Kengo Kuma Exhibition Five Purr-fect points: Softness
Kuma Kengo’s exhibition the “Five Purr-fect Points for Public Spaces” invites us to think about five unexpected perspectives that can make our collective experiences a lot more organic, spontaneous, fun and exciting. The third one is “softness.”
“Softness” has been neglected in architecture, as it assumed that only hard materials can be used to construct buildings. But for Kuma, softness is the quality of our bodies, and is the most crucial aspect in architecture. Through this project, he was reminded by cats that they would react to soft or coarse surfaces much better than hard, smooth ones, which they couldn’t even scratch.
The Japanese traditionally were keenly aware of the comforts that soft materials delivered, so they kept hard materials such as stones for exteriors, then used wood in the middle, and left soft materials such as paper closer to the center, closer to their bodies. Why don’t we apply those concepts to public spaces to realize more comfortable, happy places – not only for humans but for cats?
The Takanawa Gateway Station (2020)
The Tomioka City Hall (2018)
The KOMATSU MATERE Fabric Laboratory fa-bo (2015)
The Hojo-an after 800 Years (2012)
The Breath/ng (2018)
List of works in “softness” section
高柳町 陽の楽家
Takayanagi Community Center, 2000
富岡市役所
Tomioka City Hall, 2018
小松マテーレ
ファブリック・ラボラトリー fa-bo
KOMATSU MATERE Fabric Laboratory fa-bo, 2015
国立競技場
Japan National Stadium, 2019
ジャパン・ハウス サンパウロ
Japan House São Paulo, 2017
高輪ゲートウェイ駅
Takanawa Gateway Station, 2020
Breath/ng
Breath/ng, 2018
800年後の方丈庵
Hojo-an after 800 Years, 2012