he Tokyo studio of Japanese architect Junya
Ishigami is in a state of controlled chaos. A number
of large project models are scattered across the white
workspace, with even more packed in cardboard boxes
and stacked on one side. A corner has been partly
cordoned off as an impromptu paint booth with a thin
plastic curtain hanging from the ceiling. Here, a couple
of the studio’s 20 or so staff are working on finalising
a large styrofoam mould of one of Ishigami’s most
recent projects, a poured concrete house and restaurant
scheme in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
Rather unexpectedly, Ishigami’s studio is located
underneath a large pet supply store. Both the walls
(a mix of cement blocks and bricks) and the exposed
ceiling are painted white. There are no windows, but
neat rows of fluorescent tubes flood the space with a
remarkably pleasant light. Right in the middle, a rough
opening has been drilled through the floor, and a steel
staircase leads down to a storage room packed with
discarded bits of models and cardboard boxes. There is
also access to a large roof terrace (with the Tokyo Tower
as a beautiful backdrop), where 1:1 plans of several
projects are plotted on the floor using masking tape.
‘As everything we do is always completely new, it’s very
helpful to make these plans to get an understanding
of a given space,’ explains Ishigami, who worked
at SANAA before founding his practice in 2004. »T
ABOVE, JUNYA ISHIGAMI’S
HOUSE/RESTAURANT PROJECT
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
IN YAMAGUCHI, HONSHU
PHOTOGRAPHY:
SATORU EMOTO
RIGHT, THE ARCHITECT IN HIS
STUDIO IN ROPPONGI, TOKYO,
WITH, HANGING BEHIND HIM,
A MODEL FOR THE ROOF OF
THE KANAGAWA INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY CAFETERIA.
ON THE TABLES TO HIS RIGHT,
FROM BACK TO FRONT,
ARE A MODEL OF ISHIGAMI’S
AKITA PROJECT, WHICH
FEATURED SALVAGED AND
RECONSTRUCTED HOUSES;
A MODEL OF THE ART BIOTOP
PROJECT IN NASU, FEATURING
300 REPLANTED TREES; AND
STUDIES FOR THE YAMAGUCHI
HOUSE/RESTAURANT PILLARS096 ∑