The first impression produced by the theme "Airport Membrane" was that most entries would probably features a conventionally direct association between facilities and material. In addition to this association, one also hoped to find free and imaginative reactions to the theme. In this sense, the First Prize entry by Masubuchi offered a flexible and fresh approach. Instead of rigid airport facilities, it proposed a dynamic and lively landscape in which membranes are lined up like dominos in a nebulous landscape, emitting light under the air pressure of jet aircraft taking off and landing. It is a supple proposal that even ventures to include a guidance function.
In contrast, the Second Prize Entry by Tamura offered a lucid structure that emphasizes the transparency of the membrane. Today's membrane technology enables simple solutions. It is an attractive work free of rough edges. The Third Prize entry by Chgeng Siu Chuen was a beautiful work that places its hopes on the future of membrane technology. It features an ever changing moire pattern in which the colored light of the membrane responds to changes in the wind and pressure of the environment. It provides a ceiling that recalls a sky to take off into, and at night becomes a giant lantern that shimmers in different colors like a soap bubble.
The Honorable Mention entry by Miyashita+Nakamura seems to be saying that there is a place for humor in architecture. Appraising works of this kind is one of the pleasures of judging a competition like this. It makes you feel younger.
Airports are voids - spaces that exist in cities but do not belong to cities. People in arrival and departure gates belong to no city and no country. You might say they are suspended in space. For this very reason, airports are required to illustrate obvious identities as the entrances to cities and countries. Airports are at the crossroads of the contemporary loss and rediscovery of place. I was interested in the question of how membranes could express this relationship.
The entries could be divided roughly into a certain number of categories. But in terms of the questions I was interested in, I was drawn by the Second Place entry by Kenichiro Tamura and the Honorable mention entry by Syoji Watanabe. The tubes in Tamura's proposal, surrounded by membranes, express the idea that airports are both nowhere and anywhere. They aim to make the movement of aircraft visible. The First Prize entry by Masubuchi features membranes that light up in response to the air pressure of aircraft speeding down runways. The grand vision of spheres of light moving across the flat landscape is remarkable. The Third Prize entry by Chgeng Siu Chuen and the Honorable Mention entry by Stoberl conceived of membranes lenses that present the spectacle of aircraft landing and taking off. The third idea, seen in the Honorable Mention entries by Miyashita, Mot, and Sabatini, was to take advantage of the pliability of membranes to create nets and cocoons. In the Sabatini's entry, this led to the image of multiplying organisms. In general, there was an overall tendency to associate membranes with presentation. It was evident that a strong effort must be made to overcome this tendency.
Although membranes are used in a wide variety of projects, it is surprisingly difficult to create proposals about the membrane structure itself. Therefore, many of the entries in this year's competition were centered on the membrane as a material, on an image, or so on. The First Prize entry by Masubuchi was a very smart proposal; featuring the vast fields and functions of an airport to create an unique style of landscape. The Second Prize entry by Tamura was also well conceived. If it were actually built, it would result in a very beautiful abstract space. Conversely, the Honorable Mention entry by Stoberl would be difficult to build. but it provided a convincing and very interesting solution to the problems posed by the theme. It would be very exciting to look up in this way at low-flying aircraft. The idea of installing a mirror in the ceiling to capture departing and arriving aircraft was quite interesting. I was also impressed by the screen-lens relationship that provided changing closeup views. Another proposal for capturing aircraft was humorous and actually quite beautiful. Although not covered in this entry, there were several entries related to emergencies. The Honorable Mention by Hwang suggested that aircrafts fly in materials to build a temporary airport. This is a very attractive proposal that takes advantage of the lightness of the material. It deserves serious consideration.
Synthetic resin membranes are a new material, but shelters using membranes have existed since the distant past. A fascinating thing about membranes is that, even though they provide intimations of a high-tech future, there is always an admixture of nostalgia. Is there really a future for membranes? This is the question I asked myself when viewing the entries. If they proved unable to break out of a monotonous mold, then that would indicate the beginning of the end for membrane structures. Even though the technology has been perfected, the demand for membrane structures would have ended if they proved unable to stimulate the imagination. The answer to this question is that membranes apparently still harbor a realm of possibilities. The entries were diverse, imaginative, and indicative of new possibilities.
Broadly speaking, they could be divided into a group that stressed the possibilities of the material itself, and a group that emphasized nostalgic elements. It turned out that most of the winning entries belonged to the former group. Contemporary architecture and the age itself seem to have reached a kind of impasse. This leads to a fresh interest in new possibilities. I thought that all three of the winning entries were outstanding. Unfettered by conventional conceptions of the membrane, they demonstrated what their authors would like to see. They represented possibilities that may become reality in the future. The presentations were also excellent. The Honorable Mention entries were very diverse, demonstrating the manifold character and multiplicity of membranes. Examination of these entries should reveal latent needs that can be satisfied by this material.
Further technological progress is needed for membranes to take a place alongside steel and concrete as an architectural material. This competition provided a rich harvest of needs and solutions toward that end.
Times have certainly changed. There was a period when the question was how to build bigger spaces with membrane structures. But this year's competition left the strong impression that membrane materials today have been brought to a position that is closer to people. Originally, the membrane was thought as an artificial material. But today's trend is a natural result of noticing that it also possesses superior properties for reflecting light, wind, and movements of air.
Every year I look forward to this competition as an opportunity to discover membrane structures based on entirely new concepts. In view of the amount of prize money, it may be unreasonable to expect too much. Nevertheless, there are always many interesting proposals that provide new perspectives on the relation between people, architecture, and membranes.
Membranes are extremely diverse. But by structural principles they can be broadly divided into framework, tension, and air-supported membranes. Air-supported membranes have been declining together with the loss of interest in large spaces. But I was impressed by the Honorable Mention entry by Mot that proposed a finger bridge from the gate to the aircraft. No doubt, the principles of air beams should enable a fantastic but functional bridge like this. I think that this is an excellent example of skillfuly using of today's materials. It is also quite practical. All over the world, air travel has become commonplace, raising a number of annoying problems, one of which is aircraft bridges. This entry demonstrated a wonderful solution, which I would like to applaud personally. It would be interesting to actually build it.
●'98 Result
●Previous Winners