architecture

Franois Blanciak is an architect and Research Fellow at the

University of Tokyo. He has worked for architectural firms in Los
Angeles, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, and New York, with such
architects as Frank Gehry and Peter Eisenman.

S I T E L E S S
Blanciak

The MIT Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142

http://mitpress.mit.edu

978-0-262-02630-7

S I T E L E S S
1001 Building Forms

Franois Blanciak

SITELESS

k'12

SITELESS
1001 Building Forms

Franois Blanciak

The MIT Press

Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England

 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
(including photocopying, recording, or information storage
and retrieval) without permission in writing from the
publisher.
MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity
discounts for business or sales promotional use. For
information, please email special_sales@mitpress.mit.edu
or write to Special Sale Department, The MIT Press, 55
Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142.
This book was set in Helvetica Neue by the MIT Press and
was printed and bound in Spain.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blanciak, Franois.
Siteless : 1001 building forms / Franois Blanciak.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-262-02630-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. ArchitectureComposition, proportion etc. 2. Form
(Aesthetics) I. Title.
NA2760.B52 2008
721dc22
2007015858
10

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

vii

Introduction

ix

Chapter One: Hong Kong

Chapter Two: New York

23

Chapter Three: Copenhagen

35

Chapter Four: Los Angeles

51

Chapter Five: Tokyo

79

Chapter Six: Scale Test

101

Credits

116

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book has been prepared in various countries: China, Denmark, the
United States of America, and Japan, over the course of the last five years.
Only in its final stage could I focus on this work full-time.
Hence, I have to first thank the Japanese government for
subsidizing my first years in Tokyo as an independent researcher by
providing me with a fellowship. It is surprising that one of the most
unaffordable and supposedly chaotic cities in the world turned out to
be the most stable environment for gathering and developing my ideas.
Debt is also owed to my former employers; Aaron Tan, Bjarke
Ingels, Peter Eisenman, and Frank Gehry, for enabling me to develop my
work on the side from different urban locations and diverse dogmatic
approaches. Yet, in the serial, crafted, and siteless nature of this study,
a greater deal of inspiration comes from the architects Iakov Chernikhov,
John Hejduk, and Hermann Finsterlin.
A number of individuals have also either encouraged or
questioned my work with sharp criticisms, and pushed me to enhance its
quality. Among them (in no specific order): Ali Tabatabai, Napoleon Meraa,
Yoram Lepair, Michael Sorkin, Aida Mirn, Masashi Nagamori, Leopoldo
Sguera, Tom Russotti, Vytautas Baltus, Tynnon Chow, Amadou Tounkara,
and Siri Johansen managed to formulate constructive comments. In
addition, the insights of Michael Wert and Andr Moore Guimond have
been helpful in the editing of my manuscript.
Finally, I must avow that the physical condition of Tokyoa city
that threatens to collapse at any timeis what forced me to publish this
rather venturesome oeuvre without further delay.

F. B., Tokyo, January 2007

vii

We think the more directions that architecture takes at this point, the
better.
Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi
Learning from Las Vegas, 1972

INTRODUCTION

The body of work that follows aims to fill the expanding gap between a
profession that glorifies morphological originality through media exposure
and a more secluded field of architectural research which, unlike its
scientific counterparts, paradoxically neglects experimentation and the
manipulation of form through its sole focus on writing. Proposing a creative
alternative to critical academic literature, this study develops a prospective
series of forms that focuses on the nucleus of architecture, the building
as a unit (whether touched by others or left aside), and on the clarity of
expression of its generative idea. As a result, in the coming chapters, text
has radically been replaced by form.
In order to multiply the range of potentialities in architecture, this
study accepts the physical aspect of buildings as its primary component
(the periodic denial of which proving vain) and proceeds by trial and error.
Rather than striving to identify a singular design method, it searches in as
many directions as possible, then isolates a multitude of devices intended
to differ from each other and to be open for further development. As a
bank of ideas from which articles can be picked to fit particular sites and
purposes, it embodies the desire to exceed the sum of concepts that
come to mind when confronted with the overwhelming situation of an
actual project.
The traditional sequence program plus site equals form is here
intentionally inverted: as in ancient column orders, schemes are conceived
prior to site insertion and subsequent relationships or adaptations. Yet
beyond archaic dogmas, although a number of these figures constitute
mere criticisms of recurrent paradigms in the discipline, most aspire to
innovate and envision a more diverse future; to the point that many require
construction techniques not available to date, if not different gravitational
values.
In the absence of any given site, chapters are simply named
after the locations from which the ideas they contain were conceived.

