ON REQUALIFICATION AND CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY
Davisi Boontharm, Professor in Architecture and Urban Design
International Program in Architecture and Urban Design (I-AUD), Meiji University
Department of Architecture, School of Science and Technology
4-21-1, Nakano-ku, Nakano Tokyo 164-8525 Japan
E-mail: davisi@meiji.ac.jp
Abstract. This paper focuses on the significance of requalification in resource approach tosustainable city. It addresses and theorises the terminology and practices of requalification by
expanding its importance to not only environmental but also cultural sustainability. The researchunderpinning this paper was inspired by the idea of upcycling, which emphasizes thecomprehensive understanding of the material dimensions of products and the importance ofdesign that can move beyond the less bad (recycle) to the realm of “simply” good (upcycle)
practices. The project questions the current emphasis on reuse as too narrowly functionalistic
and proposes the broadening of the idea of upcycling to include the values other than use andmoney and recognise diverse symbolic, sign, environmental and other dimensions of reality.
The paper starts with criticism of the sectorial way of thinking about material objects and an
inadequacy of instrumentalized ecological philosophy associated with such thinking andestablishes the need for transdisciplinary approaches to the production of knowledge about thematerial objects and spaces. We argue that sensitive requalification of the existing resources
and built environments generates novel and culturally attuned qualities.
The discussion of several cases of requalification across scales portrays various degrees ofcomplexity and demonstrates how those practices correspond to the more profound eco-cultural
sensibility. Lastly, we examine the crucial roles of art and design in requalification, which havethe capacity to celebrate the non-measurable values of objects and spaces. Seen as an activesynergy between the culture of reuse and local creativities, requalification provides a workable
alternative to the practices driven by dominant global, capital-led development agendas, which
generate the unsustainable sameness across the world.
Key Words: Requalification, upcycle, cultural sustainability.

iIntroduction
One of the ways to understand resource approach to sustainable city is to examine themetabolism of cities and identify the amount of flow of resources and products through theurban system for the benefit of urban population. These material flows are in the form of
inputs (energy, goods and food) and outputs (waste and emission), the amount of both input
and output and their impacts to the environment indicate how sustainable the cities are(Wolman 1965, Giradet 1999, Rogers 1998 ). The metabolism of most contemporary cities,
which operate under the current influence of neo-liberal market and capitalist paradigm, islinear, meaning the cities require huge amount of inputs and discard equal amount of outputs.
Today society of consumption is broadly dictated by two business models: design obsolescenceand perceived obsolescence which drive consumers to accelerate their consumption anddisposal of goods more quickly. These business models increase the amount of both inputs andoutputs of materials flows in our society.
Many scholars therefore argue that to achieve urban sustainability, cities must close theresource loop and behave like natural ecosystems which have an essentially circular metabolism
by reusing, recycling, remanufacturing and diverting materials flow within the cities.
The diagram of linear and circular metabolisms of cities communicate well the overall conceptof these flows however they risk to be too reductive. Cities as the most complex creations ofhumankind and especially when it comes to the concept of sustainability, the metabolism alone
cannot justify the sustainability in the holistic view. The model could assist to quantify thematerial and energy flows through the cities but it has certain limitations. The qualitative
aspects of cities and sustainability in terms of equality, social justice, good governance, andcultural sustainability cannot be justified in this model. It risks to be misread that material
recycle alone is the solution for sustainable cities. We cannot assume that cities with good
recycle system are more sustainable.

ii

Figure 1: Model of the Metabolism of cities
Tokyo is a good example of city that possesses one of the most efficient waste management
systems in the world. The metropolitan of 37 Millions inhabitant is clean and meticulous thanks
to the effective collection, separation, pulverisation, and incineration of garbage with the most
cutting-edge technology. In this system, 85 per cent of the garbage is incinerated in themunicipal furnaces that work around the clock . This system depends mainly on the fossil fuels
which 90% of them are imported. In this regards, Tokyo uses the technological solutions ofwaste management to compensate and justify its unsustainable practices such as scrap andbuild which operates the Japanese construction industries. The life span of buildings in Tokyo isiiiabout 27 years old , shortest compare to other developed countries. The fast pace of
replacement of urban artefacts brings an important question to both environmental and cultural
sustainability. The embodied energy in each building got wasted due to its short life-span andthe city keep losing its potential tangible cultural heritage in favour of growth in theconstruction industries. In the case of Tokyo, recycle only solves the problem of landfill but
cannot change the consumption behaviour of its citizen. The practice still depends on energy
consumption and the lost of cultural heritage still continues. Tokyo is unable to achievesustainability with technical solution alone, we undeniably need holistic view to resource
approach for sustainable city which could be possible through transdisciplinary thinking andaction.
..............................................................................................
Complex value system of objects
The world of knowledge is segregated by disciplines including the understanding of material
objects. In natural science, reductionism is employed by researchers to investigate objects andits property by both classification and centered their knowledge in their very specific fields. On
the other hand, scholars in humanities discuss the concepts of value to understand thecomplex system of objects in our society. The value system of objects has long been discussed
by many scholars since Marx and Hegel. More recent views on value system of object areabout the use (or functional) value, the exchange (or economic) value, the symbolic value andthe sign value (Baudrillard 1996). Objects get marginalised when these values cease to exist.
This is the case of garbage, it gets discarded because it couldn’t maintain its existence in any
value system. These value system, from the point of view of cultural studies and humanities, israther anthropocentric by focusing on the values that serve human being and therefore theenvironmental value is disregarded. On the other hand, when mentioning environmental value,
people generally shift the view towards the scientific knowledge and in majority of the casenarrow it down to the measurability of the material components, the calculations of theembodied energy and carbon footprint. Interestingly when an object is discarded from thesociety it means that its values has ceased to exist and at that moment the object is turned
into a thing. That thing is rejected and pushed out off human’s sphere which then become theburden to the environment.
Potential value imbedded, form is needed not only residue.

