2007)
• Tod's Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan. (2002-04)
• Tower of the Winds, Yokohama, Japan. (1986)
• Za Koenji Theater, Tokyo, Japan. (2009)

- THEME PARKS

• VanDusen Visitor Centre, Vancouver, Canada. Perkins + Will (2010-11)
• Garden of Fine Arts, Kyoto, Japan. Tadao Ando (1990)
• Yorkville Park, Toronto
• Westminster Pier Park, New Menstminster, Canada (2012)

As usual, I arrived to the site late, just when they were about to close. After begging this gentleman, telling him that I came from the other side of the planet (which is technically true) just to see this building (which was not actually true), he agreed to let me in, and I accompanied  him as he was closing the facility. When I told him that I had a blog on architecture, he became very interested and very kindly photocopied me some literature, and made ​​me promise I would post about the Grin Grin. Well, it took some time but I finally fulfilled my promise.

REM KOOLHAAS AND OTHERS: NEXUS WORLD

ESPAÑOL

Nexus World (1991) is one of the most interesting housing experiments in recent times. This complex was designed by several renowned Western architects, led by the famous Japanese master Isosaki Arata, including Steven Holl, Oscar Tusquets, Mark Mack, Christian de Portzamparc, Osamu Ishiyama and especially Rem Koolhaas, who was catapulted to international fame after their participation in this project.

LOCATION

Nexus World is located in Kashii, near Fukuoka, Kyushu Region in the southwest of Japan. The residential complex is located next to the Hakata Bay, and very close to that, in an artificial island, is Toyo Ito's Grin Grin Park.

Aerial View of Project Nexus World.
See location on Google Maps

Panorama of Nexus World

ARATA ISOZAKI

Isozaki is one of the icons of modern Japanese architecture in the twentieth century (previously we have discussed some of his work in this moleskine) and he is also a native of Kyushu.

Arata Isozaki made the master plan of Nexus World, which should have been presided by two huge 120 m height towers designed by him, but unfortunately were never realized. Even though Isozaki provided the general urban plan, he gave great freedom to the other architects in this experimental housing complex.

Original proposal including the two huge towers proposed by Arata Isozaki.
Compare it with the current construction, which includes only a medium density buildings.

Medium density blocks replaced the two huge towers of the original proposal.
Photos C. Zeballos.

REM KOOLHAAS

Probably the most influential architect and theorist of our time, the Dutchman Rem Koolhaas was in its beginnings a journalist. Then he formed his office OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), from which he outlined his important theories about architecture and its relationship to the virtual world of information. They also formed many famous architects such as Zaha Hadid, as well as other offices as FOA and AMO.

View of Koolhaas' blocks facing the street and defining a pedestrian passage in the neighborhood. Next, are the blocks of Steven Holl. Photo courtesy of El Croquis.

His proposal for was Nexus World conceived as the visual "base" of Isozaki's towers. Despite those have not been built, Koolhaas's proposal stands out for his significant interpretation of housing as well as for their spatial relations. The project consists of 24 units of three levels each, arranged in two blocks that have access to an interior street.

Rear view of one of the blocks.

Detail of the lateral ramp. Photo C. Zeballos

Detail of the roof.

The syntax of these blocks breaks with the tradition of settling the buildings upon a visually solid base. Instead, Koolhaas puts this solid black granite shell (which somehow reminds of Japanese castles) upon a much more transparent and light volume, which gives lightness to the composition, enhanced by the dynamism of the concrete roofing in the third level.


This provocative attitude of making the buildings "levitate", is frequent in Koolhaas' vocabulary, and can be seen in his earliest works, such as the Villa Dall'Ava in Paris, as well as the most recent ones, such as China Television Tower CCTV in Beijing.

Details of the Koolhaas' project. Click on the image to enlarge.

Koolhaas defines the public domain into the street, by means of a transparent and extroverted facade, while accommodating the entrance to the houses at the back. He also included a courtyard of white stones, a very traditional Japanese design feature. At the second level are the bedrooms, organized around corridors which also allocate the stairs. The rooms are generously lit by light wells and the large screens that are located on the third level.

The third level is covered by a series of dynamic roofs that allow an plentiful use of light and give a sensation on widening space, as well as contributing to a lighter formal expression of the block.

Interior of the house. Photo courtesy of The Sketch

Emulating the theories by Le Corbusier, the terraces are covered with grass.

Night view of one of the departments. Image courtesy of OMA

OSCAR TUSQUETS

The renowned Catalan architect Oscar Tusquets White is remembered especially for his design of the Olympic Village housing in Barcelona.

