"No House Exists in Isolation": Riken Yamamoto on the Failures of Contemporary Housing in Louisiana Channel Interview

Riken Yamamoto, born in Beijing in 1945 and raised in Yokohama shortly after World War II, is a Japanese architect celebrated for fostering community through architecture. After founding his practice, Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop, in 1973, he became renowned for works ranging from social housing, such as Hotakubo Housing and Pangyo Housing, to civic projects like the Hiroshima Nishi Fire Station and Saitama Prefectural University, all unified by modular simplicity. Honored in March 2024 as the Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, he was praised by jury chair Alejandro Aravena for "blurring boundaries between public and private," fostering spontaneous social interaction, and "bringing dignity to everyday life" by enabling community to flourish through thoughtful design. In this interview with Louisiana Channel, the architect reflects on the social role of architecture, emphasizing the inseparable bond between housing and context, and the need to create spaces that foster visible, meaningful relationships.

Born in the post-war period in the United Kingdom, the Brutalism movement was first met with skepticism but has found a new appreciation in the last decade, capturing the imagination of new designers fascinated with the interplay between striking geometric shapes and the exposed raw materials in which they are rendered. From Britain, the movement spread throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa, gathering different variations influenced by the cultural and socio-economic status of each area. In this article, we delve into the particularities that define Italy's contribution to the Brutalist movement, exploring the style through the lens of Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego. The two photographers have also published a photographic essay on the subject, taking the form of a book titled "Brutalist Italy: Concrete Architecture from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea".

Within the contact zone of Trogir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and on the place of a previous wooden bridge, we've designed a new steel pedestrian bridge. Wanting it to be more than a mere crossing of the sea channel, the bridge was envisioned as a vibrant social hub, a destination in itself. The bridge has not asserted itself aggressively within the landscape but rather possesses a distinct character and identity, subtly referencing the city's esteemed shipbuilding heritage and maritime spirit.

The site overlooks the Sea of Japan in front of the house, and the entire area is known as a scenic spot with its intricate Rias coastline and dynamic topography known as "cave gate". On the other hand, if you look at the surrounding area, you will find a labyrinth of alleys that create a unique townscape. This is a unique feature of the area, which has a square-shaped configuration called "Masu-gata" with cranked intersections to prevent northerly winds from blowing through.