iv

................................................................................................
Recycle is not good enough * (Braungart & Mc Donough)The “three Rs of the environment” namely Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are known by generalpublic as basic solutions for sustainability. Reduce our consumption is the most sustainablebecause theoretically we could reduce both inputs and outputs. Reuse is to keep the material
flows within the realm of use in our society, by reusing we produce no wasted without spending
extra energy. Within the sphere of reuse which is utilitarian approach to resources, there arenumber of practices involved to support the perpetual uses of objects. Recuperation, restoration
and reparation are among these practices. Specific terms such as refurbishment, renovation andretrofit are applied for buildings and architectural scale. Regeneration, renewal andredevelopment are applied for the urban scale.
Recycle, however, can be interpreted in various ways. From the material and waste perspectives,
recycle is to repurpose the waste objects by focusing only on the material composition at theresidual level and discarding the original forms and use of the objects (Szaky 2014). On theother hand, according to Cradle to Cradle concept (Braungart and McDonough 2002), recycle ispractically downcycle due to the inferior quality of the recycled material compare to the originalones. Recycle is also energy dependent. For this reason McDonough and Braungart argued thatrecycle is not good enough, it tackles the problem at the very end and doesn’t truly respondto eco-efficiency. Their position statement in Cradle to Cradle is “Being less bad is no good”,
for them, recycle is only less bad. They therefore, advocate the practice of upcycle as thesolution for truly sustainable and safe environment. Approaching the problems of material
consumption from the point of view of chemist and designer, Braungart and McDonoughpropose an interdisciplinary solution to the manufacture world. By upcycle they mean all thematerials consumption are designed at the beginning to be recycled with safe and soundcomponents and through the recycle process the optimal quality of those materials ismaintained (Braungart and McDonough 2002). However their interdisciplinary approach is rather
optimistic and still operated within the current paradigm and focus mainly on the manufacturing
and design industries. What about the existing stock of materials and built form that we
possess and exist today? How to deal with them in a sustainable way?
The term upcycle has also been used widely in the art and craft professions for the art pieces
made of discarded objects. The art movement in the early 20th century such as the objet
trouvé represented by Marcel Duchamp’s fountain in 1917 and the ready -made such asv

Picasso’s Bull’s Head in 1942 are among the master pieces. The upcycling arts demonstratethat through an artistic sensibility an ordinary object can be requalified by the attribution of
new meaning by the artist and by the public. This process of recreating meaning could becalled requalification.
...............................................................................................
Requalification
Requalification is to qualify again which means to attribute new ability or new quality to aperson or object. The term suggests the recognition and interpretation of existing values which
may not be visible in the first place. Through the process of requalification the new meaning
emerged. As meaning is the core value of culture, requalification responds directly to thisparticular aspect of culture.
To discuss the concept of requalification, in this paper, we have selected the examples ofprojects and places of different scales in order to demonstrate the process and the products
how ordinary objects of everyday life can be reattributed new meanings through art and design.
Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb
Situated in Zagreb, Croatia, the museum of Broken Relationships started as a creative art
project conceived by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić in 2006. The museum started as a
traveling exhibition which later fixed its ground in Zagreb. It has received several prestigious
awards and today it grows across the continent and has established its franchise in the US.

The museum of Broken Relationships is a physical and virtual public space created withthe sole purpose of treasuring and sharing your heartbreak stories and symbolic possessions.
…the Museum is an ever-growing collection of items, each a memento of a relationshippast, accompanied by a personal, yet anonymous story of its contributor. Unlike ‘destructive’self-help instructions for recovery from grief and loss, the Museum offers the chance toovercome an emotional collapse through creativity…
(https://brokenships.com/, 2017)
The ordinary objects from the broken relationships usually got thrown away because they
remind the owners of the heart-broken experiences. The main concept of this museum is toviexhibit those donated objects and their stories. The objects of remembrance became the centre
of attention that reveal diverse human tragic love stories.
We give meaning to objects around us and especially to the objects that represent our love.
Through the museum collection, we perceive that all objects has its meaning. The requalificationin this case is the safeguarding the supposed discards and maintain the meanings in the newcontext. This process is neither reuse nor recycle, it is the process of mise en valeur (toattribute the value) of the existing objects. By displacement and rearrangement, the negative
meanings of objects for a person became one of the collective love stories to be viewed bypublic. The museum and its concept, in this case, act as a frame how to look at objects andas a public space where the symbolic value of these objects got communicated.

