AR Awards for Emerging Architecture

 Highly commended
KAZUYA MORITA
Concrete pod
Nagoya, Japan
December 2006
Concrete technology takes another small and surprising leap, even by exacting Japanese standards, in this delicately perforated pod-for-all-occasions designed by Kazuya Morita. The secret of this remarkable little structure lies in its material and construction. The concrete is fibre-reinforced, a combination of white cement, lightweight aggregate and glass fibre. This mixture was meticulously hand trowelled onto a carved styrofoam mould by skilled plasterers (the traditional Japanese plasterer's art is known as sakan). The perforations were created by attaching styrofoam rings to the dome-shaped master mould. When the concrete hardened, the mould was dismantled and removed.
The result is a structure of immense beauty and simplicity. The concrete skin is a mere 15mm thick, with a height and diameter of 1.7m; proportions comparable to those of a hen's eggshell, according to the architect. Yet this concrete eggshell is also immensely strong and can easily bear the weight of a person. Placed on a raft of tatami mats, the pod becomes a tranquil enclave for contemplation or play.
In a forest setting with the sun dappling through the holes, it has a quietly lyrical intensity that seduced the jury, who were also impressed by the ingenuity involved in its making. C. S.

Architect
Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio, Kyoto
Photographs
Ichiro Sugioka
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