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.

first snow

a very rare occurance in tokyo is snow.
this has to do with the fact that cold air coming from the asian continent is forced to rain down the snow north of the mountains that strech the main land of japan. but if the cold air comes from the east, snow sometimes reaches tokyo, once or twice a year. only to melt in a matter of hours.

special delivery: the first picture features the police box of ikebukuro in the background.

under the bridge

In density of tokyo's townscape, even the homeless have to seek for a place to build their shelters. someone found his temporary home under a bridge right on the central reservation between the four lanes of another midtown highway near ikebukuro.