ix

This chaotic sequence of places is employed to reveal a content that

resists the primitive reaction of classification and thereby acknowledges
the discontinuous nature of the creative process. Within a series that
eventually generates its own context, scaleits a priori building material
is left to the imagination of the reader from one item to the next, with a
range that can span from megastructure to cabin size.
For the sake of versatility, the illustrations of this series have
been drawn freehand. What could appear as a deliberate reaction to the
quasi-unanimous computerization of both architectural representation
and building design process is, in fact, a simple choice of convenience.
Not unlike the way physical modeling materials influence form, operating
systems turn out to induce software-specific shapes, to the extent that
they become barriers to the production of diversity. Making room for
various layouts, freehand drawings have been reduced here to their most
neutral expression, in order to minimize the input of the gestural and to
extract the essence of the concept in its most intelligible formulation. This
abatement of representational effects is extended to the adoption of a
constant viewing angle, which, in turn, enhances the perception of both
peculiarities and kinships.
In its layout, the present volume reproduces the graphic
framework of a language. Not unlike the way a plurality of syllabaries cross
each other in Japanese writing, several levels of character complexity
are here juxtaposed with a quasi-absence of punctuation. Each entry is
allocated the same amount of paper space (basically a square), whether
extremely complicated (like kanji, or Chinese ideograms), simply curvy (like
hiragana) or bluntly straight (like katakana). The parallel can be stretched
to the reading experience itself, which can be carried out horizontally as
well as vertically, and almost invariably from left to right or the reverse.
Under each element though, captions, which in many cases preceded
the drawings themselves, have been added to support or complete the
depiction of their respective meanings.
Like a centrifugal escape from the cycle of serial fantasy, the
last chapter reconnects with the cultural realities of an existing site in
Japan, and becomes a scale test. Literally rescuing this opus from art
book shelves, it exploits and shows the ability of this series to morph

into proper building proportions with the outcome of a project, as the

opposite of a conclusion. Selected for its median qualities in terms of size,
program hosting capacities, and feasibility rather than for its demiurgical
pretensions, a single scheme is released in the dense urban environment
of central Tokyo to show the inherent flexibility that this set can offer. In
return, this final part intends to reveal the sitelessness of all the other items
by contrast.

