Shuhei Endo’s steel buildings evoke a sense of freedom in the observer. They express a heightened sense of lightness, almost weightlessness, as this essay will explain, and en
shrine a wholly distinctive style.
The choice of materials is the starting point for every form of expression in architecture; the materials reflect the architect’s personality and cultural formation. Many architects use the transparency and brightness of glass to create works that are metaphors for our time. Others mainly use reinforced concrete and cement, feeling the all-important point is to express solidity and strength...
Edited by Hiroyuki Suzuki, this book offers readers the first complete monograph dedicated to the work of Shuhei Endo. Now only in his forties, Endo has recently received extensive coverage in the international architectural press for the originality of his buildings. Skintecture, Springtecture, Rooftecture are some of the labels he uses to indicate the formal and structural features of his work, mostly made in highly original fashion from corrugated sheet-metal and other explicitly cheap materials. Endo uses the two concepts Renzokutai and Bunyutai, which can be translated as continuity and partial sharing or sharing of parts The terms express Endos interest in building components that are quintessentially ambiguous and architectural arrangements whose origin Suzuki explains as the expression of a heterodox relationship between tradition and experiment: Traditional architecture in Japan is essentially a series of open spaces: groups of mostly one-story buildings and gardens are arranged in patterns like the tiles of a mosaic. Traditional Japanese buildings are inseparable from gardens. The main rooms are always laid out so they open onto gardens and their spaces are extended into courtyards, as part of a conception that sees no value in enclosed, isolated spaces. If we return to this tradition we can understand where the originality of Endos buildings stems from, the origin of the singularity of the agenda he is pursuing, as he twists the skin of his buildings, using sheet steel in rolled layers to define volumes that are never fully enclosed.
The Architecture of Shuhei Endo
and the Essence of Japan
Hiroyuki Suzuki
Paramodern Architecture
Shuhei Endo
works and projects
Cyclestation M, bicycle deposit,
Maihara-cho, Shiga,
1993-94
Healtecture K, home-clinic,
Takatsuki, Osaka, 1994-96
Transtreet Geba, park and
playground, Fukui, 1994-96
Skintecture I, fish research
center, Singu-cho, Hyogo,
1994-96
Transtation O, station shelter,
Sakai-cho,
Fukui, 1995-97
Halftecture F, station shelter,
Fukui, 1996-97
Rooftecture T, square with
facilities, Fukui, 1996-97
Springtecture H, public toilets,
Shingu-cho, Hyogo, 1997-98
Rooftecture N, office block and
deposit for building materials,
Nishinomiya, Hyogo,
1997-98
Rooftecture O,
cultural center, Shimizu-cho,
Fukui, 1996-98
Rooftecture H, office building,
Himeji, Hyogo,
1996-98
Rooftecture Y, health spa,
Yamasaki-cho,
Hyogo, 1997-98
Springtecture A, competition
project for an art museum,
Aomori, 1999-2000
Springtecture NHK, competition
project for an ecological house,
Inagi, Tokyo, 1999
Springtecture I, 2000
Rooftecture K, office building,
Nishinomiya,
Hyogo, 1998-2000
Rooftecture B, farm emporium,
Biwa-cho,
Shiga, 1998-2000
Rooftecture A,
apartment block, Taitou-ku, Tokyo,
1998-2000
Rooftecture WIPO,
competition project, Geneva,
Switzerland, 1999-2000
Springtecture Orleans, temporary
installation, Orleans, France,
1999-2000
Springtecture S, competition
project for a ferry terminal,
Sasebo, Nagasaki, 2000-01
Rooftecture Wave,
canopy for a used-car lot, Minou,
Osaka, 2000-01
......
