2. Reading Araki-Cho
The title of this studio topic is “Reading Araki-Cho.” Araki-Cho was at the center of Tokyo where the samurai houses were located during the Edo Period. It flourished as the gay quarters in the Meiji Era, and after inheriting this history through the Taisho and Showa Eras it remains to the present as a street of eating and drinking establishments. Araki-Cho also clearly embodies the topology of Tokyo which has many valleys. During the Edo Period, the samurai residences of the Matsudaira clan were located here. Subsequently, the Meiji Era arrived, and from the 1890s to the 1920s, Araki-Cho grew to become part of the district that matured as the second “yamanote”. During the Meiji Era, Araki-Cho flourished as the gay quarters and had many eating and drinking establishments. In a low-lying part of this district there was a pond formed by spring water. Here, people enjoyed eating and drinking while riding in boats. Even after the arrival of the 20th century, the atmosphere of Araki-Cho remained, and many geisha continued to live in the district which has retained its historical atmosphere to the present day as an eating and drinking district. Of course, simply because the functions and atmosphere of Araki-Cho have remained to the present, it does not mean that the residences used by the Matsudaira clan in the Edo Period still remain. Also, there are no more geisha in the district, and the pond that existed when the district was flourishing is now quite small. These things have become a narrative which is invisible to the eye.
Consequently, in this topic, we start first of all from arranging Araki-Cho which must be read. First, as mentioned above, we learn history as invisible stories by means of menus. In this way, we come to know the way in which a town was formed, and thus come to know the atmosphere of that town. Next, we proceed to the arranging of the second reference item which involves looking at what things have remained to the present day and what things can be selected from them, and also th

e way in which these things can be made to relate to a design. The students were not necessarily able to carry out this arrangement process well. Also, it cannot be said that a good design can be obtained by simply adding these two reference items in an average way. Here, I will describe works that are of excellent design overall and also a group of structures that have been evaluated by a number of architects.
1) Concert Hall open to shrine
This proposal concerns a small concert hall designed in such a way that it is related to an existing shrine both visually and in respect of its flow lines. It faces the shrine and can open onto it. No particularly consideration has been given to invisible stories.
2) Design Office + tea stall
In this proposal, the texture of the unique rough front of the building on the adjacent land is highlighted by using wooden louvers in this design as well to create a similar texture. In addition, the interior of the tea stall uses a traditional earthen floor and an agari (a piece of wood at the front edge of the entranceway floor), enabling one to imagine that this was once a place that flourished from the Edo Period.
3) Avant-garde theater
This is a proposal for a theater that has a bright red roof. This roof is made of semi-transparent tent fabric, enabling it to be seen dimly in the night sky. This is intended to give the impression of a red lantern of an eating and drinking establishment that probably existed (and still exists) in the age of the gay quarters during the Edo Era.

The designs of these structures incorporate many ideas not mentioned here, such as matching with the terrain, setting the program, and planning. The abovementioned notes concern only the points where dialogue is carried out with the outside.

Next, I would like mention the following structures that I designed concerning the way in which a dialogue is carried out with history.