I don’t believe architecture has to speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind
You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see.
We borrow from nature the space upon which we build.
I think architecture becomes interesting when it has a double character, that is, when it is as simple as possible but, at the same time as complex as possible
My objective is to design a space that nobody else can come up with while using the material that anyone can use.
If I can create some space that people haven’t experienced before and if it stays with them or gives them a dream for the future, that’s the kind of structure I seek to create.
In all my works, light is an important controlling factor.
If you give people nothingness, they can ponder what can be achieved from that nothingness.
I believe that the way people live can be directed a little by architecture.
As long as you have an objective in your mind you are young.
You can’t really say what is beautiful about a place, but the image of the place will remain vividly with you.
In Architecture there is a part that is the result of Logical Reasoning and a part that is created through the Senses. There is always a point where they Clash. I don’t think Architecture can be created without that Collision.
No matter how advanced society becomes, institutionally or technologically, a house in which nature can be sensed represents for me the ideal environment in which to live. From a functional viewpoint, the courtyard of the Rowhouse in Sumiyoshi forces the inhabitant to endure the occasional hardships. At the same time, however, the open courtyard is capable of becoming the house’s vital organ, introducing the everyday life and assimilating precious stimuli such as changes in nature.
I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing.
When I design buildings, I think of the overall composition, much as the parts of a body would fit together. On top of that, I think about how people will approach the building and experience that space.
I want to create a space that moves people. It doesn’t matter if it is a house, or a museum, or whatever. So, it is somebody sitting on that lawn, just going around and around and feeling really happy. That is something that I’m striving for.
There is a role and function for beauty in our time.
It wasn’t that I had any great dream of being an architect. I just wanted to make things. Whether it was furniture, painting, interior design, or architecture. I just wanted to create something.
I create enclosed spaces mainly by means of thick concrete walls. The primary reason is to create a place for the individual, a zone for oneself within society. When the external factors of a city’s environment require the wall to be without openings, the interior must be especially full and satisfying.
I would like my architecture to inspire people to use their own resources, to move into the future.
When you look at Japanese traditional architecture, you have to look at Japanese culture and its relationship with nature. You can actually live in a harmonious, close contact with nature – this very unique to Japan.
My hand is the extension of the thinking process – the creative process.
I think of the past and the future as well as the present to determine where I am, and I move on while thinking of these things.
People tend not to use this word beauty because it’s not intellectual – but there has to be an overlap between beauty and intellect.
All those involved in the construction of an architectural design, from the architect to the builder, have an attachment to the architecture, although it’s difficult to quantify the attachment.