INTRODUCTION

xi

CHAPTER ONE

HONG KONG

mosaic slab

dissected facade

blown corners

panel globe

kneeling pyramid

split column

stretched arch

triangle bridge

zoning windows

column jam

swollen triangulation

elbow tower

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

13

14

packed slab

sigma building

16

17

pixel circle

19

18

20

22

inflatable floors

21

acoustic slab

23

sleeve towers

optician building

pitched-roof dilemma

alternate cantilever

15

pebble square

24

physical sketch

windproof tower

25

26

house arena

28

27

30

29

swollen tiling

fan slab

stretched wire frame

31

33

32

climbing pitched roof

genealogical tower

34

35

blown shafts

pebble tower

pinned-down tower

reduced high-rise

36

window reel

structural parasites

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

37

38

hula hoop cone

40

dissected plan

41

43

42

44

fingerprint windows

46

continuous wire frame

45

cushion landscape

47

minced cantilever

base pleat

columnless arcades

hopping frames

39

tentacle columns

48

recycled yards

double-Y tower

49

50

split building

underground program

52

51

54

53

57

56

cone lanes

palm block

58

59

lifted halls

skin = circulation

seismic columns

lava slab

55

courtyard splash

sphere cross

60

buoy structure

creeping tower

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

61

62

hinge slab

64

P tower

67

grid line

defragmented tower

napkin structure

71

liquid cuts

high-rise plot

69

68

70

magnetic portholes

66

65

concentric columns

63

topo column

72

garland tower

volume vs. lines

73

74

vegetal shafts

cross tower

meteor facade

76

75

78

77

79

cracked towers

pillar crown

bubbling tower

81

80

82

83

infinite tower

program falls

translation block

burried square

84

stretched referential

giraffe tower

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

85

86

tower mime

88

tripod house

91

ground-floor stretch

92

S cuts

94

paw columns

93

double-loop tower

95

cardioid arena

sliced floors

90

89

skewered origami

10

87

paper slab

96

butterfly block

permanent scaffoldings

97

98

hollow tower

100

99

101

cubical dome

103

102

moment balconies

104

hollow girder

106

pitched cross

105

crafted corners

pyramid teepee

107

fractal pyramid

foundation free

rounded corners

108

circular cantilever

pumpkin block

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

11

109

110

sliced balance

112

oblique floors

113

pebble facade

115

114

116

118

continuous balconies

117

skin vs. volume

119

cubic jaws

translated hall

mosaic lasso

roof column

12

111

slide tower

120

racquet tower

continuous block

121

122

global slabs

124

123

flake slab

milled portholes

125

bipolar block

127

126

compressed path

128

stem towers

130

129

fiber program

131

hatched floors

locked tower

pitched floors

132

digital slab

district tower

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

13

133

134

pyramid shield

136

138

137

139

sunken erasure

simple top

cone dome

143

program dodge

dried panels

141

140

142

introverted tripod

gill windows

lotus globe

14

135

comet structure

144

atomic towers

fractal heap

145

146

revolving bundle

148

147

lifted diagonal

150

149

balcony pyramid

151

chalky cantilever

solid wire frame

WTC proposal

155

peeled facade

opus tower

153

152

154

inflated disk

recycled tower

156

pitched stair

timber windows

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

15

157

158

double roof

limp corridors

160

161

163

162

164

165

167

checkered arch

stalactite structure

telescopic corner

flat circus

166

checkered portholes

hunched cross

hirsute facade

16

159

node hub

168

forced grid

floor stretch

169

170

city-block stack

172

171

174

173

tower jet

175

horseshoe tower

177

pyramid tower

double arch

179

wall projections

window stretch

crawling slab

176

178

crumpled regulation

hatch building

180

armor tower

scalped dome

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

17

181

182

radar tower

184

186

185

187

city-block chain

189

dancing column

column boa

191

cavity yard

floor loop

spilled structure

188

190

jiggling grid

shrunk plot

diagonal sphinx

18

183

192

spool tower

crumpled disk

193

194

planted arena

196

195

197

pitched-roof column

199

198

mineral crop

echo block

square trap

203

centrifugal columns

soundwave corner

201

200

202

evaporative tower

slab splits

eroded program

204

middle settling

facade sheets

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

19

206

205

tower node

208

inertial windows

209

forced towers

211

210

212

214

drain tower

213

fiber columns

215

double U block

