"We sense the natural in things that form a happy link with their surroundings. . . . A natural architecture is architecture that creates this propitious connection."
In this way, renowned architect Kengo Kuma sets the guidelines for his art. The quote is from his book "Shizen na Kenchiku" ("A Natural Architecture"), published on Nov. 20 by Iwanami Shoten in its popular Shinsho (New Books) paperback series. If you are searching for a brilliantly argued delineation of the Japanese aesthetic sensibility comfortably translated into the 21st century, look no further than this.
American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was fond of pointing out that, etymologically, the word "radical" meant "going to the root or origin of a thing." In this sense, Kuma's artistry derives from his own profound exploration of Japanese principles, merging the traditional with the radical in ways both startling and elegant. In every structure — be it a house, office building, museum or mountain lookout — he brings out the character and textures of materials in harmony with the structure's surroundings. This, to my mind, is the essence of Japanese aesthetics: the fashioning and refashioning of the natural in ways that turn nature's textures themselves into art.