The criteria for architecture after the tsunami is humbleness
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of humility in architectural design, especially after a disaster.
Kengo Kuma's quote highlights the need for architects to adopt a humble approach when rebuilding after catastrophic events like tsunamis. This humility should inform their designs, acknowledging the power of nature and the fragility of human life, prioritizing sustainability and respect for the environment over grandeur or excess.
In practice
During a talk on sustainable building practices, one might reference Kuma's quote to encourage architects to design with humility.
You could say that my aim is ‘to recover the place’. The place is a result of nature and time; this is the most important aspect. I think my architecture is some kind of frame of nature. With it, we can experience nature more deeply and more intimately. Transparency is a characteristic of Japanese architecture; I try to use light and natural materials to get a new kind of transparency.
Contemporary architects tend to impose modernity on something. There is a certain concern for history but it’s not very deep. I understand that time has changed, we have evolved. But I don’t want to forget the beginning. A lasting architecture has to have roots.
Who’s afraid of the big, bad buildings? Everyone, because there are so many things about gigantism that we just don’t know. The gamble of triumph or tragedy at this scale — and ultimately it is a gamble — demands an extraordinary payoff. The trade center towers could be the start of a new skyscraper age or the biggest tombstones in the world.
Modern buildings of our time are so huge that one must group them. Often the space between these buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.
If you look at the Earth without architecture, its sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter in the broadest sense of the word, whether its a movie theater or a simple log cabin in the mountains. This is the core of architecture: To provide a space for human beings.
Why should we build very large spaces when they are not necessary? We can design halls spanning several kilometres and covering a whole city, but we have to ask, what does it really make? What does society really need?
The difference between a builder and an architect is that an architect also cares about desire, about dreams.
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