DESIGN Koishikawa
芦沢が出会った築50年超えのオフィスビルは、エリアの再開発が進む中で2年後の解体を控え、テナントの半数以上が撤退した状態だった。しかし、3面から外光を浴びるコンクリートスケルトンの空間に可能性を感じ、失われる場から未来をデザインする試みに活用したいとの思いで末短期賃貸契約を締結し、「DESIGN小石川」と命名。世界各国のアーティストやデザイナーがイベントやエキシビション、ワークショップを開催するギャラリーと、家具や生活関連のアイテムを扱う「TAIYOU no SHITA」を併設。さらにマーケットプレイス機能を実装し、着生蘭を専門に取り扱う植物店「B.U.D」や厳選された食材を取り扱う「PLAIN COMPANY」、地元商店主によるウィークエンドマーケットや夏祭りなどに場を提供した。事務所のアネックスをゲストハウスとし、アーティストレジデンスプロジェクトさながらに世界各国からアーティストやデザイナーを迎えた。
多彩に展開する中で、芦沢自身もイベントを主催。2016年「HIGHLIGHT」、2017年「GRAVITY」、2018年「Architect meets karimoku」を手掛けた。「HIGHLIGHT」では、まさに現代のハイライトというべきデザイナーやアーティストをキュレーションし、大量消費社会と一線を画すメッセージを内包したアートやプロダクトを展示。さらに東京デザインウィーク期間中には小石川とエッジの効いたデザインとの融合や、「TAIYOU no SHITA」や小石川町内のショップ、石巻工房ショールームを巻き込んだエキシビションにつなげるなど、東京の「HIGHLIGHT」ともいえる展開を示した。「GRAVITY」はピンク・フロイドとの協働や、ケルン・メディア芸術大学の学長だった功績でも知られるアンソニー・ムーア氏と共催。 “gravity waves” をテーマとするサウンドインスタレーションと、７組のデザイナーによる軽やかな重力を感じるプロダクトの展示を行った。「Architect meets karimoku」は、「家具は、空間のために設計されるべきではないか」という問いを発端に、芦沢啓治とトラフ建築設計事務所、NORM ARCHITECTSが共催。日本最大の木製家具メーカー「カリモク」をパートナーに迎え、空間と家具デザインのあり方を模索した。展示用の作品づくりにとどまらず、生産・販売体制の構築を見据えたプロセスやダイアローグを作品とする実験的な試みだった。
さまざま展開しながら、2018年に２年の活動に幕を降した「DESIGN小石川」。失われる場から未来をデザインするアプローチは、いくつかの可能性を指し示しながら、期待を超える成果を記録できたのではないかと感じている。
DESIGN Koishikawa
An exhibition is not merely only an occasion to showcase products, but also has an important role of connecting people and prompting communal exchanges to create a new culture.
The office building Ashizawa encountered was over 50 years old, and more than half of the tenants had moved out of the building, with demolition set to take place in two years due to redevelopment of the area. However, he saw potential in the concrete skeleton space, which was bathed in natural light coming in from three sides. He signed a short-term lease agreement to utilise the building in an attempt to design the future from a vanishing place and named it 'DESIGN KOISHIKAWA'. It had a gallery where artists and designers from all over the world could hold events, exhibitions and workshops, with a 'TAIYOU no SHITA' shop selling furniture and lifestyle-related items. In addition, the space could also be used as a marketplace, providing a venue for ‘B.U.D’, a plant shop specialising in epiphytic orchids, ‘PLAIN COMPANY’, which sells carefully selected foodstuffs, and a weekend market by local shopkeepers and a summer festival. The annexe of the office was also converted into a guesthouse, which welcomed artists and designers from all over the world, similar to an artist residency project. While developing the space in various ways, Ashizawa himself organised events: 'HIGHLIGHT' in 2016, 'GRAVITY' in 2017 and 'Architect meets karimoku' in 2018. For 'HIGHLIGHT' Ashizawa curated works by designers and artists who are truly highlights of our time, exhibiting art and products that encompass a message that sets them apart from the mass consumer society. Furthermore, during Tokyo Design Week, the fusion of Koishikawa with avant-garde design, 'TAI YOU no SHITA' and shops in the town of Koishikawa, connecting to an exhibition involving the Ishinomaki Laboratory showroom, showed a development that could be described as Tokyo's 'HIGHLIGHT'. 'GRAVITY' was co-organised with Anthony Moore, known for his work with Pink Floyd and his achievements as Professor of Art and Media Sciences at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. 'Gravity waves' was the theme of the sound installation and an exhibition of light gravity-inspired products by seven designers. 'Architect meets karimoku' was organised by Keiji Ashizawa, TORAFU ARCHITECTS and NORM ARCHITECTS, derived from the theme: ‘thinking about the furniture from the point of view of the space’. With Japan's largest wooden furniture manufacturer Karimoku as a partner, the project explored the nature of space and furniture design. It was an experimental attempt not only to create works for exhibition but also to use processes and dialogues with a view to establishing a production and sales system. DESIGN KOISHIKAWA, while developing in various ways, brought the curtain down on two years of activity in 2018. We feel that our approach to designing the future from a vanishing place has, while providing new opportunities, recorded results that have exceeded our expectations.