vii

Figure 2: Museum of Broken Relationships
Masanari Murai Memorial Museum of Art, Tokyo
Murai Masanari (1905 -1999) was a renowned Japanese abstract painter.
The museum is opened to public in March 2005 to commemorate the late artist 100th birthday.
Designed by architect Kengko Kuma, the museum is a renovation of the 60 year old artist’s oldwooden house into a museum cum living unit. The architect has preserved the artist’s atelier
space within the wooden box which is wrapped around by the new outer box. The space
between the inner box and outer box is the exhibition space where some of his unpublishedworks are displayed. The wooden elements of the old house has been kept and placed on theviii

outer box facades. This is a living memorial museum since the wife of the late artist still lives
and occasionally receives the visitors.
In stead of scrap and build, which is the common practice in Tokyo, Kengo Kuma adopted themethod which can considered as requalification. In this project the creative process inarchitectural design determines different requalification strategies. In the scale of object, the oldwooden house was disassembled, the workable wooden lumbers were recuperated andreconfigured. Part of them became the vertical elements of the new facades. One of thememorable wooden columns with the traces of cat scratch became part of the display furniture.
The old Toyota Crown is put on the water basin in front of the house as a piece of the exhibit
items. The objects of the life of the artist are placed where they were in his studio. This space
has been preserved by maintaining the same four walls. The whole volume is treated as an
exhibition box. The space and objects inside reveal the life story of the artist to the curious
visitors and at the same time they remain the ordinary domestic objects to the owner. In thisparticular case the studio space has been requalified. It became an exhibit box placed in the
middle of the exhibition hall. The new quality has emerged through the rearrangement ofobjects, materials and spaces.
This architectural project is neither a conservation nor adaptive reuse. The old house is nolonger exist but its spirit has remained.

ixFigure 3: Masanari Murai Memorial Museum of Art
Museum of Innocence, Istanbul
The Museum of innocence is both a book and a museum. The novel entitled Museum of
Innocence by Orhan Pamuk is published in 2008, the Museum of Innocence open its door to
the public in Spring 2012. The novel tells the tragic love story happened in Istanbul throughthree decades of the last century. Orhan Pamuk planned to conceive the book and themuseum since the 90’s. He started collecting objects of that periods by visiting junk’s dealer
shops and surrounded himself with these items in order to write his fictional stories. The novelx

portrays a long love story of Kemal, a handsome mature man from a wealthy family and Fusun,
a beautiful young girl who is his distant cousin. It is a torment and impossible love. He adores
her so much almost obsessively up until one point in the novel he started collecting or
sometimes stealing any objects that she has touched. Anything which passed through her hands
including her finished cigarettes. One of the most stunning collections in the museum is the4,123 cigarette butts meticulously pinned and dated on the wall.
The Museum of Innocence is a thought-provoking example of requalification. It shows how thecreative process of conceiving both a piece of literature and a museum has involved different
scales of intervention. From objects to building and the reflection to the urban environment atlarge. It shows the ability of art, in this case, the literature, could transpose and reinvent themeanings.
The objects are not only the survival vintage objects of the 70’s-80’s safeguarded by the author
but they are also the inspirations and representations of the fictional stories which came toreality.
Without reading the novel, the visitors can appreciate the collections as vintage museum,bringing back the Istanbul lives of that period. Having read the novel, the museum has thecapacity to do more than showcasing Istanbul vintage objects. The display has created otherdimensions of meaning beyond its historical value. It is a sort of manipulation of the symbolic
values of objects and place made possible by the art of literature.
The building which house the museum is an old three storey house where, in the novel, Fusun’sfamily once lived and eventually transformed into the museum. In this case that ordinary househas been requalified to become the fictional house and the museum both in the novel and inreality.
Beyoglu, where the love story took place and where the museum is located, is famous for its
distinct characters thanks to the art and entertainment activities which concentrate there. Boththe museum and the novel tied closely with this neighbourhood. This place is the setting of thenovel and in return the museum strengthen the character of the neighbourhood even further.

xi

Figure 4: Museum of Innocence
Discussion on Cultural Sustainability
Investigating on these three museums, it is evident that art and creativity play an important rolein the requalification process. The three museums employ different creative methods tomaintain, reinterpret and reinvent the meanings of objects and spaces. It shows that creativity
can manipulate the perception of values. These three humble and museums are not the iconic
projects. They are small and ordinary but its impact on our way of understanding theordinariness is extensive. Museum acts as mediate space for new ideas to reach the public. It
allows the communication and set the context for the new perceptions. They brought thexii

novelty in term of preserving, altering, reconceptualising the existing tangible and intangible
cultural artefacts of the society. While investigating the resource approach to sustainability,
requalification has distinctive contribution to cultural sustainability in the sense that it ensuresthe continuity of cultural elements and produces the works and intellectual artistic activities.
..................................................................................................
References (max. 500 words)- (2007). The Museum of Broken Relationship (https://brokenships.com/) accessed 2 June
2017
Baudrillard, J. (1996). The System of Objects. London: Verso.
Braungart, M. and Mc Donough, W. (2002) Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things(North Point Press).
Braungart, M. and Mc Donough, W. (2013) Upcycle:Beyond Sustainability--Designing for

