Tokyoids by Francois Blanciak

Author:Francois Blanciak [Blanciak, François]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Architecture; History; Robot; Face; Tokyo; Japan
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 2022-08-05T00:00:00+00:00

Kamiyamachō 41

Nishi-Shinjuku 7-10

Why these buildings evoke faces will probably seem evident when viewed in this context. Why these faces remain unnoticed in the public realm might be more difficult to understand. Perhaps a certain degree of cultural detachment is required in order to discern, or record, this phenomenon. The cultural history of Japan is tied to the act of contemplation, we are told, yet it seems that the demands of the local work environment, forcing residents to spend exceptionally long hours indoors, might simply prevent one from observing the urban product of this work. Out of the direct, visceral, and at times uncomfortable experience of the city that nurtured this survey comes a somewhat axiomatic observation: it is easier to design the world away than to pay close attention to what already exists. Following an urge to build as much as possible, as soon as possible, architects often avoid looking back at the significance of their own output—a fuite en avant that often contradicts the domineering motto of sustainability. Although titled after the name of the city it depicts, this book is the opposite of a guidebook—in reality inviting the viewer to get lost in the semantic depth of an urban landscape whose architectural substrate remains concealed. Tokyo is no postcard city. Its magnificence reveals itself in erratic ways, demanding alertness from the experiencing subject in places and at times where no attention appears necessary. Away from celebrated monuments, the marrow of the city remains to be found, groping along its lesser-known streets, within its ordinary matter, rendering the yield of this search all the more precious.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.