huddled slab

fractal bridge

lambda floors

20

207

radial hall

216

wood slab

stellar column

218

217

orientation tower

220

219

forensic housing

222

221

3/4 cantilever

223

elastic block

Paris plan windows

jaw slab

224

half-moon tower

buried star

CHAPTER ONE HONG KONG

21

CHAPTER TWO

NEW YORK

225

226

tuning tower

228

227

ignited slab

229

crunched corners

231

230

walking circuit

232

buttress towers

234

hanging antenna

233

pitched crown

235

roof crack

ripped corridor

musical openings

236

tome stack

tectonic floors

CHAPTER TWO NEW YORK

25

237

238

globe stretch

reciprocal floors

240

243

projected park

disk hops

filled outline

prop block

247

shelf building

structural heroism

245

244

246

sparkling block

242

241

Z building

26

239

248

lying towers

pitched corner

249

250

cantilevered trunk

252

251

blown pyramids

254

253

expansive windows

255

257

facade surplus

lying totem

checkered pitched roof

wrestling slabs

bark facade

256

258

rotary cantilever

259

split disks

260

corner wedges

outlined windows

CHAPTER TWO NEW YORK

27

261

262

extruded ruin

264

program knuckles

267

dotted block

268

mesh building

270

pixel meteor

269

calendar panels

circulation tower

271

globular tower

circumventing towers

266

265

split tower

28

263

272

amoeba windows

pennant slab

273

274

pinecone flats

276

275

courtyard triangle

277

tamped cone

279

278

expanded block

280

bifurcated balconies

282

chapped column

281

floor hook

slalom structure

283

inverted ruin

quartered globe

284

radial facades

caryatid towers

CHAPTER TWO NEW YORK

29

285

286

lopsided stack

288

program bondage

291

roaring pilotis

rolled circle

can flats

brushstroke building

column jaw

293

292

294

causeway towers

290

289

structural sheet

30

287

295

rubber facade

296

packaging top

trimmed heap

297

298

glowing square

corner hubs

300

299

301

dotted-marks tower

303

302

square vs. tower

305

prop cantilever

307

wrung city block

facade drag

dry curtain walls

304

306

dotted frame

flat curve

308

floor trap

barrel square

CHAPTER TWO NEW YORK

31

309

310

floor container

312

lifted ground floor

313

315

314

316

program overload

318

projected slab

317

block jam

319

ramp ring

sky seizure

switchboard block

flat column

32

311

bicephalous tower

320

floor press

evanescent tower

321

323

322

attached tower I

horizontal stalactites

324

325

O plan N section

326

corner traction

328

327

shutter bulge

attached tower II

spiral trench

329

open plan

circus towers

330

dome vs. cupola

CHAPTER TWO NEW YORK

33

CHAPTER THREE

COPENHAGEN

331

332

pentagon tower

334

333

335

oblique twist

337

336

ramified tower

339

star vs. square

341

open city block

foliate facades

finger-frame towers

338

340

cornet slab

fingerprint urbanism

volume simulacrum

342

medallion slab

CHAPTER THREE

XYZ megastructure

COPENHAGEN

37

343

344

grid vs. frames

346

column spray

347

girder globe

349

348

350

352

reeled windows

351

frame blend

353

flexible ban

UN building

heaved hall

column floor

38

345

street cupola

354

foliate block

dried floors

355

356

spool disk

358

357

bubble arch

359

column vs. column

361

360

autophage city block

362

tendrilled loop

364

wood-stock building

363

penguin tower

365

shucked facades

functional towers

concurring arches

366

leaning city blocks

CHAPTER THREE

globes vs. globe

COPENHAGEN

39

367

368

frame set

tissue hall

370

373

sinus slab

375

sitting arches

audio facades

377

program oozing

circular cubes

ascending floors

374

376

shinto tower

372

371

beam bundle

40

369

378

solid stages

introverted facades

379

380

extruded zoning

floor bud

382

381

383

cement slab

385

384

corner radiation

386

extruded erasure

388

window film

387

paper comet

prop walls

389

fourfold floor

beveled edges

390

radius overlap

CHAPTER THREE

facade tension

COPENHAGEN

41

391

392

underground arch
394

facade towers
395

397

396

398

urban arch
400

magic pilotis
399

dotted sequence

tangential globe
401

score windows

homothetic square

pinned column

corner tower

42

393

402

envelope building

canvas slab

403

404

woven dome

406

405

escalator block

408

407

forced louvers

409

program dragon

bloom section

# building

413

hidden corners

cantilevered link

411

410

412

circulation worms

unravelled corner

414

pitched-roof slab

CHAPTER THREE

decanted tower

COPENHAGEN

43

415

416

concentrate gravity

418

regulation wrap

421

in-and-out column

422

graphic-scale building

424

unraveled slab

423

pitch ceiling

425

shelter tower

cone seal

420

419

circle vs. cone

44

417

