Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition 2006 theme The Plan-less House judge Kengo Kuma 1954 Born in Kanagawa Prefecture 1979 Completed the Master Course, Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo 1985-86 Visiting Scholar of the Graduate School, the Columbia University and Asian Cultural Council 1987 Established Spatial Design Studio 1990 Established Kengo Kuma & Associates 1998-99 Professor at Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University Theme Description It is generally thought that the plan is a means for describing lifestyle. The fundamental principle of this descriptive technique is division. It is thought that the lifestyle inside a house is divided with the device of “walls.” Therefore, if only the elements called “walls” are picked out, and given an expression in which they are emphasized, people may understand the lines on a drawing that indicate the “walls” as describing the essence of a house. Yet should a house be “walls”? Why can we not describe a house just by furniture? Why can we not describe a house just by tableware? Or what about a descriptive method using only floor textures? As the floor is the only component that the human body directly touches (actually, there are also doorknobs and toilet seats), if we were to describe a house by a technique of scanning with the body, the house would be described as a collection of textured floors. Or it would also be possible to describe a house in terms of air temperature, or in terms of malodorous places due to wind flows. Why have I become so skeptical with regard to the descriptive method of walls? It is because I feel a sense of unease with the division of lifestyle, and the corresponding methods of spatial division. The cause might lie in devices such as mobile phones, which invalidate spatial divisions, and might also lie in the transformation (the becoming-amorphous) of interpersonal relationships and family relationships. Or, perhaps the “lifestyle” of the person that was the initial premise for the “division of lifestyle” disappears during the era of building a house. Because a person perhaps builds a house for somewhat distinct purposes, if this is investigated more thoroughly, the house, including every “thing,” rather than being something made for some particular purpose could also be said to somehow become a manifestation of its era. Taking a broad view of all of this, I am interested in a plan-less condition. Application and Entry Contents: Site plan, floor plan, elevation, section, perspective drawings and axonometric drawings in any scale. Photographs of models may be used. You are free to append detailed drawings and other charts or descriptive texts that make your design clearer. Descriptive texts should be in either English or Japanese. Paper: Complete all drawings, illustrative materials, and texts on TWO sheets of A1 size (594mm*841mm). DO NOT USE A PANEL. Media: You may use blueprints, pencil, ink, color, or photographs. NO ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Identification: On the back side of each of two sheets of paper, the entrant must show his or her name, occupation, age, address (home and office), telephone and facsimile number and e-mail address. All of these items should be typed for the sake of legibility. Cover this information with a strip of opaque paper that may be easily removed later. Deadline: All entries must reach the competition office no later than September 11th (Monday), 2006. Mail entries to the following address: attn.: Entries Committee, Shinkenchiku Residential Competition 2006 Shinkenchiku-sha, Co., Ltd. 2-31-2, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8501, Japan Announcement of Winners Winners will be announced in the 2006 December issue of “SHINKENCHIKU” and vol. 64 issue of “THE JAPAN ARCHITECT”. Prize The prize (total: 1,500,000 yen) will be distributed at the discretion of the Judge. Notice * No registration is necessary for entry in this competition. * Entries must never have been made public in any form previously. Nor can they be submitted simultaneously to any other competition. * The hosts reserve publication rights with regard to all entries. * Questions will not be answered by the hosts. All matters not covered in the regulations listed above are left to the discretion of the entrants. * The work must not (in total or in part) infringe on a copyright. Do not use images copied from magazines, books or Web sites. If a copyright infringement is discovered in the winning entry, the award may be taken back at the hosts’ discretion. * No entries will be returned. * Entries will only be accepted if they adhere to all the rules appropriately. * All necessary costs for submission (airmail charge, air courier charge, tax, insurance, etc.) must be fully paid by entrants.