Between Synergy and SynesthesiaBetween Synergy and Synesthesia

ATSUKO KUBO

VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITYCOLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES

Blacksburg VA May 2000

2

Thesis submitted to the Faculty ofVirginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE

William Brown

Robert Dunay

Michael O�Brien

(committee chair)

Atsuko Kubo

Between Synergy and SynesthesiaBetween Synergy and Synesthesia

3

...for their spiritual support, this book is dedicated to all of my soldiers

4

Book I

InvestigationChrysalis

5

6

Tab

le of co

nten

ts

7

Abstract 8

Image of the city 9

Investigation in time 10 about the city

Investigation in places 14 site observation

site analysis

Genesis of form 22

InvestigationBook I Chrysalis

On makingBook II Incubation

ProjectBook III I m a g o

Book IV CodaAddendum

8

synergya. Joint working, co-operation.b. Combined or correlated action of a groupof bodily organs.c. Increased effectiveness, achievement, etc.,produced as a result of combined action orcooperation.

synesthesia1. a. A sensation in one part of the bodyproduced by a stimulus applied to anotherparts.b. Agreement of the feelings or emotions ofdifferent individuals, as a stage in thedevelopment of sympathy.c. Production, from a sense-impression ofone kind, of an associated mental image of asense-impression of another kind.2. The use of metaphors in which termsrelating to one kind of sense-impression areused to describe sense-impressions of otherkinds; the production of synesthetic effect inwriting or an instance of this.3. a. The expression of more than one kind ofsense-impression in the same word.b. The transfer of the meaning of a wordfrom one kind of sensory experiences toanother. c. The relationship between speechsounds and the sensory experiences that theythat they represent.

Source: The Oxford English DictionarySecond Edition, Volume XVIIOxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1989

ProcreationWe live in a world where most peopleare inundated with information on aglobal scale. The world has becomesmaller and more homogenous,whereas the social composition hasbecome more and more complex,and ex t remely h ie rarch ica l .

In such a society, the only way for oneto define oneself could be to expandhimself/herself beyond all socialframes. Through close and dynamicinteraction with the outer world, andcoexistence with heterogeneouselements around us, we are able todefine intrinsic factors within us, withinour society. This process challengesopeness and full understanding ofthe world beyond oneself. Onlythrough this process, we might beable to establish a “global culture.”

Every action we take has some kindof impact on this world. Like theriver flows into the bay, it seemsthat social values on our life andculture are constantly in a state ofchange. It is very important for meto read this changing flow of socialconsciousness to understand ourworld and allow it to inform architecture.

Architecture is a great tool for meto expand myself toward society,and people. It allows me to becomeinfinite in a timeless journey inhuman life searching for the truth.

Abstract

“synergy” and “synesthesia”

9

A c i t y i s i r i d e s c e n t . L i k e akaleidoscope, as you move, thecity changes expression on thesurface. A city is irradiative. Thisluminous creature, the city,incessantly attracts people andof ten s tea ls peop le ’s mind .

Like human beings, every city‘saspiration wavers between animplicit ideal and an explicit reality.It is my joy to understand this silentand invisible intention of the citymoving towards an ideal goalselected out of fragmentedinformation, the identity of the city.

Designing a visitors center providedme the vehicle to explore the sourceof my fascination about cities. Thevisitor’s evaluation of a city isaesthetic and highly sensitive towhat and how one sees, as well aswhat and how one experiences.I am always interested in how andwhat forms primary images of thecity in one’s mind. It was challengingand excit ing to deal with suchissues in the realm of architecture.

A City is...

Image of the city

Investigation in time

The site of my thesis project issituated in Hakodate, Hokkaidoprefecture in Japan. With a populationof 300,000, Hakodate is well knownas one of the oldest port towns inJapan which attracts five milliontourists a year from all over the world.

