Ripple Multifunctional Architecture

My ideas often stem from a deep appreciation of nature and its harmonious forms. I draw inspiration from the organic shapes, textures, and colors found in natural landscapes, which I reinterpret into designs. This connection to nature not only guides my aesthetic choices but also informs sustainable design practices, ensuring that my creations have a minimal environmental footprint.

Ultimately, my goal was to design a space that feels alive and constantly evolving, reflecting the beauty and complexity of the natural world while providing a unique and memorable experience for those who experience it.

Regarding the future of this award-winning design, I plan to further explore how the evolving beauty and power of nature can be uniquely experienced and expressed through architectural space. This project serves as an initial exploration and foundation for these ideas, and I aim to continue refining and expanding upon them in future designs.

The optical phenomenon I discovered was actually very small, with a diameter of less than one centimeter. Inside the straw, light undergoes multiple reflections and then produces a diffraction effect upon exiting, creating a ripple-like movement. This intriguing and beautiful quality of light inspired me to create an architectural space where people could experience it in a pure form. Translating this into an architectural scale was a series of challenges. Initially, I conducted simple experiments with a 1/30-scale model to observe the light effect, roughly estimating the spatial height, pipe size, and the level of dimness required to make the effect visible. Since artificial light was used in these experiments, I calculated whether it would be feasible to recreate this effect under natural sunlight when scaled to actual dimensions. Once it became clear that the space could function at a height of 4 meters under sunlight, I began parametric studies at a 1:1 scale, experimenting with various materials and sizes, ultimately achieving a maximum effect size of one meter. The design of this architecture integrates the discovered light phenomenon while incorporating the unique characteristics of the site and environment into the spatial layout.

The ripple-like light phenomenon within the straw, which marked the beginning of “Ripple,” was created by moving the light source. I wanted to express this entirely through natural forces. So, I began by gathering information about sunlight. Researching the solar altitude in Tokyo, where I live, I found that the sun reaches an angle of about 32° at the winter solstice and around 78° at the summer solstice. Since the exhibition was scheduled for winter, I decided that directing sunlight from the side into the pipes would be more challenging than capturing it from above. By capturing winter light, I believed I could create the phenomenon at various times and seasons, which led me to design around this specific angle. The 31.6 degrees was calculated based on the solar angle during sunny periods of the exhibition timeframe. Ultimately, the design can also capture sunlight at angles as low as 7 degrees in the evening. Next, for the wind speed, I researched the average annual wind speed for the site during the design phase. I gathered data from general online databases and then took actual measurements with an anemometer, comparing the two. From these, I calculated an average wind speed of approximately 1.5 m/s. Knowing this wind speed and the solar angle allowed me to create a mechanism to capture these forces ideally. In other words, by thoroughly understanding the natural forces surrounding the architecture, I maximized their potential to create the desired light phenomenon.

As a Japanese person, I have long been accustomed to the unique atmosphere of Japanese architecture. I have always been particularly interested in the imaginative beauty encapsulated within spaces like traditional tea rooms and temples in Japan. I believe this beauty arises from elements such as natural sounds and air, combined with the sense of incompleteness that comes from not seeing everything at once—a quality that connects to darkness as well. In Japanese aesthetics, there is a concept known as “In Praise of Shadows,” advocated by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, which extols the subtlety and beauty of shadows in spaces. To me, an architectural space is something that people feel, and through it, they imagine. I had been reading Peter Zumthor’s books and collections of his works for some time, and about a year before creating “Ripple,” I visited his Bruder-Klaus-Kapelle for architectural research. I was fortunate to have the space to myself. For a long time, I immersed myself in the space, experiencing the light, but also the temperature, the sound of the wind, the scent of the grass, the reflections in puddles, and the light on the walls—I truly felt the space with all my senses. Entering his space, a story would naturally unfold, and the space felt as if it were constantly alive. It was truly a memorable experience.Zumthor’s “atmosphere” involves people recalling past comforts upon entering a space. I interpreted this as the scenes created by natural phenomena. Thus, the Japanese concept of “imagination” within space, which I inherently valued, aligned with Zumthor’s concept of “atmosphere.” Through this fusion, the completed space combines Japanese aesthetic sensibilities while transcending them, offering visitors a spatial experience rich with narrative that awakens the pure feelings humans have held since ancient times.