Abundance(North Point Press).
Dessein, J. Soini, K. Fairclough, G. and Horlings, L.(ed.) ( 2015) Culture in, for and as

Sustainable Development: Conclusions from the COST Action IS1007 Investigating Cultural
Sustainability (Euripean Cooperation in Science and Technology and University of Jyvaskyla)
Highmore, B. (2005). Cityscapes: Cultural Readings in the Material and Symbolic City. London:
Palgrave Macmilan.
Giradet, H. (1999).Creating sustainable cities (UIT Cambridge Ltd)Gregson, N and Crewe, L. (2003). Second-Hand Culture. (Berg, New York)
Kengo Kuma and Associates (2004) Masanari Murai Museum of Art(http://kkaa.co.jp/works/architecture/murai-masanari-art-museum/) accessed 2 June 2017
Pamuk, O. (2008). The Museum of Innocence (Vintage).
Pamuk, O. (2012). The Innocence of Objects (Harry N. Abrams)
Radović, D. ed. (2008). eco-urbanity. (Routledge, Abingdon).
Rogers, R. (1998). Cities For A Small Planet (Basic Books )Rossi, Aldo. (1984). The Architecture of the City. MA: MIT Press.
Szaky, T. (2014). Outsmart Waste: The modern idea of garbage and how to think our way outof it. San Francisco: Berrett - Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Wolman, A. (1965). ‘ The Metabolism of Cities’, Scientific American, Volume 213, 179--190

xiii

Tokyo Requalify
In the search of aesthetic of requalification
AUDS 2 | SEM 2 2018
By Davisi Boontharm, davisi@meiji.ac.jp
Requalification :It is resource approach to sustainability. Requalification is part of the circular solutions that is
not only about utilitarian (reuse) or material science oriented (recycle), but also culturaloriented such as how to re-attribute the new meaning(s) to objects, space and built
environment. Requalification is focusing at the qualitative aspects and values ofobject/space/environment, it needs the artistic sensibility and design practice to achieve both
environmental and cultural sustainability.
The aim of this short research project is to look for an aesthetic quality that emerged from theprocess of requalification in Tokyo. In particular the Wabi Sabi, an aesthetic quality rooted inJapanese culture.
we search the contribution of art and design in the reuse, requalification and reattribution of
the new meaning(s) into the old. We are looking for the examples of architecture which isrequalified artfully and aesthetically. The juxtaposition of old and new rend significantly thevalue of the old. That value is represented in the imbedded aesthetic of Wabi Sabi
Tasks
- Read Wabi-Sabi Further Thoughts by Leonard Koren- Looking for case studies classified by type. Inspired case: Murai Masanari Museum of Arts,
http://www.muraimasanari.com/index(English).htm- Visit the case studies and make an appraisal in form of textual and visual essays.
- Make the book of catalogues
List of Questions to be answered while analysing the case studies
1.
2.

How art and design contribute to the process of requalification? (eg. art as new
function, art as concept, design as intention to reveal the old etc.)
What is the overall design intention? What is the design strategy towards new and old?

3.

4.
5.
6.

7.

8.
9.

What has been requalified? Try to distinct the difference between reuse (function) andrequalification (meaning or the symbolic and sign of the physical space or elements),
which part of the building (rooms, structure, floor, furniture etc)? What are the materials
that have been requalified (wood, concrete, metals, etc)?
What is the context of the building’s location? Try to describe the neighbourhood, street
and the characters.
How visible the requalification appears? Visible from exterior or hidden in the interior?
What dominate, new or old?
What is your experience of encountering the building and its spaces? Try to describe
the mood, ambience, excitement. What dominate and trigger your feeling in space? How
can you describe those feeling? (eg. nostalgia, fashionable, boring, comfortable etc.)
Which part of the building or spaces reveal the wabi-sabi ? Please draw the building
diagram and identify the areas.
7.1 How do you describe it? You can try to present it through pictures, words etc.
7.2 How does that wabi-sabi happened? (eg. intentional, unintentional, fake, design, etc)
How have the symbolic and sign values (including historic value) been kept or changed?
Other questions you think relevant.

Basic information to be compared across the case studies
1. Size (sqm)
2. Form (typology [eg. machiya, nagaya, house, higth]
3. Function(s) (previous function and todays function) list all the detail activities
4. Visible materials
5. AgeTokyo Requalify
Frances Grace Lai

Featuring
Hagisoand
Nishikicho Bunkaisan
by sugawaradaisukearchitects

HAGISO“Micro Cultural Complex”

SIZE

Approximately 266m2

TYPE

House/Shared Apartment TypeFUNCTIONS

Consists of a cafe, gallery,office,hotel
reception,
salon

MATERIALS

Timber Frame Construction,
Concretegroundfloors/
walls

BUILT

1955 after WWII

Built in 1955 in Yanaka afterWorld War II, the residentialbuilding is owned by Juo
Kanjwara and Chieko Kajiwara
who run a temple.
There
were
many
templesbuilt in this area, manyof which remain today. The
area is famous for many old
buildings and alleys thatwere not destroyed during theearthquakes and war and thestructure of alleys in Yanaka
date back to the Edo period.
The building was abandonedfor 5 years prior to its
renovation in 2004 where it
was converted into an atelier
and share house by studentsof Tokyo National Universityof Fine Arts and Music. They
had convinced the owners to
let them live there as it wasabandoned, and therefore had
low rental rates which wasbeneficial for them.
The layout of the building
consists of a typical middle
corridor stemming from anentrance area (genkan, 玄関).
It was a shared apartment andeach room was composed ofsix tatami mats. There wasan entrance hall, storage,
and bathroom area. Initially,
there were seven rooms on thefirst floor and seven on thesecond floor.

