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building W60 - prague

nagasaki peace sphere -
(english version) >

nagasaki peace sphere -
(japanese version)

urban design


profile + philosophy

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wall_d.
(south-east elevation)
































wall_a.
(north-east elevation)






























wall_b.
(north-west elevation)





































wall_c.
(south-west elevation)











































floor _ plan
































ext. perspective d-a
(morning sunlight)































view of the entrance
(late afternoon light)



































ext. perspective a-b
(morning sunlight)




































ext. perspective b-c
(afternoon sunlight)








































ext. perspective a-b,
white + maps disks
c l o s e d
(afternoon sunlight)






































ext. perspective c-d
(late afternoon light)
























ext. perspective c-d
(night view)



































ext. perspective b-c
(night view)









































int. perspective b-a
(late afternoon light)








































int. perspective c-b
(early morning light)







































int. perspective d-c-b
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int. perspective d-c-b
(morning sunlight)

































int. perspective b-a-d
(late afternoon light)


































variant with red disk -
wall_a.
(north-west elevation)






























variant with red disk -
wall_b.
(north-west elevation)


peace sphere monument
nagasaki, japan
 ( english version )

The architect wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their efforts, cooperation and support:

The Office of the Mayor of Nagasaki
(NAGASAKI PREFECTURE)

Mr. Masashi Sada and
Mr. Shigeri Sada
(SADA PLANNING INC.)

Mr. Kenji Masaki
(MASAKI / ENVEC CORPORATION)

architect_Naoki Kinoshita

Dr. Kazutaka Fujimoto
(INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER of NAGASAKI)

Dr. Takakazu Ishimatsu + family
(NAGASAKI UNIVERSITY)

"There are no sculptors only, no painters only, no musicians only, no architects only ...the plastic, creative incident fulfills itself in an overall form in the service of poetry."

- Le Corbusier _ (architect)
n a g a s a k i

Located on a pier in the city of the last atomic bomb on earth, the Peace Sphere is a monument to the human longing for peace and the freedom to be happy. It is the difficult task of the monumental to be the most pure expression of the human sense of harmony and order. As such, the monument stresses the most essential not only in a material sense, but above all in the spiritual sense.
Concrete (the only material to survive the atomic blast), glass, walls, stone, wood, and all such materials are here only to express and to form the _ e s s e n c e . In and of themselves they are nothing and a necessary weight. It is my duty as the architect to make these things go away in order that the thought they hold will appear.
O
t h e _ s p h e r e

A sphere is a deliberate form which symbolizes the absolute and the ideal. It is used in various cultures to symbolize the divine whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. "The flying perfect" is what Emerson calls it. There could be no more suitable shape than the sphere to represent the principle of peace here. In the English language, “sphere” is defined as both a circle or round shape and as a ball-shaped mass. Thus, it is 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional in our understanding of it.
In this project, the principle of a sphere is architecturally interpreted to be a room and not a dome. (The idea of a domed space doesn't correspond to the way we understand the world – it's backwards and inverted. We're on the surface of the earth, not inside of it.) To wit, the sphere is flattened and becomes 4 circles set into the walls. Each circular opening coincides with the 4 cardinal (compass) points of north, south, east, and west.
"Simplicity is so difficult because it requires absolutely everything."

- T. S. Eliot _ (poet)
The approach to the design is one not dissimilar to the Japanese terms "sabi" and "wabi" which define a spare, solitary beauty and serenity. The space will have a restrained and sophisticated sense of beauty and quiet. It will have the spirit of contemplation of world suffering and pain. The aim is to invoke a message of universal peace and enlightenment ("satori") through an elemental beauty of dignity and repose.
O _ H i n o m a r u

