DESIGNWORKS Vol.11

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Interview with Shuichi Matsumura"The Changes in Architecture Brought About by Progress in Information Technology"Interviewer: This time we publish work based on the theme “Environmental Technology and Information Technology.” Before the interview we visited the “Takenaka Research & Development Institute Fire Resistance Laboratories Building.” This building has the largest capacity fire testing equipment in Japan, and also experimentally incorporates environmental technology. Also, Building Information Modeling (BIM)*1 was actively adopted, from the detailed design stage a 3-D model was created, and the information was effectively used up to the construction stage. What are your thinking about this kind of change in the architectural production process?The Possibilities of Information TechnologyMatsumura: Normally you envisage a testing facility to be a building like a warehouse or similar, but you can feel the designers' intention was not that which you would expect for a testing facility. The façade is a uniform white, there is vegetation on the walls, mist spray, ornamental columns of very high strength concrete, and so on, I think it is very interesting.Interviewer: The location is at the edge of the site, so it was inevitable that it be designed as a facility that can convey the Corporate Identity (CI)*2 to the surroundings. By incorporating the frame that is referred to as the "function frame" to the outside of the external walls, a stage that can be designed for architectural effect as well as an environmental device was provided, and it enabled the building to be constructed without scaffolding, so it was efficient. BIM was also used to the maximum extent to verify the constructability.Matsumura: So an architectural experiment was carried out that will become an icon of the company, while using BIM. I think BIM has certainly caused a major transformation in the flow of architectural production. For example, CAD+CAM*3 technology was developed for making aircraft, so that any shape of 3-dimensional curved surface could be analyzed. As architecture goes with this fl ow we will gradually see a diversifi cation of shapes. However, whether this is a change in direction for the better or not depends on the person using it, and from this point of view BIM is a double-edged sword. For example, take the example of pre-cutting in timber buildings. In the past the carpenter made at least 20 types of joints or connections. However, with pre-cutting being done by machines operating on CAD+CAM, the number of types of joints or connections is reduced to 2 to 3 types. But it is wrong to not fall in with this production line. In other words, although the response of diversifi cation of shapes is one possibility brought about by information technology, there is a danger that society itself that operates this technology will become patterned, and the result is that the technology is consumed without being able to suffi ciently make use of the possibilities of information processing technology.Interviewer: Then before you know it, the intention to make custom-made products one by one becomes bog-standard.Matsumura: Indeed! Moreover architecture is highly integrated, so if each is broken down, frequently the organizations involved in architectural production are not directly involved with the end user. It is the designers and the general contractors that have integrated it, but the place of architectural production has been formed as a closed world with tacit agreement among specialists. There is the aspect that quality can be assured by not being able to customize. However, if this is opened up by information technology, how will the architectural production place change? Who will take the quality and risk? Formerly the particular characteristics of the construction industry were probably the infl exible political structure and not necessarily being linked to the progress of information technology. In the case of commerce continue to be applied and used in the future?Matsumura: What is interesting about this fi eld is its individuality. About 15 years ago there were many such experimental renovations carried out in Europe, and I went to study some examples. In France there is a private association called HLM. They are similar to the Urban Renaissance Agency in Japan, and they have built and renovated a lot of public housing. Therefore I asked them whether they had something like a technical manual that summarized the restoration work that had been carried out to date. In the past HLM had taken that kind of deductive approach to their renovation projects. However, now they do not have a method of classifying this type of restoration work, but all are dealt with as individual. This is because even for the exact same building built in a different area, they are lived in by people with their own individuality, so different problems arose. The same thing can be said in Japan, for example, it might be initially thought that a certain technology is applied everywhere to wall type buildings. However, this element technology is individually applied, or its method of combination, or the knowledge gained in various constructions is important. For example, during construction there are noise problems, or problems about how to deal with temporary works, and so on. If renovation is carried out while the residents are living there, experience may be accumulated on how to deal with these problems, but the same method may not be applicable the next