After the Great East Japan
Great Earthquake of 2011,
new legislation marked thebuilding for demolition as it
was old and was considered ashazardous. Although tremors
were felt in Yanaka, there
was no serious damage to thebuilding and the area.
However, due to the new law,
the owners Juo Kanjwara andChieko Kajiwara had plans
to convert the plot into aparking lot after demolition,
to earn some money from it.
In light of this, Miyazaki
San had the idea of holding
a pseudo ‘funeral wake’ forthe impending demolishment of
the building. He felt like theloss of historic buildings
should be recognized, much
like how people have funerals
for those who pass on.
This idea was well received by
the building owners and they
were allowed to hold a three
week exhibition which theycalled “Hagienare 2012”.

Using materials they foundaroundthehouse,
they
created an exhibition outoftheelements
inthespace. This included several
installations.
For example, “Mud wall x
Hisashino
Bisai”
Yurio
Hirakawa x Hirakawa Atsushi.
Thousands of screws foundaround the house were driven
into a the wall forming acircular shape.
Miyazaki San, the man who
eventually went on to develop
Hagiso to what it is today,even had the idea of removing
the floor boards in his roomon the second floor, creatinga void in the building in an
installation called “The Last
Resident”. A large aviary wascreated based out of the tracesof birds on the furniture usedby the residents.
The exhibition held over 3
weeks had attracted over 1,500
visitors. The success of theevent had the building owners
reconsider the value of it.

Photos from the exhibition

Before Miyazaki San had started
working on Hagiso, he had worked
in a design office until 2011.
While working in the firm, he
had worked on mostly largescale
projects.
However,he felt like as a designer
his personal involvement inbuilding such a large space wasinconsequential. In addition,
he felt like many projects inJapan were designed as “boxobjects”, that do not relatetotheirsurroundingsor
history.
He had the opportunity to workin Shanghai where he realizedthat the real essence of thecity was not in the new highrise developments but in theold alleys that were ‘left
behind’.
There were many areas thatconvertedoldfactories,
western-style buildings into
new spaces and that knowing
the value of the old buildings
increases the value of the
area.
It
made
him
think
about
Tokyo
where
there
was
a
strong tendency to prefer newbuildings and there was a senseof crisis that old buildings
would all be replaced. If thishappened, he felt strongly
that Tokyo would become a‘boring’ place.

Therefore, following the exhibition,
he was allowed 3 weeks to develop a
proposal and business plan for Hagiso
to be reborn as a “micro culturalcomplex”.

These photographs from theconstruction stage of Hagiso
showing how the bulk of theexisting
timberframeofthe building was kept. They
patchedthestructureupwith new timber components
where necessary to maintainstructural integrity.

Walking up to Hagiso, theroad is narrow and has muchless human traffic comparedto the main shopping street.
The building is bounded by
high
walls
with
a
small
entrance from which the cafeis visible. The warm lighting
and woody tones make it very
approachable.
Althoughtheexterior has been painted
black, the building shape andexternal appearance has notchanged from the original.
The entrance leads into asmall lobby area where thevertical circulation is, witha sliding door into the cafe
and gallery space.
The timber columns and floorboards (from above) display
weathering of the wood andhave a raw feel to them. In
addition, the new elementsin the space are simple andclean, therefore accentuating
the old ones.
Knowing the history of how
the space was transformed(i.e. how the void was createdin what is the gallery area
today) makes it particularlyinteresting.
The building now houses theHagi Cafe and Hagi Art andHagi Room, a salon, the Hanare
reception
(a
side
hotel

venture of Miyazaki San), andMiyazaki San’s own atelier.
Although the new functionsof the building were borneout of economic reasons, theconnection between the new andold functions of the space areclosely related.
Miyazaki san explained how
when they were living in theshare house, they did nothave a lock/key on the door.
Often, many acquaintances of
the residents would gather
in the house and there werealways a lot of people coming
and going. Similarly, the cafe
provides a gathering place forpeople to come in and enjoy
the space.
The house was used as anatelier and the building was
saved through transforming thespace into an exhibition thatmade people reconsider thebuilding’s value - similarly,
the gallery provides a platform
for artists while Miyazaki
san’s own atelier is locatedin the building.
The feeling of wabi-sabi inthis building is therefore
not only a result of theconservation of the building.
Thefeelingcanonlybeexperienced
throughthehistory of the formation andtransformation of the space.

