Toyo Ito talks at Tod’s building in Omotesando, Tokyo. The movie is in Japanese, but here are some excerpts from his speech.
– There are lots of zelkova trees in this area, so the design of this building is inspired by the trees.
– This is made of concrete, and the thickness is 30cm. We put two pieces of glass on each side of the concrete.
– I was mostly working in Japan until recently, and they were usually very organized and we knew exactly what was going on. Recently, I have some European clients, but they are very unpredictable. You never know when they start constructing buildings and when they will finish. Maybe it is because they are latin people….However, there is something a lot more fun working with them. The process is very slow, but we enjoy making things that way…we enjoy the meaning of constructing a building.
-I usually get up at 6am, then I write and draw sketches. I go to work at 9am. My office will open at 10am, so actually I am the first one there waiting for others to come. So normally morning is important for me to think about things.
– I drink to get relief from stress. I feel like I can drink with friends in the evening since I get up early every day…
– I feel that light from the sun is weak here in Tokyo especially if you compare it to the light in a European city like Barcelona. What I think is important in architecture is how we can take light into a building. This is somehting I have been thinking since I started working as an architect.
