Natura January - February 2014 | Page 13

ÜNLÜ JAPON MIMAR KENGO KUMA ZEN BAHÇELERINDEN ALDIĞI ILHAMLA SU VE TAŞI BULUŞTURUYOR. FAMED JAPANESE ARCHITECT KENGO KUMA BRINGS WATER AND STONE TOGETHER WITH AN INSPIRATION FROM ZEN GARDENS. getiriliyor. Bu projede taşa, kendi özelliği olmayan hafiflik ve saydamlık atfediliyor. Yine Kuma’nın Stone Roof Villa (2010) projesi, Amerikan çamı ve granit gibi çok farklı tipte iki malzemeyi bir araya getirerek organik ve akışkan bir mekansallık ortaya koyuyor. Kengo Kuma’nın projelerinde malzeme başka malzemeleri taklit ederek beklenmedik etkiler yaratır ve örneğin taş malzeme, cam kadar şeffaf veya ahşap kadar yumuşak algılanabilir. projects seem to be inspired by these gardens especially in the arrangement of the Florentine Pietra Forte stone, which is used in both designs resembling the topographic layers of man’s transformation of earth’s landscape. Kengo Kuma emphasizes the role of stone in these projects remarking: “Water is a powerful sculptor. Stone is a patient material. Water can also transform the hardest materials into something soft and delicate but... it is stone which marks the path”. The form of stone in these designs by Kuma seems to recreate the natural process of water molding stone over time creating soft contours in the hard stone. The mirror-like water pools that are found in both installations creating a flowing path throughout the exhibition space complement these stone contours. Kengo Kuma has throughout his work had a strong interest in materiality, geometry and form. Many of the projects developed in the Paris and Tokyo offices of Kengo Kuma and Associates, established in 1990, use natural materials such as stone, bamboo and wood in geometric arrangements that are characteristic of his design approach. Kuma’s work attempts to modulate dichotomies such as shadow and light, body and materials with a concern for specific sites and spaces. These qualities can be seen for example in Kuma’s earlier project in design with stone in his pavilion Stone Card Castle, Verona, 2007 where Pietra Serena stone is cut in thin pieces and arranged like a house of cards creating a lightness and transparency not normally associated with stone. A few years later his Stone Roof Villa, Nagano, Japan, 2010, shows attention to the transitions between different materials such as American pine wood and granite stone creating an organic and fluid space inside the house. Often in Kuma’s work the use of materials in unexpected ways resulting in innovative combinations where heavy materials such as stone achieve lightness and the opposite through the architect’s design approach. OCAK - ŞUBAT 2014 / JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 • NATURA 13