Although the requalificationof Hagiso is deeply connectedtoMiyazakiSan’sown
attachment and journey with
Hagiso, it is a good exampleof how new spaces can evolve
without having to uproot thehistory of it.

NISHIKICHO BUNKAISAN
錦町ブンカイサン
Bunkai x San /Demolition x Creation〒101-0054
東京都千代田区神田錦町
3丁目15番地
錦町ブンカイサン

SIZE

Approximately 287m2

TYPE

Shophouse TypeFUNCTIONS

Consists of a food museum
andgallery,
co-working
office and residence

MATERIALS

Concrete Construction with
Brick Facade, evidence oftimber frame in upper floors

BUILT

1979

Nishikicho
Bunkaisan
isarefurbished,
39-year-old
building that used to be aliquor store and residence ofthe store owners. The store wassituated on the ground floor,
with the second and third floors
being used as warehouse space tostore sake. The forth and fifth
floors were the residential
accommodations of the store
owners.
The architectural design aims
atgenerating
3
different
conditionsofarchitecturalparts and elements – existingelements/
newelements/
transition stage elements.
The existing building was due tobe redeveloped in ten years anddid not need to be returned toits original condition for theredevelopment. Making use of thissituation, the design combinedpart of the demolishing processwith some newly constructed
elements.
This way, existing elements
and elements that are partiallydismantled will not only carry
the history of what they were
before. Combined with the newelements,
theywill
createa new value borne out of thecollaboration of new and oldelements and time.
The

combination

of

old

and

new
are
evident
throughout
the building. Firstly so, on
the facade of the building.
While the facade materials arelargely unchanged, the groundfloor bricks have been painted
silver and the balcony railingson the second and third floors
have timber additions to them.
This shows evidence of thearchitectural design aims increating a ‘merger’ between old
and new elements.
As the building will be demolishedshortly,using
existing
elements was also probably morefinancially feasible for thisproject.
This project is part of The
ChiyodaPlatform
Square,that provides a base for new
businesses whereby users canselect the type of work space
to suit their needs.
The Chiyoda Platform Square
provides a variety of spaces
includingconference
andmeetingrooms,
arooftopgarden and deck, concierge andbusiness center where users
can create business cards andother documents. This createsa common platform where people
fromdifferent
generations,regions
andindustries
caninteract. This is in line withthe vision to convert the area
into a future ‘learning town’.

The ground floor Food Museum

The use of ‘raw’ looking elements increating new elements in the space

The project is an annex buildingof the Chiyoda Platform Square.
Thecafeteria-stylemuseumon the ground floor features‘grandma’s cuisine’ from aroundthe world where patrons canexperience a region’s culture
through its food. This space islinked to the gallery on thesecond floor by the creation ofa void and the addition of astaircase to connect and link
the functions of the spaces.
The gallery aims to educate
through displays of cuisines invarious regions for each season
and period.
Although it may be deliberate,
within this space, traces of theold liquor store are visible.
Firstly, there used to be asmall elevator that transported
sake from the storage space up
and down from the store. The
elevator has been removed but
they kept the motor visible inthe space. In addition, there
are sake bottles displayed in
the restaurant.
While these displays do notserve any functional purpose,it alludes to the history of
the space. The restaurant also
reuses some furniture from theliquor store. This is visible
in the weathering of the wood on
the shelves and table used andthe dated appearance of them.

Entrance sliding door reused from existing
door with the addition of the wooden handle

The lift motor framed in a glass floor

The reuse of a small side table (bottom
left) with the addition of a box above tomatch the refrigerator heightA reused shelve used for bowls and rice

The display of sake bottles alluding to thehistory of the space

While the reuse of elements inthe space provides a functional
purpose, they also fill the
space with hints of history, as
do the elements retained fromthe sake store.
The new elements in the public
spaces definitely appear moreevident than the old elements.
This might be due to the oldelements being stripped down
to the structural forms, forexample, the exposed beams/
concrete floors. In addition,
the designers ‘added on’ toold elements by, for example,
changing the door handles on
the sliding entrance doors,
therefore making them appear‘new’.
While the new elements dominate
the public areas of the building,it does not contribute to the
feeling of wabi-sabi in thespace. Instead, the activity
that the space is meant for
carries
the
value
of
it.
The feeling of nostalgia is
triggered, instead, by the foodmuseum and process of learning
about where the food and recipes
come from in the gallery. This
combined gallery and food museum
aims to bring awareness to thiswhile concurrently evoking thefeeling of nostalgia.

Therefore,
althoughtheexisting
functionofthespace does not relate to theold function, there are small
traces of items in the spacethat provide hints to thepast. Instead, a new senseof nostalgia is experienced
through the new functions.