His in housing project at Nexus World adopts a vocabulary influenced by the postmodernism of the 80's, bringing the image of a Mediterranean village to these remote Asian land. The palette of pastel colors, materials, shape of the windows and especially the entrance arch, correspond to this style.

Postmodernist language Oscar Tusquets.

This arch is intend to welcome the visitor to the complex, facing the street diagonally while linking the two buildings at its sides and became a kind of urban gate. This generates, in turn, a small little square, similar to that designed by Mark Mark in the other corner of the residential complex.

Entrance portico.

STEVEN HOLL

The award-winner American architect and theoretician Steven Holl is recognized by the dramatic form in which he uses light is in his project.

Holl's proposal for Nexus World is one of the most consistent of all because it is based on a basic principle of traditional Japanese architecture: flexibility. This functional quality is achieved through the use of so-called fusuma , which are opaque sliding panels that can be withdrawn at will, expanding or subdividing the ambient according to the requirements of the family.

Exterior views, courtesy of Steven Holl Architects.

Steven Holl proposed 28 departments organized into four blocks. Defined by movable partitions, the bedrooms can be converted into living spaces during the day (in Japan, futon is frequently used instead of bed, a kind of mattress that is stored in a closet during the day and unfolded on the floor during sleeping time). This flexibility also allows resizing rooms, when new children are born, or when children grow up and leave home or when the occupants'parents get older and move into the home together.

Interior of the departments showing their functional flexibility. Photos courtesy of Steven Holl Architects.

The project was awarded the AIA NY Honor Award in 1992 and an award from the defunct Progressive Architecture magazine in 1991.

MARK MACK

American architect Mark Mack , based in California, has a long history of urban development projects, as well as institutional, commercial and especially residential buildings.

His proposal for Nexus World is located at the corner of a shopping street with a residential corner of the end of the Tusquets' building. In front of the commercial street frontage, the building sets back creating a small plaza, which was also landscaped by Mack.

Detail of the corner, includes the landscape design.

It consists of 29 housing units organized in 3 blocks that reach up to 6 levels. Using a varied and flexible typology that is inserted into a grid of 6 m, Mack protrudes balconies or removes parts of the volume, leaving the structure exposed at times.

Rear view of the building.

CHRISTIAN DE PORTZAMPARC

Renowned French architect Christian de Portzamparc was a Pritzker Prize laureate in 1994. Among his projects include the Citè de la Musique in Paris.

The Portzamparc's housing blocks are landscaped with water.

Photo C. Zeballos

For Nexus World, Potzamparc planned three gray housing blocks attached to a yellow tower, surmounted by a saucer-shaped hat, that houses the social spaces in an attempt to make a reference to the Japanese tradition. This was a mistake in Portzamparc's research, because although in traditional houses there are rooms separated from the main house, called "hamare" (which literally means "separate") they do not have a social function but they are used especially by children, where they will do their homework or play without disturbing their parents. The social space or "ima", where the family gathers or rests, is fully integrated into the house. For this reason, the "social rooms" in Portzamparc tower are often used as warehouses.

The rooms "social" tower did not fulfill its purpose.

OSAMU ISHIYAMA

Although he is not so well known in the West, Osamu Ishiyama has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1996, for his criticism on Japanese architecture, especially after the Kobe earthquake in 1995. Among his highlights the Hiroshima House in Cambodia , a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust in that country .

Rebellious, dissatisfied and critical of the reality, his character is manifested in its architecture, in the case of Nexus World giving it a mechanical appearance, highlighting the idea of housing as a "machine for living" proclaiming by Le Corbusier , but in a much more formal than symbolic way. I must say that the work of Ishiyama is difficult to "read" from the outside, his use of exposed concrete and aluminum is imaginative but quite dense. He proposed 3 decentralized buildings to what he calls "tree house", and each represents a coconut, a banana and a pineapple respectively (see planimetry).

Despite his harsh language, the volumetry is quite dynamic, especially due to a slanted wall in one of the buildings and the dynamic cantilevers that crown the curved building (banana).

Detail of the slanted wall. At the time of the visit, one of the Ishiyama's buildings was being restaured .

Photo C. Zeballos

***

Nexus World has been one of the more interesting experiments on multifamily housing in recent years. It also adds to many notable projects by Western architects such as Aldo Rossi, Emilio Ambasz, Jon Jerde and others who have made ​​Fukuoka fertile ground for architectural experimentation. Surely it would have been even more if it would have been chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games.