finger yards

426

window tape

triangle towers

427

428

roll tower

430

429

captive buildings

431

section windows

433

432

circulation corners

434

dancing balconies

436

vascular balconies

435

ignited strip

437

edge target

trapped dome

tree globe

438

room carving

CHAPTER THREE

functional section

COPENHAGEN

45

439

440

lasso structure

442

strip release

443

confetti towers

445

444

446

448

liquid square

447

outlined cantilever

hatched pyramid

449

domino slabs

plug-in columns

expanded dice

rearview windows

46

441

450

nuclear tower

fold-averse slab

451

452

extensive corners

jacked-up block

454

453

456

455

ocular tower

457

anchored block

458

directive building

460

pitched-roof cube

spiral cyclops

spring floors

459

back-to-back towers

461

cement towers

462

structural strata

CHAPTER THREE

paper architecture

COPENHAGEN

47

463

464

viral tower

466

467

469

468

fission section

471

square tornado

structural obstacles

473

continuous pillar

moving target

prostrate tower

470

472

swollen facades

walking pyramid

room chain

48

465

474

column heap

erupted pyramid

475

476

disk roll

478

477

dotted farandole

479

minced slab

tube pack

480

tower follicles

CHAPTER THREE

balloon building

COPENHAGEN

49

CHAPTER FOUR

LOS ANGELES

481

482

olympic building

484

483

485

limp tripod

487

486

490

489

projected block

extruded camouflage

491

wheel tower

capsule tree

back-pass towers

488

underground towers

linear vs. concentric

erected veil

492

billboard floor

CHAPTER FOUR

vertical zoo

LOS ANGELES

53

493

494

resurrected building

496

parcel crash

497

corner squid

499

498

500

502

Goode projection plan

Lobkowitz tower

shading frames

mummy slab

54

495

room geyser

501

dotted tower

503

corner arch

504

stapled slabs

grid shot

505

506

tripartite globe

508

507

walking circle

509

bottomless tower

511

510

stellar weaving

513

locked slices

515

slab kick

competing towers

spinning rooms

512

514

chute tower

treble-clef tower

516

piercing structure

CHAPTER FOUR

pillar takeoff

LOS ANGELES

55

517

518

519

chalk tower

520

city-block hug

521

vitruvian circulation

523

524

526

structural rendering

525

wired structure

527

oblique pixel

56

522

checkered cantilever

coiled steel

e-building

stretched city block

528

dome stack

ribbon tower

529

530

trenched dome

532

531

ground-bound floors

533

spool steps

535

534

paper floors

536

eye slab

538

ballast dome

537

puddle pyramid

539

tube dome

mold facade

dancing floors

540

pitched-roof belt

CHAPTER FOUR

viral structure

LOS ANGELES

57

541

542

statistic structure

544

thick tape

545

Beuys tower

547

546

548

550

wired shading

549

twofold canyon

551

tower glass

girder cone

extruded path

globe glove

58

543

puzzle facades

552

napkin slab

city-block jam

553

554

ivy screen

556

555

tower arena

558

557

program glass

559

convergent towers

561

cube screw

dome plus

563

log-joint building

free Plan Voisin

pyramid pennant

560

562

pillar stock

564

cube hug

CHAPTER FOUR

garland floors

LOS ANGELES

59

565

566

program pie

568

edentate block

569

chimney column

571

570

572

574

animal caryatids

573

scribble glazing

575

solar grid

drying antennas

magnet square

building melee

60

567

obstructed periscope

forsaking cantilever

576

linear globe

577

578

walking node

580

579

skyline jar

581

ferris elevator

583

582

solid glass

584

sequence towers

586

rotative arena

585

UC block

587

dripping skylight

diagonal release

hoop columns

588

cantilevered pennant

CHAPTER FOUR

flat hinges

LOS ANGELES

61

589

590

tower globe

592

dog-eared pyramid

593

calendar cone

595

594

596

598

housing slabs

597

bondage columns

599

forced facades

belt structure

S frame

walking slab

62

591

half-S section

600

braid tower

roof cap

601

602

curtain slab

604

603

U-turn tower

606

605

shriveled square

607

creeper columns

ostrich arch

bundle block

611

drilled rock

chain tower

609

608

610

grid dome

pyramid crunch

612

D tower

fractal whale

CHAPTER FOUR

LOS ANGELES

63

613

614

leprous block

616

618

617

619

unstuck windows

620

diameter axis

622

telepathic towers

621

peeled ceiling

623

hoist tower

hinged flats

spit towers

meshed slab

64

615

lattice slab

624

city-block dome

curly plus

625

626

coral portholes

628

627

630

629

digital section

631

eye slab

633

progressive grid

635

amplified facade

optional corners

city-block spool

632

634

globe vs. dome

vertical Atomium

funnel wire frame

636

U-turn building

CHAPTER FOUR

interface facades

LOS ANGELES

65

637

638

global cross

640

642

641

643