time.Interviewer: Under these circumstances where technically anything is possible, but to use it in a renovation project surrounded by ordinary people, it is probably important to bring out the unique value that is only in that building. In the future how do you think this restoration work as individual solutions will develop?Matsumura: I think this business will surely decline. This is because the work is decreasing. I think to be vigorous as an industry, new blood must be infused. People that have not been associated with this industry in the past are users of the housing sector as residents themselves. In the past the pattern was the residents were the customers, and the producers provided the housing, but this will not be the case in the future. There are already some people that are not specialists in architecture that think this way. The point is how to induce this power and to invigorate it. What is needed is how to introduce into a project what the users are thinking, or the things that the users feel are attractive. It would be good if there was an arrangement where specialists helped a little to bring about change, not just a temporary workshop.Interviewer: In restoration of housing estates in Europe we have this image of the residents voluntarily raising ideas, and producing proposals through discussion.Matsumura: But the number of meetings for this purpose is very large. I heard about a restoration project in Stockholm, Sweden, where the design offi ce held many meetings and listened to various discussions from the residents. When I asked how many meetings they held I was told it was 400 times over several years. For each meeting documents were prepared in about 10 languages. This is because immigrants from various countries were living there. In that case I wonder where the money for that was coming from. It seems like it was public money.Interviewer: So without public funds it seems that creation with participation of the residents is diffi cult.Matsumura: There is no hope if there is too much reliance on public funds, but that is another point. Also in Europe they have the idea of tenant democracy for rental residents. It is a principle that the where consumers and manufacturers are directly linked, there is no room for the political structure. Therefore information can be directly created by whoever wants it. However, in the case of architecture there are strong barriers. How should we consider these political problems. As long as these problems are not solved, there is the possibility that even though information technology progresses, only the technical aspects of architecture will fundamentally change as a result of its use, and there will be no progress in the direction of opening up the potentials of architecture. On the other hand, as the domestic construction market diminishes, if for example we go to China or India, this know-how cannot be exported as it is, so it will be procured locally. There is no political structure based on trust as in Japan. What to do if this happens is the kind of problem that we are now actually facing.Architecture and the landscapes created by architectural relationshipsInterviewer: On this occasion the works are focused on offices and research institutes. What was your impression of the Nissan Motor Company Global Headquarters?Matsumura: Previously I did not know that there was a road that went from Yokohama Station to the Minato Mirai 21 area, but passing through the building of the company, you can see cars when you look down. And there is an auditorium just to the side of the road. An open shape is provided to the public space. Also an open low-rise part has been designed facing the river. I think this is very interesting for an offi ce building in a city, and there have been very few such examples to date. I also think that as this is the birth place of Nissan as a company, the strong feeling of wanting to contribute to creating a location of interest is very important. However, the problem is that I am worried what kind of environment the surroundings will become. This building is very well done, but what will happen to the surroundings is the problem.Interviewer: At present there are almost no other buildings in the surroundings, so it all depends on whether buildings that are compatible with that built by Nissan are built.Matsumura: If something with a completely different concept is built, it will determine the cityscape. I think there should be some agreement about this. This also requires a change in the awareness of the clients. The various building owners each have their own preferences, but what should be done to bring about a synergistic effect? The problem really is how to ensure communication so that the ideal environment is created.Communication to bring about individualistic architectureInterviewer: While these structural problems exist, I would like to change the focus a little, and consider how we should deal with the existing building stock. What was your impression regarding the “Hibarigaoka Housing Estate Stock Restoration Demonstration Experiment”?Matsumura: Examples of massive renovations like this in a country with very high seismic resistance requirements are very rare in the world. Moreover, the buildings to be renovated did not satisfy seismic resistance criteria, or when renovated did not satisfy the conditions. From this point of view I think removing the existing beams and providing fl at beams was quite a drastic renovation experiment.Interviewer: Do you think this kind of technical development will 06Interview