In contrast, in the private
spaces of the building, the oldelements appear more visible as
there have been less changes tothe residential spaces.
In addition, as the functionof the forth and fifth floors
are unchanged from the originalfunctions, the experience ofthe spaces evoke a stronger
sense of wabi-sabi. Althoughsome areas have been changed,
like in the fifth floor, theresidents lounge on the forth
floor remains largely unchanged
and contains many elements saved
and restored from the past. For
example, a sliding cabinet door
from the old residence has been
converted into a sliding door
for the lounge area.
Although the space is largely
unchanged,
theexposingoftimber frames, is similar tothe stripping down of elementsin the lower floors.
These provide a different takeon the restored spaces.
However, as these spaces are
not open to the public, theexperience of the more unchanged
elements in the building arereserved for its users and golargely unnoticed by most.
The
Nishikicho
Bunkaisan
therefore
demonstrates
twodifferent expressions of wabi
sabi in the requalification ofbuildings.
Firstly,althoughthearchitecture may not appear
especially ‘old’ or reused, the
new function in the building
evokes a sense of wabi sabiin remembering the lost or
forgotten traditional recipes.
The process of eating these foods
and learning about their history
creates a sense of nostalgiathat is stronger than the actionof purposely retaining elementsfrom the building’s past within
the space.
Conversely, the direct sense of
nostalgia created from retaining
elements in the residential
areas. The residential areas
are being used for the samefunction,while
keeping
prominent features of the space.
However, while this is a direct
reuse of a space, the it has
an added meaning attached. The
residential areas are provided
for the entrepreneurs that workin the co-working space so thatthey can focus on their work andlive in close proximity to it.
In this sense, the residential
zones are requalified with theadded goals of the Chiyoda
Platform Square.

GRATIANI BUDI PRATITA

Featuring cases- Kamachiku Nezu
- Okuno Building Ginza

Kamachiku, one of famous udon
restaurant in Osaka, was openin Tokyo for the ﬁrst time in2005. This building was renovated from an old brick warehouse built in Meiji 43 (in1913). The refurbishment was
designed by Kengo Kuma as asenior architect. Located in
Nezu, along with its neighborhood, Yanaka and Sendagi,
still keeps Meiji Era atmosphere (1968-1912), which survived the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and was sparedfrom the air bombing of WorldWar II.

Picture 1. Current Situation of Kamachiku Building
Source : http://kamachiku.com/history_en/

Currently,thisbuildingaccommodates rooms for dining. One
of which is a classical typefrom the old building with highceiling and wide timber beams,
and the other is a new additionat the side of the building
which has a modern taste large
panes of glass and a good viewof the garden. The new building
has a one-story structure
which was respectfully built
to make the old building standout more.
Furthermore,thisdesignstrategy makes the requaliﬁcation
visible even though we only see
it from the outside. In addition, the new building remains
hidden by the garden and bamboo
plantings which are encircling
them, this historic brickbuilding interestingly leads alinear pathway to the restaurant entrance.
After the observation, and comparation the exterior current
situation in Picture 1 and theold photos in Picture 2, it iscleartomentionthatthebuilding as a whole keeps remain thesame,especiallyexteriorshutters, exterior metal hooks,
and the brick itself have been
nicely restored to theirformer beauty.

Picture 2. The Process of Renovation
Source : http://kamachiku.com/history_en/(new)
secret traditionaljapanese garden(old)
red brick wall(new)timber structureand glass wall(new)bamboo fence(old)window grill and shutters(old)stone wall and pondation

Picture 3. Axonometric Diagram
Source : writer(old)tiber structurePicture 4. Location of Kamachiku
Source : http://google.com

The overall symbolic and signvalue of the old brick warehouse have been kept wisely,
even though the feeling is more
into preserving.
Moreover, the location of thisbuilding makes it totally visible from the distance, since it
was built on the corner of thestreet. By this, the wabi-sabiambience is triggered even by asimple glance. This art of wabi-sabi is dominating the concept yet functionally wise notbeing highlighted. As for theexample, the window on the ﬁrst
ﬂoor, the closest one to themain entrance, is no longer
used as a window, but only as adecoration.The shutters isalways open but they put another partition inside the window
railling grill for blocking
the view and the wind from outside. However it is different
with the window located above

it which is still being usedfunctionally. One of material
that has been requaliﬁed is thebrick exterior wall which isstill immortalized and has
being
kept
perfectlyasbefore. The catastrophes ofthe Meiji, Showa and Taisho periods were being depicted bystain and color changes as seenin Picture 5. This condition
alsohappenedforthestonedecorations and structures shownon the walls of this building.

Picture 5. Current Situation Detail of Brick Wall
Source : WriterPicture 6. Current Situation Detail of Iron Window Railing Grill
Source : writerPicture 7. Condition Before Refurbished in 2005
Source : http://kamachiku.com/history_en/

It is saying that Kamachiku is
the last remaining structureon what was once a compound ofbuildings of a wealthy merchant.

Picture 8. Curent Situation Detail of Winfow Shutters
Source : writer

Unfortunately, the exterior
shutters and window canopy
were being new painted due tobad rust. Yet, this was a good
steep to keep them alive as it
mightincreasedurability.Current condition of these shutters are still have various ofcracks showing the inside ofsteel mold (in Picture 8). As
we can see in Picture 6, theiron window railing grill remains the same as before with
its rust stain and appraise theaesthetic of time.