amoeba slab

exponential balconies

program texture

finger-frame lock

647

horned corners

pigtail towers

645

644

646

internal battle

collision crop

topo facades

66

639

648

ticket tower

crown jaws

649

650

frame slab

652

651

654

653

block hug

655

spiral bowl

topo stairs

oblique wave

659

climbing balconies

cubical ivy

657

656

658

program potato

wire-frame column

striped bowl

660

corner columns

CHAPTER FOUR

column jaws

LOS ANGELES

67

661

662

665

668

670

669

671

floored facade

needle column

digressive columns

circular stairs

double hinge

68

666

mixed floors

beam trap

667

structural scales

square stretch

globe stack

664

663

672

skittle block

unit evaporation

673

674

comb house

676

675

vacuum towers

677

dog-eared slab

679

678

inverted pitch

680

oblique table

682

substracted columns

solid lighting

rotary city block

681

outline overlaps

683

map tower

684

globe corner

CHAPTER FOUR

tripod hug

LOS ANGELES

69

685

686

girder arch

688

corner lift

691

glazing snare

692

lifted towers

694

erectile shutters

693

block wave

695

corner locks

global plan

690

689

oblique slices

70

687

acoustic rooms

696

frequency block

double cone

697

698

rotary Plan Voisin

700

699

square mapping

702

701

seizing courtyard

703

structural antenna

flattened hemisphere

excursive corner

707

turbine block

hollow star

705

704

706

half structure

refused skyscraper

708

vanishing sequence

CHAPTER FOUR

A4 building

LOS ANGELES

71

709

710

corrugated corners

712

tower dissection

715

line pack

housing towers

triple fold

719

mac tower

insulation facades

717

716

718

sleeve tower

714

713

ribbed slab

72

711

coefficient walls

720

paper balconies

slab steps

721

722

chamfer tower

724

723

structural scene

725

audio corner

727

726

crossed pitched roof

728

barbed-wire structure

730

solid fishnet

729

dimension block

731

ionic cantilever

grid bulges

squeeze-box facade

732

stapled floors

CHAPTER FOUR

split column

LOS ANGELES

73

733

734

suburban tower

736

735

simulated sphere

738

737

congested corner

739

stellar towers

sticker panels

74

bobbin facade

743

frayed square

crushed arena

741

740

742

quadruped slab

fern columns

744

hurricane facade

corner impact

745

746

corner steps

748

747

749

stretched pyramid

751

750

pillow structure

752

cantilevered satellite

754

sea-horse column

753

peeled sphere

755

flattened block

facade wrinkles

revolving stripes

sawtooth edges

756

pyramid cube

CHAPTER FOUR

crown tower

LOS ANGELES

75

757

758

crown square

shaft locks

760

763

facade suction

flint pitched roof

imbricated slits

767

peeled roll

cloud carousel

765

764

766

tortile wire frame

762

761

diamond tower

76

759

snooker urbanism

768

corner substitutes

sunken windows

769

770

dried grid

772

771

stamen block

773

telescopic city block

XXX floors

774

landed Sputnik

corner cloud

775

crisscross sections

CHAPTER FOUR

LOS ANGELES

77

CHAPTER FIVE

TOKYO

776

777

pixel magnets

779

778

clover tower

780

ball-bearing floors

782

781

radial dome

783

incremental program

785

dog-eared chessboard

784

street-pattern tower

786

tube tower

radar slab

erectile cantilever

787

flattened globe

crater portholes

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

81

788

corset tower

791

793

792

794

grid chunk

hesitant cantilever

eight tower

798

menhir jam

deflatable tower

796

795

797

hollow pyramid

dipped city block

tangential beams

82

790

789

flag building

799

maelstrom plan

beam building

800

801

twig square

803

802

flaccid edges

805

804

bundletower

806

structural hub

807

pyramid blimp

809

akimbo tower

808

global tower

810

modern buttresses

stealth circle

splash towers

811

columnless floors

bumped geode

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

83

812

813

continuous Cerd

815

room studs

816

can wave

818

817

819

821

window spray

820

insulation block

822

triple E

sag bridge

column jaw

vying arches

84

814

glove slab

823

yard tape

pillar facades

824

825

column spray

827

826

structural orbits

829

828

underground Atomium

830

program shake

831

coaxial floors

833

iconic building

832

spiral straitjacket

834

swollen streets

tile floors

circulation ivy

835

wrung floors

kanji tower

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

85

836

837

tower belt

839

cone rebound

842

extra corner

jaw circle

crane towers

846

kanji plan

discharge structure

844

843

845

chain-link towers

841

840

plunger facades

86

838

globe menhir

847

perspiring program

plastic atrium

848

849

bondage floors

851

850

852

lateral twist

854

