DESIGNWORKS Vol.08

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have to think where is the essence of humanity, what is the essence of society, what is the role of architecture? There I think you have to seek a beauty in the total image.Interviewer: We have been talking from the viewpoint of architectural and production history, but recently there has been a movement to re-assess the medieval era as the origin of the present times. What do you think about this?Nakagawa: Strictly speaking we are not yet modern. Post-modern is not possible. We are just at the point we have achieved within modern society. I think that success and failure depends on how architecture reacts to that which supports it. At that time I think that which is medieval is important. Basically I believe that values are accumulated, and have been accumulated from ancient times. We go to our present tasks and our future tasks giving precedence to these accumulated values. The creative person must not freely adapt that which society has accumulated. Modern architecture requires for example something like the gracefulness of medieval architecture, and without this precedence I think it is not possible to create anything new. Gracefulness in architecture is what was pursued in essence in ancient architecture. It is essential to have sensitivity to this. In medieval architecture, the essence of values lay in the touch, the unity, and the joy in these. More recent architecture is more integrated with social factors. Economic factors are integrated with the beauty and interest of shape, and so on. Based on this presupposition, the present has been created and the future will be formed. But it is not ok just to adapt to all this, there must be a standard within society. While an architect is being nurtured, it is important to have a strong intention what to absorb for construction.Interviewer: Can Japanese architecture be revived by re-considering medieval ideas?Nakagawa: It is impossible by this alone, buildings are only produced through the cooperation of people in various fields. However, an image of the fusion of the rough and unpolished with the advanced might be the creation of the new based on the medieval. I think this is the role of the architect. And also to understand this and put it into practice. I think that a precise study of what is medieval and modern Japan will help the tradition of Takenaka design. The one important cultural asset within the 23 Wards of Metropolitan Tokyo is Enyuuji Shakadou (Buddhist temple) in Meguro, built in the Kamakura Era. This is truly wonderful. Why this building is so wonderful is a medieval secret. In the modern and Edo periods the composition became divided into the surface layer and the skeleton. A building that is comprehensively in this form is Katsura Imperial Villa. While it was being restored I visited it many times while it was just in the state of a skeleton, and I also visited it when it was completed. It is wonderful when viewed from inside. When it was just a skeleton it was nothing more than a framework, but after it was completed, I thought what amazing power of creation! One of the turning points that brought recent centuries closer to modern times is that they devised systems for assembly and manufacture. Until the medieval times the system was of one-shot unique system, but in recent centuries versatile systems such as assembly and manufacture were devised, these were applied to everything from housing to shrines and temples, and as a result Japanese building production developed enormously. The social level rose, and modern times were created. In one sense the role of the architect is to create the form of the era. However, this does not mean when we think about what we should be creating now as modern forms, that only that which has been created in history should be considered, and anything else should be demolished. What it does mean is that we have to get back to the essence, and that is the important thing I want to say.Interviewer: Definitely production is one of the important design themes for the design departments of general contractors. Construction technologies have changed over the past 20 years. Against this background they have played their role in society, but how do you think this should this change in the future?Nakagawa: As society evolves and develops, many things arise to which an individual cannot respond, and which cannot be ignored. There are things that can be done while resigning oneself to this, but I think this situation now as always calls up the strengths of an organization, and makes them necessary. There is no guarantee that an organization is indeed important in essence. I think that it is both important that individuals hold responsibility for everything, and the necessity of many people cooperating together. Utilizing the strengths of an organization at the same time as maintaining and restoring the strengths of individuals, therein lies the potential of the design departments of general contractors.Interviewer: Thank you very much.(Interviewers: Kazunori Sekiya, Yuko Akiyama, Tomoko Okada, Risa Hinoura)Takeshi Nakagawa / Architectural historian1944Born in Toyama1967�Graduated from the Department of Architecture, Waseda University1977�Participated in a mini-pyramid construction experiment in Egypt1977-�Research on asian ancient architecture and cultural heritage of Egypt1984-Professor at Waseda University , Doctor of Engineering�Areas of specialization: comparative architectural history, and the conservation and restoration of ancient Asian architecture1991-Research at the Imperial City, Hue, Vietnam1994-�Director General of the Japanese Government team for Safeguarding Angkor (JSA)Currently�Vice-President of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Professor in Faculty of Science and Engineering Waseda University, Head of Waseda University Comprehensive Research Organization - Institute of UNESCO World HeritageFor work on international cooperation on conservation and restoration technology1998�Awarded the Sahakmetrei of the Kingdom of Cambodia Medal2002�Architectural Institute of Japan Award for Distinguished Achievement2006�Waseda University Okuma Academic Commemorative Prize ,etc.Interview