Central to the concept of the design is the idea of Hinomaru, which means "the place where the sun rises." The Japanese heart learns early that it lives in a land that gracefully meets the dawning day before the rest of the world. The dignity of this fact is expressed in the nation's (Nippon) flag of a red circle inside a white rectangle. As the place where light first appears in the world's sky, it is therefore a place of _ h o p e.
The Hinomaru composition thusly provides the window (opening) and the wall (enclosure) format for the building. Seeing that Nagasaki was an important window for Japan to the world historically, the analogy is apt. I have also found this composition symbolic of Japan as an island surrounded by the sea. The duality speaks to the interplay of solid+void, land+sea, line+curve, light+shadow, individual+society, peace+non-peace, unity+isolation, man+nature.
O O __ t h e _ d i s k s

The circular disks are constructed of a super strong poly-carbonate plastic or glass with the images of world maps sand-blasted and/or painted onto them. The area of the land (continents) is translucent, and the water (sea) areas are partially transparent. Another option is to make the disks of a special glass and have the world maps displayed onto them with a new technology which allows the image to appear and disappear within the layering of the glass with the simple flick of a switch.
Maps will show the following obstacles to peace which we have in the world:

_war - the absence of peace [man vs. man]

_starvation - the lack of peace in the body/mind/soul of man [man vs. conscience]

_environmental disorders - man's attack on the peace of nature [man vs. nature]
The 2 disks facing the east and the west slide horizontally. This allows for an overlaying of information (map on map/image on image). One disk is be white (a milk-colored glass). The white disk is symbolic of peace, purity, and placidity. I imagine 1 disk to be available for children to touch, draw upon and/or rotate. There is also a single disk which slides vertically into the ground.
The sliding action of the disks is a functional method to control natural light and air into the space, as in traditional Japanese houses. The sliding action can be automated by a computer or done manually by the keeper of the building. The sensation of the disks will be one of floating and non-alignment to the standing visitor who rotates their body through the space. Each disk is to be read as the beads of a rosary – concentrating on one yet compelled on to the next one.
"We understand so quickly that we forget to imagine."

- Gaston Bachelard
_ (philosopher)
The visitor will be able to simultaneously relate what s/he sees on the world map disks with the reality of the world outside. The contrast of here–there and of peace–chaos elsewhere. This would include not only with man, but also with Nature. In this way, it is possible to see a slice of foliage, the sky, the sun, and the water in the harbor through the map disks. The wind will also be felt through the building through the slats for the sliders. The effects of changes in weather, the position of the sun and the seasons will penetrate the building and make it a living thing.
m a t e r i a l s

The composition of materials is not unlike the composition of a beautiful song or melody. The parts must flow and express the whole, and create an overall effect or presence to the viewer/listener. Goethe's famous maxim that "Architecture is frozen music." holds true. In all architecture, the most important material an architect works with is
_ l i g h t. All form depends on it. Without light, there is no form. Similarly, there is no music without sound.
"Any knowledge of reality begins and ends with experience... the conclusions obtained by means of purely rational procedures are, as far as reality is concerned, completely hollow."

- Albert Einstein _ (scientist)
The integrity of the material must be respected and followed. Color, texture, grain, and surface. The entry has a sliding door-panel of metal and wood. The walls and structure of the building are concrete – a plastic, sculptural material which shows how it is formed. The 4 walls contain an inner space-cavity in order to allow for a soft light to filter up from the openings onto the ceiling. A gap for light is created as the top of the inner walls are 50 cm lower than the outer.
As mentioned above, the map disk-windows will be of glass or poly-carbonate plastic (the material used in safety glasses and in high-security bullet-proof automobiles). The flooring will be a textured concrete with the line pattern in rough marble strips of a similar, but lighter hue. Alternate options are lava stone in the floor, and panels of wood on the interior walls.
"The purpose of all war is peace."

- Saint Augustine _ (350-430)


Finally, I would like to add that as an American, the Peace Sphere Monument is a beautiful gesture not only to the city of Nagasaki, but to the world. This is an emotional piece of architecture. In a place where not so very long ago Americans caused incomprehensible DESTRUCTION, I feel privileged to partake in its CREATION.