853

rotary center

855

katakana tower

857

turbine sphere

856

curtain-wall can

homothetic slabs

858

facade spray

wrung block

girder building

859

warhead facades

bridge block

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

87

860

861

plunger facets

polar columns

863

864

brick flats

866

865

867

869

ornamental plan

868

whirling tiles

870

concentric towers

spring block

symmetric tower

triangle trunk

88

862

suburban city block

iteration escape

871

organic arkhitekton

872

873

spherical arkhitekton

875

874

moment towers

876

end bundle

878

877

square tostada

879

slab crawl

881

spiral sets

880

drip cantilever

882

slope piercing

USB tower

roof projection

883

shield walls

column star

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

89

884

885

shriveled pennant

887

convex floors

888

hatched block

890

889

891

893

capsule slab

892

hive cube

894

lattice globe

slough tower

corner mitosis

solar tower

90

886

concave floors

895

hinged slab

radar arch

896

897

leapfrog circle

899

898

cantilevered outline

901

900

crawling frames

902

tripod tower

903

post-and-beam tower

905

crumpled globe

904

claw towers

906

globe chain

skewer antenna

iteration leap

907

radial disk

omega block

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

91

908

909

JU tower

911

corner locks

912

tower eruption

914

913

915

917

column slalom

916

pixel flag

918

soft origami

girder tower

acanthus panels

bouncing tower

92

910

global strata

919

dried girder

ramp balconies

920

921

siamese floors

923

922

deep billboard

924

centrifugal balconies

926

925

score building

927

extension icicles

929

canopy slide

928

eye beam

fungal balconies

930

glass meiosis

cuff circle

931

slab lock

radial column

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

93

932

933

corner extensions

935

panel geyser

938

grid bulge

939

panel locks

941

fillet tower

940

whirling pillars

942

bridge tower

excavated cantilever

937

936

slab trail

94

934

continuous facade

943

marble block

street settling

944

945

joint corner

947

946

column heap

949

948

grid sleeve

950

vertical skyline

thick portholes

peeled cone

954

pixel pitch

introverted frame

952

951

953

histogram circle

alternate facades

955

locked circle

hatched tower

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

95

956

957

hatched curve

959

dancing grid

962

half house

wrinkled corners

milled program

966

circular wave

stepped cantilever

964

963

965

homothetic tower

961

960

tripartite column

96

958

housing stack

967

UV slab

ricochet tower

968

969

solid firework

971

970

clamped city block

972

armed slab

974

973

rake pilotis

975

pitched tube

977

tile building

976

double-C tower

978

square mill

modernist pitched roof

column drip

979

trimmed facade

floor round

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

97

980

981

drape slab

983

exponential tower

986

rebound structure

987

dome squares

989

knitting circulation

988

tension sheet

990

woven column

envelope slab

985

984

centerfold building

98

982

shriveled circle

991

Malevich tower

grotto tower

992

993

forced pitched roof

995

994

dissected hall

996

circulation limbs

997

legged loop

stepped rhombus

addition slab

999

998

program rolls

1000

fluffed antennas

frequency strip

1001

nuclear cones

CHAPTER FIVE TOKYO

99

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

Tokyo as testbed

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

103

A tangential leap from the fantastical into reality, this final chapter explores
the possibility of implementing a single scheme from the previous series
(figure 638) as a building. Formerly inspired by Tokyos rigid regulation
system, the selected concept reconnects with the actual constraints of
a site in that very city, landing on a plot adjacent to Yoyogi Park. The
buildinga usual combination of commercial, residential, and office
spacesis the result of the collision of twenty-three spheres (coincidentally
equaling the number of Tokyo wards) of identical radius, which fuse inward
to differentiate various spaces by vaults rather than walls. The seemingly
random stacking of these elements allows groupings to create larger
rooms when appropriate or divisions into smaller ones when cut by inner
floors.
The remaining outer membrane of the structure is cropped as it
meets the boundary defined by city building rules, thus providing diverse
diameters of openings to match the respective functions and locations
of the rooms. Facades become sections, leaving the appearance of the
whole as a mere by-product of a compelled site-specificity.

1
0.6

(north direction)

