SPACE November 2024 (No. 684)
Matsumura Jun ©Kyung Hansu
The Architect Who Doesn’t Build displayed on the B1 floor of Localstitch Seogyo Creative Town ©Kyung Hansu
On Sep. 22, a book talk, ‘In the age of Talgeon, exploring a new path for architects’ was held by Matsumura Jun, the author of The Architect Who Doesn’t Build at the Local Stitch Creator Town Seogyo. Matsumura, who introduced himself as ‘a research sociologist who majored in architecture’ is indeed a doctor of sociology with a second-class architects licence in Japan. Based on the fact that there is not much sociology research in architecture, he has begun to establish a pioneering new field of study called architectural sociology. The event opened with a lecture from Matsumura. An interpretation of the lecture was performed by Min Sunghwi (covered in SPACE No. 681), the person who was in charge of planning and translating the book. Matsumura began his lecture by explaining how architects are defined from a sociological point of view. According to him, from sociological perspective, an architect cannot be simplified as an agent who designs and builds a building. First of all, Matsumura introduced three important concepts; Habitus▼1, Field▼2, Capital▼3, as cited from his book, The Architect Who Doesn’t Build. To give better explanation, he used metaphors: ‘Field’ as a genre of game; ‘Habitus’ as a regulation applied to each field; ‘Capital’ as a score achieved from the game. A school of architecture in a university is a venue for learning basic rules and regulations of a game called architectural field. Based on this setting, the one who gets a high score will become an architect. An architectural licence cannot make the person into an architect. Despite working as an architect, we are often reluctant to call ourselves architects. A certain degree of reputation is required to gain the title of architect. In sequence, Matsumura provided several successful strategies used by Japanese architects in their architectural field. Those given strategies cover from the older generation to the younger generation. Exposed concrete by Ando Tatao, aluminum and transparent architecture by Ito Toyo, light architecture by SANNA (co-principals, Sejima Kazuyo, Nishizawa Ryue) are classic examples from the older generation. Meanwhile, the younger generation embraces Tanijiri Makoto, a community college graduate who used his entrepreneurial identity to become a famous architect, Tane Tsuyoshi, a former soccer player, who currently engages in a wide range of projects in Paris and Japan, Nagasaka Jo, who gained his reputation with a series of sauna works, and Onishi Maki who advocated ‘architecture, a place to be loved’ and succeeded the legacy of Japanese Architects. From variety of the success story, Matsumura summarised two main points. First, to become an architect, learning the basic rules and regulations of the game is required. Second, the strategy is not always the same, there is more than one strategy that can be employed. In the postwar period, architects were trained to design gigantic and symbolic works of architecture, but now it should be different. There are not many new construction opportunities, and the number of vacant houses is increasing. Renovation projects and creation of villages are now being prioritised. In the following session, Cho Sungik (professor, Hongik University), Kim Sumin (CEO, Local Stitch) and Jung Sungkyu (co-principal, CAC) joined as member of the discussion panel. First, Cho Sungik pointed that situation in Korea is different to that in Japan, where produced Pritzker laureates eight times. In Korea, besides the deconstruction of the current role and responsibilities of the architect, the production of traditional ‘elite’ architects are still an important task. He spoke out that as an educator, the cultivation of various types of architect within a single curriculum has been always one of his biggest concerns. To answer his question, Matsumura replied that there are always numerous types of architects in Japan. A different era demands different architects. Those famous architects received the spotlight because they are in the right time, right era. Therefore, the diversity of architects, in other words, the deconstruction of the old role and its responsibilities, should be the top priority Next, referring to his past experience, Jung Sungkyu confessed that in architectural school, he could obtain knowledge about how to design or build a building, yet never learnt how to persuade others about his work. In addition, he raised the question of whether a school can provide a more integrated education that would combine archiecture with sociology or other humanities subjects. Matsumura mentioned that we need to face the reality; a scarcity of build-able land, a decrease in new construction projects. It is time to break away from the old curriculum that obsesses over large-scale architecture. This answer also refers back to the previous question. Perhaps it is necessary to raise a cross-disciplinary critique with various professionals from marketing, sociology, business or operating. On the event day, SPACE had chance to conduct an exclusive interview with Matsumura. During the interview, SPACE asked an extra question. How can the magazine, one of the most important media outlets in architecture, contribute to expand and re-define the architect’s role and responsibilities? Matsumura answered the question by taking the Japanese magazine, Shinkenchiku as an example. Shinkenchiku started to pay attention to renovation projects and projects that were evaluated as less important. Other magazines should also report such activities from various architects who occupy the peripheries of the architectural field. Lastly, Matsumura told us about his next book titled The Ideal Image of Post-modern Architects (tentative name). In the process of preparing this book, he interviewed various architects such as Hayashi Atsumi (principal, SPEAC), Yamazaki Ryo (principal, studio-L), Oshima Yoshihiko (senior director, blue studio), and Masataka Baba (pricipal, Open A). The upcoming book will include a series of interviews of architects and their young staff members who push the boundaries of their roles and responsibilities.
북토크 진행 모습 ©Kyung Hansu
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1 Habitus is a method of disposition, thinking, cognition, judgment, and behaviour formed in a specific environment. It is created and internalised by the individual’s social status and the social structure to which it belongs.
2 Like education, baseball, and entertainment, each field is a game that pursues its own goals and targets. There is an unconscious respect for customs that most outsiders do not understand.
3 Each field has its own discipline and logic like an individual game. There are specific scoring methods and strategy, which players must internalise. Architects’ capital includes academic background, impressive resume with experience in star architect’s offices, or establishing one’s own architectural style. In addition, there are various strategies to succeed in the architecture field.
