open house 2

"open house" is really a marvelous opportunity to experience the kind of small space architecture japan is so renowned for. this weekend i took a peak at a recent achievement of n maeda atelier
before the tenants go in and pull down the curtains... norisada maeda is an up and coming architect who still needs some recognition abroad, i feel. the practice seems to inherit two formal features in their architecture, the curve as an architectural form and metal as a material. the "machine head" a visited is covered by a galvanized metal sheet facade which winds its way from the exterior to the interior and back again. this kind of deliberate conceptual architecture that leaves usability behind at times is truly a pleasure to look at.

Ghost Island.

This remarkable place was just featured on the daily news today: Hashima, a tiny island off the coast of nagasaki. it is fairly well documented in wikipedia.
i encourage read on about it. this island apparently used to be the most densely populated place on the world with what extends to 83,476.2 inhabitants per square kilometer. it also features the first concrete apartment building of japan. i am kind of tempted to go there for a visit as i havent been to the western part of kyushu yet...

目ざめよ! Awake!

After two old people knocked on my door a while ago and got told of, another pair just dropped this into the mail box. and what do you know? jehovah's witnesses are fairly active in japan, too. the cover asks: are these the final days, how will the world be? i guess you're fucked when you happen to be a japanese, because looking through this magazine like on the cover i didn't find any pictural proof of the existence of asian people at all. how would there be?

happy hanami.