HHIt’s tough for them. To resist those temptations is difficult. To build a fashionable house is fine with me, but never forget the broader perspectives of life. If you look only at the surface of commercialism, you are already stuck. The logic of capitalism does not explain everything and there will always be niches where alternative human activities thrive. We are living in a world of double layers, with globalism and capitalism on top and regionalism and humanism below. Architecture, in the middle, has to deal with both of them.
RHWhat about the future of Japanese city planning?
HHIn the future, architects will not have much to say. Big corporations will have taken over; their pressure mounting, the role of architects diminishes our work becomes less. Young architects are well aware of that. I don’t even have to tell them, “Go and find a job abroad!” They know it already.
RHTo work as a Japanese architect in mainland China is not easy either.
HHJapan has not apologized to Asian countries for its war atrocities that’s a pity. To say that we are sorry will probably take more time. The Japanese army behaved badly in China, so it comes as no surprise that Japanese architects are still not always welcome there.
RHBut you are an exception, working on a giant development proposal for the city of Taiyuan, encompassing 3.3 square kilometers. Does design depend on size? Or, can design be shrunk or enlarged at will without losing its esthetic properties?
HHBasically, you don’t have to change design when changing size. I learned that when visiting indigenous villages, where scale was the priority of our research. A village is an intricate system of smaller parts and elements. We identified and observed them. And we came to the conclusion that the balance system of a traditional village is transferable to a metropolis with millions of inhabitants. I also tried to apply the village wisdom to the Kyoto Station Building. And what I learned from the Kyoto Station Building I integrate now into the Taiyuan project.
RHAnd what is that?
HHI should not have divided Kyoto by train tracks that was a mistake. So, in Taiyuan, I put the train underground to keep the city united.
RHDo you ever dream about your buildings?
HHNever except during project competitions, when I am under a lot of stress. But, once a competition is over, my buildings are out of my system and out of my dreams.