1
1.25
20m

10m

Zone 3 height regulation system from Shibuya City Office

104

Process model

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

105

N
0 10

Urban situation

106

50

100m

Aerial view

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

107

Street-level view

108

X4

X3

X1

X2

D012

RFL=GL+2224

4685

D013

1
D151

7FL=GL+1755

t = 2 5
t=100

5
D155
t=3

t=10
t = 3 5 0

2265

t=12
t = 2 0
t = 6 8
t = 2 5 0

6FL=GL+1530

t=25
t=100

2360

5FL=GL+1295

t=12
t=20
t=118
t=250

t = 2 5

2685

22245

1
D102

D105

t=12
t=20
t=118
t=250

t=25
t=100

4FL=GL+1025
t=3

t=10
t = 3 5 0

: t=9.5+9.5

3250

t=25
t=100

3
D153

t=12
t=20
t=118
t=250

3FL=GL+700

2
D152

3200

: t=9.5+9.5

t=25
t=100

t=12
t=20
t=118
t=250

2FL=GL+380

: t=9.5+9.5

3500

t=25
t=100

D154

300

1FL=GL+30

t=12
t=20
t=118
t=250

GL=+-0.00
: t=9.5+9.5

2900

5000

t=25
t=100
t=32
t=450

t=12
t=20
t=118
t=250

2100

B1FL=GL-290

D153

3275

1650

3275

8200

X4

X3

X1

X2

5m

Transversal section

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

109

D012

D014

D012

D014

D213

Y3

Y3

2
D210

t=12

16m2

19m2

: t=12

D013

+0.30

D013

+3.80
6350

6350

19m2

: t=12
t=25
t=100
t=350

10175

10175

13m2
t=25
t=100
t=350

t=12

:
O20

:
O20

Y2

D011

15.5m2

15.5m2

Y2

1
D011

7.5m2

t=12

3826

3826

15.5m2

t=12

2
D211

2
D212

Y1

Y1

3275

1650

3275

3275

1650

8200

X2

X1

3275

8200

X4

X3

X2

X1

X4

X3

Level 1 floor plan

Level 2 floor plan

D012

D014

5m

D012

D014

t=5+A6+
t=6.5

Y3

Y3

2
D215

2
D214

16.5m2

10.5m2

20m2

D013

6350

6350

D013

t=25
t=100
t=350

+10.25

t=12

17m2

10175

10175

+7.00

t=25
t=100
t=350

:
O20

: t=12

Y2

D011

: t=12

10m2

Y2

D011

t=12

t=12

11m2

3826

14m2

3826

t=12

5m2

2
D216

Y1

Y1

3275

1650

3275

3275

1650

X2

Level 3 floor plan

110

3275

8200

8200

X1

X3

X4

X1

X2

Level 4 floor plan

X3

X4

D012

D014

D012

D014

Y3

Y3

t=12

:
O20

D217

t=12

t=3

t=10

D013

D013

6350

6350

t=3

t=10

2
D218

t=12

19.5m2

t=25
t=100
t=350

Y2

D011

D220

10175

10175

+12.95

Y2

D011

+15.30

6m2

11m2

11m2

t=25
t=100
t=350

3826

3826

: t=12

t=12

t=12

: t=12
:
t=25

2
D221

Y1

Y1
2
D219

3275

1650

3275

3275

1650

8200

X2

X1

3275

8200

X4

X3

X2

X1

Level 5 floor plan

X4

X3

Level 6 floor plan

D012

D014

D012

D014

Y3

Y3

t=12

t=12

1
D013

6350

6350

1
D013

t=3

t=10

10175

10175

t=3

t=10

2
D218

Y2

D011

Y2

D011

:
O20

2
D218

3826

3826

+17.55

14.5m2

t=25
t=100
t=350

: t=12

t=3

t=10

Y1

Y1

3275

1650

3275

3275

1650

Level 7 floor plan

X2

3275

8200

8200

X1

X3

X4

X1

X2

X3

X4

Roof plan

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

111

D011

D013

RFL=GL+2224

1
1.25

t=12

W6

7FL=GL+1755

6FL=GL+1530

5FL=GL+1295

4FL=GL+1025

D105

W5

t=3

t=10

t=12

t=12

t=3

t=10

1
D103

W4

3FL=GL+700

W3

2FL=GL+380

D104

t=12

W1

2
D225

W2
1FL=GL+30
GL=+-0.00

East elevation

D012

D014

RFL=GL+2224

7FL=GL+1755

t=3

t=10

6FL=GL+1530

5FL=GL+1295

D106

D102

4FL=GL+1025

t=3

t=10

3FL=GL+700

2FL=GL+380

1FL=GL+30
GL=+-0.00

South elevation

112

5m

D014

D012

RFL=GL+2224

D226

W16

W15
7FL=GL+1755

6FL=GL+1530

t=12

W14
W13

t=3

t=10

5FL=GL+1295

W12

D102

D105

4FL=GL+1025

W11

2
D227

W10
3FL=GL+700

t=3

t=10

W9

2FL=GL+380
t=12

W8
W7
1FL=GL+30
GL=+-0.00

North elevation

RFL=GL+2224

D011

D013

t=3

t=10

1
1.25

7FL=GL+1755

6FL=GL+1530

D105

W22

t=3

t=10

5FL=GL+1295

t=12

W20

W21

4FL=GL+1025

1
D103

3FL=GL+700

W19

D104

2FL=GL+380

2
D228

W18
W17
1FL=GL+30
GL=+-0.00

West elevation

CHAPTER SIX

SCALE TEST

113

View from Odakyu Line

114

CREDITS

Book design
Franois Blanciak
Hans Park
Project contributors
Wan-Ling Ko
Dick Olango
Omoi Toyonaga
Illustrations
NASA: 103
Shibuya City Office: 104
All other illustrations Franois Blanciak