Picture 9. Main Entrance
Source : writer

After passing through the maingate of the old brick building,ﬁnally the new humble building
can be seen along with a hidden
traditional japanese garden.
The design intention to mix theold and new is clearly seen byits material combination suchas the wooden materiality of
Nezu and automatic glass door.
Kengo Kuma, preserved thefront door of the former warehouse and heavy timber structure visible in the interior.

Picture 10. Current Situation of Front Door
Source : https://rojiroji-blog.tumblr.com/

Picture 11. Current Situation of New Building
Source : https://architokyo.wordpress.com/

The unique mixture between old
and new can be found especiallyinside the new building. As an
example is addition railing in
old front door. To give asmooth combination, he put an
unﬁnished effect as shown in
Picture 13, even though thisrailing was an addition.

Picture 12. The Restored Interiors with Exposed Structure
Source : http://kamachiku.com/history_en/Picture 13. Addition Railing with “Fake” Old / Unﬁnished EffectSource : WriterOkuno Building, which is located in Ginza, was designed by
Ryoichi Kawamoto and completed
in1932.Theycalledthisbuilding as the former of ginza
apartments. At the time thisbuilding had just been built,
this area was popular as aluxury apartment complex. By
this, as fashions move on, thebuildings kept changing quickly, some of them remain standing but some of them were not.
One of buildings that remain
standing is Okuno building,which also survived from WorldWar II and air bombing.

Picture 3. Mail Box in Okuno Building
Source : Writer

Picture 1. Antique Shop in Okuno Building
Source : WriterThis building, which is one ofthe oldest apartment buildings
in Japan, has been transformed
into galleries and shops whichmost of them visited by those
who like taking photos and do
arts. These galleries andshopsdisplayavarietyofproducts from antique to modern,sometimes also a combinationof both.

Picture 2. Location of Okuno Building
Source : http://google.com

Picture 4. Facade of Okuno Building
Source : WriterPicture 5. Current Situation Detail of Exterior Wall
Source : WriterPicture 6. Interior Stairs
Source : Writer

Immediately after entering
thisbuilding,wecanfeeloverall design intention which ismatch perfectly exterior andinterior. It is wonderfully
old, rusty and worn, yet it
feels alive in various angles.
it was saying that all of thiscommon area was being kept as
original as possible, avoided
from all types of repairs andrefurbishment.

In this case, art as function
contribute more to the processof requaliﬁcation. Not only
that, by revealing the old, thedesign also contribute with
the intention of making visitorsfeelasiftheyweretraveling time.

Picture 7. Front Door of Gallery inside Okuno Building
Source : Writer

Picture 8. Old Elevator
Source : WriterSuda Beauty Salon, that is what
was written in front of one of
the rooms on the 3rd ﬂoor. thewriting sign looks outdated
yet gives a strong mysterious
ambience.
Room 306, that is the way theycall it, was originally a salon
managed by a woman and was
opened right after the building completion in 1932.

Picture 10. Interior of Room 306
Source : https://matcha-jp.com/en/1175

this room was being used as her
working place and her residencce until the end of her life inearly 2009 at age 100. She witnessed 1930's Ginza, the startof World War-II, the bombing ofTokyo, and the postwar reconstruction period.

Picture 9. Front Door of Room 306
Source : Writer

Picture 11. Old Newspaper on Shelf
Source : Writer(picture 15)
window lock string(picture 17)
mirror(picture 13)
switch and plugs(picture 11)
shelf(picture 19)
sink(picture 9)
front door

(picture 16)
wallpaper(picture 14)
low chair

Picture 12. Axonometric Diagram of Room 306
Source : Writer

“Ginza Okuno Building Room-306
Project” is a group that keeps
and take cares of this roomwith a vision to keep the room
as much as possible and not tointervene in the progress oftime (have a look back - andforward).
Although some furniture has
been moved out, this room
itself as a whole still keeps
remain the same as an original
picture.

Picture 13. Old Switch and Plugs
Source : Writer

Picture 14. Old Low Chair
Source : Writer

As time progresses, there are a
lot of interesting details to
seewhichleftalastingimpression. Various kinds of equipment that are no longer in production today, which reminds
us the memory of grandma's oldhouse. Broken shabby details
create their own meaning andstory for those who pay attention to it.

Picture 15. Window Lock String
Source : WriterPicture 16. Current Situation Detail of Interior Wallpaper
Source : WriterPicture 17. Current Situation Detail of Mirror
Source : Writerhistorical background of thisroom, will also feel the same.

Picture 18. Interior of Room 306
Source : https://matcha-jp.com/en/1175

Although the evidence of theprevious tenant is graduallyfading, but its mood, ambienceand excitement are still clearly illustrated by every part ofelements in this room. With
creepy-nostalgic feeling which
is ﬁll up in every corner,
anyone who enters this room,
even though he doesn't know the

Picture 19. Current Situation Detail of Sink
Source : Writerwabi-sabi certainly plays animportant role in this case,and the requaliﬁcation isclearly visible both exterior
and interior, especially regarding its intention toreveal the old which dominate
the whole place. This case is
one of a good example of building in revealing wabi-sabi intentionally.

Picture 20. Interior of Room 306
Source : WriterJACK SIOW ZHE

Featuring cases- Chiyoda 3331
- Design Festa Gallery, Harajuku