About the city

10

About the city

Do

wn

tow

nR

edev

elop

men

t D

istr

ict

Geographical location ofHakodate, Hokkaido, Japan

41o46’ north latitude140o44’ east longitude

Area of the city 346.87km2

Hakodate is located on the tip ofthe southern peninsula of Hokkaidoisland. The land where this citystands has been formed as a sandreef between the Hokkaido islandand a small mountain after a longspell of tidal movement. The areaaround the site was a part of theocean long ago. After the intenseeffort to expand the land into thewaters edge of the city, the areaaround the site was filled with soil in thelate 19th century. It formed the currentwater’s edge. Since then, this city haswelcomed ships from all over theworld and has flourished as a port town.

The city created by the ocean

Hakodate was one of the first porttowns that introduced foreigncultures to the Japanese people.During the Tokugawa era, Japanexperienced a long period ofisolation from the early 17th centurythrough 19th century. During thisperiod, Japan had minimalinteraction with foreign countries.

By responding to political andeconomic pressure from the UnitedStates, the Japanese governmentfinally decided to open two portsin 1854. Hakodate was one ofthese two ports. In 1859, Hakodatebecame one of Japan’s firstinternational free trading ports withtwo other Japanese cities. Fromthen on, foreign traders, sailors,missionaries from America, Russia,England, Holland, France and othercountries visited this town. As aresult, the adoption of foreigncultures can be seen in afragmented form across the city.Gothic churches, “JapaneseWestern-style buildings,” a foreigncemetery, all these things areblended nicely with local culture andexpress an exotic mood in the city.

Architecture in Hakodate establisheda unique style combination withheterogenous elements whichreminds us of earlier days. Its eclecticquality reflects our sense of passionand curiosity for foreign culture.

At one time the city itself was amarket place where local peopletraded information and products withforeigners. My attempt in this projectis to create space which facilitatesengagement between people andexpresses the richness of the citythrough elements of architecture.Ultimately the visitors centerencourages interaction not onlybetween the city and the tourist, butalso between local people andtourists, in order to reenergize the city.

Eclectic Local Style in Residential Buildings

The Old Public HallRussian Orthodox Church The Old Post Office About the city

Mosaic image from its romance with foreign cultures.

13

down town

station

Ocean

○

○

bay frontand market place

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

InInvestigation in place

14

Si te observation

historical district

The site is located in the middle ofdowntown, between the commercialdistrict and the historic district.

The site is the urban nodal pointbetween four different districts:industrial, commercial, market andhistorical area, and the waterfront.The site is also the intersectionof four different cultural, socialand commercial activit ies.

The current master plan proposesthe construction of five new publicinstitutions in the district surroundingthe site. These institutions includean art museum, a concert hall, ascience museum and a port ferryterminal.

My intention was to tie all the districtstogether including scattered publ icinstitutions with a centripetal gesture.

Intersection in the urban quartet

Site observation

15

View toward the site across the elevated road

View toward the ocean across the site

View toward commercial district from the site

Site

Around the site

Site analysis

Investigation in place

17

The site is adjacent to an elevated road.The dynamic curvature accentuates thewater’s edge.

The grids of the town have an axis to-wards the ocean. The surroundingbuildings’ rectilinear form strengthenthis axis.

I II

Site analysis 1 - Plan

18

Site analysis

The centric form also connects scatteredsurrounding public institutions.

The sphere which contains grids isintroduced.

III IV

19

Site

Site Analysis 2 - elevation

As the diagram(above)shows, theelevated road’s horizontal line isvisually dominant around the site.The scale of buildings drops fromthe eastern commercial area tothe market place in the west.It clearly reflects the contrast inactivities within the downtown.

North-west elevation diagram

Site analysis

x

x

South-west elevation

21

Genesis of form

Contextural forces from both placeand time dictated a reconcilation ofthese often conflicting forces, andthe establishment of a new urbanform for the city. My response to thisquestion is to introduce an “ambivalent”form, a “Gridsphere” to this site.

22

A “gridsphere”