STUDIES ON PRIMITIVE STRUCTURES

原始の暮らしに思いを巡らせ、当時の構造物についてリサーチしているうちに、
それらの持つ造形的な強さや美しさに目を奪われるようになった。
いまの暮らしの中に、その痕跡を残せないだろうかと試みた。

As we thought about primitive lifestyles and conducted research on structures over the times,
we were amazed by the figurative force and beauty that emanated from them. 
This was our way of leaving a mark in our contemporary lifestyle.

人間にとって最も原始的な住処は、自然が作った地形や造形を利用したものだった。
岩がお互いに寄りかかったような造形は、屋根として利用しやすいだけでなく、開放感と守秘性のバランスがよく、人々は居心地の良さを感じたのかも知れない。

The most primitive of dwellings for mankind were the ones making use of whatever landscape and formation nature provided.
Formations of multiple rocks leaning against each other were useful enough as a roof over their heads, which was comfortably open to the outside world, while still providing ample security.

人間が自ら作った最も原始的なシェルター(寝床)は、木をトラスに組み、そこに枝を差し掛けていったものだと言われている。
太古の人々も、知らず知らずのうちに力学の法則を学んでいたのかも知れない。

The most primitive form of shelter (as a place to sleep) made by mankind was a truss-like piece running across with a series of branches braced against it for support.
Ancient men must have gradually learnt the rules of dynamics as time went by.

森の中でもっとも簡単に住居を作る方法は、長くてまっすぐな木を円錐状に組んで頂上で束ねていくやり方である。
円錐状のかたちは、風の抵抗を受けにくく、最小表面積で最大の床面積が取れる効率的なかたちである。

The easiest way to build a home in the woods is to erect long pieces of straight timber crossing at the top, to be bound together to form a conic shape.
The cone is the best way to achieve sufficient wind resistance and is most effective in getting the largest possible floor space with the smallest of surfaces.

板材のない時代、丸太を使って壁や床などの面を作るさまざまな工夫が存在した。
防風壁や“いかだ”などがそうだが、その機能性よりも、木を束ねることで生まれるテクスチャや陰影の美しさに目を奪われる。

In times when pre-cut timber was not available, people had to come up with many different solutions to create surfaces utilizing logs for their walls and floors.
Wind-breaking walls and rafts are good examples, but what attracted us was the whole beauty in the texture and the contrast formed when wood was bound together.

温暖で乾燥した地域では、日干し煉瓦を積み上げて住居や墓碑などが作られた。
その後、煉瓦を含む「ブロック」形状の素材は、強度や材質に改良が加えられ近代まで脈々と受け継がれてきているが、基本的にその形に大きな変化は無い。
「積む」という行為においては、ミニマルでいて最良のかたちであったことが分かる。

In warmer and dryer regions, houses and tombstones were made using adobe bricks.
Later on, the block shaped material such as bricks have been passed on to contemporary times while the strength and material had been updated over the years. However, its shape has not changed a great deal.
It proves to be the most minimal shape we can achieve and the best way for “stacking” things.

トーテムポールは、北アメリカ大陸の北西沿岸部に住む先住民が、先祖代々伝わる神話や伝説などを氏族と縁の深い人や動物などに表して柱に刻んだ「紋章」のようなものだと考えられている。
モチーフを縦へ縦へと高く積み上げることには、何か特別な意味があったのだろうか?

Totem poles are basically crests carved on to a column, where a certain clan or a group of people closely bonded recount their myths and legends that had been passed on through generations.
We wondered if there was a specific reason to stack the motifs on top of each other.

木造の柱などの修復や補強、伸張のために使われる職人技術として、「継手」という技法がある。
部材がかみ合うことで強度や安定感が増すという実利的な特徴もさることながら、継いだ目の美しさにも、日本らしい精神が宿っているように感じる。

There is a technique called “Tsugite”, which describes an artisanal skill used for restoring and reinforcing things such as wooden columns.
It has a practical quality where strength and stability can be achieved when certain parts are locked together, and we found that there is a uniquely Japanese spirit and beauty in how things are joined together.

遠い昔、温暖な地域の定住する文化を持たない部族は、枝や枯葉を寄せ集めて屋根を作り簡易な住居としていた。
積み上げた枝葉の隙間から差し込む、心地よい光のレイヤーを楽しみながら過ごしていたのではないだろうか?

In ancient times, when tribes from milder climates that did not have the culture to settle in one place, built simple houses with roofs made of collected branches and leaves.
They must have enjoyed their lifestyle, as layers of light shone in through the cracks between the branches and leaves laid on top.

Photo by Hiroshi Nakamura

BOOK
『思考を積み、束ねること』

STACK AND BIND,
your thoughts unwind
@MATOYA

ET series

02 STACK AND BIND
@(PLACE) by method

STACK AND BIND,
your thoughts unwind
@丼池繊維会館

elements/phase2: figure
@PANTALOON

elements/phase1:
collective

SPONGE BIRD

TOWER OF TENSION

SOU

SATE

STACK AND BIND

UNKNOWN BALANCE

BIND AND SLIDE

FORM BY PRESSURE

LAYERS/studies

02 STACK AND BIND
@PANTALOON

02 STACK AND BIND/studies