Membrane Design Competition'95
Comments
After the first Superspace competition on the theme of "Dwelling", and the second on the them of "Working", the third and last, on the theme of "Playing", was from the start an event rich in content, highlighting a strong relationship between structure and form. The meaning of the membrane was interpreted sometimes in the sense of interface, sometimes in the biological sense of skin, or again as an expression of a playful and floating contemporary consciousness.
Beginning with the first competition, which was characterized by an exploration of the meaning of Superspace, and continuing through this third competition, the membrane was the subject of an extraordinarily diverse range of interpretations, encompassing conceptual and indeed poetic proposals as well as proposals which demonstrated ingenious solutions to problems facing practical implementations, and ranging in scale from the urban to the intimate.
The winner of the First-Prize, by Mesaros + Velikov, was a double-faceted proposal that combined the poetic and pragmatic in the true spirit of the festival. The winner of the Second Prize was a migratory shelter by Teruya + 2 collaborators, characterized by lightness and structural flexibility. The winner of the Third Prize, by Mahmoodi + 2 collaborators, impressed us by the scale of its vision, in which the surface of the sea is covered to form a kind of island, and by the inherent interest of its concept, with the rolling motion of the waves transmitted to the surface of the membrane.
Once again, the most interesting entries in this year's competition were from abroad. The number of overall entries was divided equally (109 from overseas, 109 from Japan), none of the prizewinners and only 4 of the top proposals, including Honorable Mentions, were entries by Japanese participants. One hopes that this showing will improve in the future.
I believe that Superspace competition, which called for expansive theme precisely because this is a depressed age, has more than fulfilled its purpose. One hopes that it will continue in the form of ever grander visions.
I think that the theme of "Playing" was difficult one. Compared to "Dwelling" and "Working", the themes of the previous two competitions, it is not possible to invent a special space. We can play anywhere, in any kind of space. The act of playing has less to do with relations to a space, and much more to do with relation in our own private imaginations. Therefore, the act of playing accepts any environment. Anything is possible. I think that the problems is not to link playing with a space, but rather to provide something that vibrates in the individual imagination. This was well understood by Measaros + Velikov, inventors of the First-Prize "Tube of Light". As it circulates through the gaps in the city, it uses its relationships with the adjoining buildings appears to provide a variety of amusements. The city at night is lit by a band of light. The idea behind the Second Prize work, the floating shelter in the sky by Teruya + 2 collaborators, also appears to be quite real. The Third Prize work, by Mahmoodi + 2 collaborators, is convincing enough that, apart from its base in reality, one wants to actually build it. In other words, one imagines that through its realization an entirely new kind of activity would emerge. It was a work cited for its possibilities.
The competition and entries submitted to it provided an opportunity for reflection on the urban and global environments.
Fundamentally, the membrane as a material is related intimately to human life. Its flexibility and clarity are features found in no other material. The First Prize proposal by Mesaros + Velikov was a more than adequate expression of these characteristics.
Amid and concrete and steel of the urban core, it is a pliant and friendly walkway, inviting people to gather and play. Other proposals attempted to exploit the transparency of membranes in screen-like works, but were less finished. There were no proposals on the grand scale of Buckminster Fuller's vision of an air dome enveloping an entire city. But there were several arresting works that skillfully exploited the mobility and flexibility of the membrane, notable among them the Second Prize entry by Teruya + 2 collaborators, which was also interesting from the viewpoint of membrane control.
Among the other characteristics of the membrane, one that makes it suitable as a Superspace material is its resistance to tension. Works that made playful use of tension included "Water Tree" and "Playing in the Sea". The sea and the membrane: the tension of the water's surface, expansive and uniform, lends to the surface an expressive richness. Floating a membrane over the surface of the seas emphasizes this tension and creates an artificial domain. A successful example of this concept was "skin of space".
There were no works that approached the membrane from a structural perspective to created an unprecedented structural system.
The First Prize proposal by Mesaros + Velikov: Through the valleys of the vertical urban core winds a pliant membrane tube. This structural contrast reveals a humorous landscape, an answer to the rigidity of the contemporary city. At a single stroke, it transforms the city. There is also something richly expressive in the concept of the tube floating suspended by the vertical buildings, wedged in between them.
The second Prize proposal by Teruya + 2 collaborators: A mobile object floats like a cloud above the varied landscape of the islands of Japan, stretching from north to south. This penetrating reading of the Japanese environment is enjoyable, along with rhythmical process represented by the well thought out flying object. This project is a splendid echo of the playful element in the Japanese spirit, like the floating blossoms of the cherry tree.
The Third Prize proposal by Mahmoodi + 2 collaborators: The membrane creates a new landscape on the scale of the global environment. One walks on the sea as one walks over sand dunes. The membrane floats over the even richer sea, creating a new sensibility. This project is a exemplary expression of scale.
Among the projects cited with Honorable Mentions, I was drawn to the minimal and conceptual entry by Braun + Tutsch. A single membrane has the potential to subtly bur radically alter one's impression of the city and the residence. Amid the monotony of contemporary architecture., one senses a simple but tenacious resistance. Together with other entries, I believe it is conceptually and expressively on a higher level than the entries of 2 years ago.
Kengo Kuma(Architect)
Coming after the theme of "Dwelling" and "Working", I had expected this year's theme of "Playing" to result in a large number of works of free and unusual conception, but the outcome was exactly the reverse. However, when one stops to consider it, this may be only natural. People today don't play freely.
The dominant form of play today is the computer game. This from of play is unrelated to space. There is certainly freedom within the constraints of programming but that freedom cannot transcend the limits of the program, much less spill over into space. What other forms of play are there? The First Prize entry by Mesaros + Velikov took up the Festival, the Second Prize entry by Teruya + 2 collaborators Flower Viewing, and Third Prize entry by Mahmoodi + 2 collaborators the Sea (there were numerous other proposals on the Sea). As far as Japan is concerned, these are not as much amusements as communal rituals. In the spring there is the ritual of Flower Viewing, in summer the ritual of the Sea, and in autumn the ritual of the Festival. A ritual is nothing other than programming, and there is are historic links between membranes and the ritual. In that sense, none of the three winning proposals proved able to transcend the orthodox.
Is there not some form of play that would be freer, aiming to escape from the constraints of programming. Could the strangeness and flexibility of the membrane be used as an aid in the escape? The beginnings of answers to these questions were evident in the entries "The theater of shadow" and "PLAY ON THE CLOUD".
Unfortunately, however, their expression was still somewhat immature.
œ'95 RESULT
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