FUMIHIKO MAKI ARCHIVE

Distinctive Texture Composition

Student Researcher:  ​Hiro Namekawa (EI B2)

Key Words:  
・Adding small distinctive parts as accents
・Used on the wall behind the glass screen in the lobby or atrium space
・Used in areas that emphasize a single "face" of the building volume
・Used for the entire building

Maki's architecture has a strong impression of bright monotones, such as concrete and metal, but there are also some techniques that use distinctive textures, such as colors and local materials. Curious about the intent behind these techniques, we investigated and categorized the areas of Maki's architecture that have a clear saturation of color.
These characteristic textures are used inside and outside the building to emphasize on showing a specific areas, to guide people's gaze, and to emphasize the movement of people inside the building by creating a sense of transparency. They also play a role in blending modernity with the local character of a place, as well as with the city as a whole.
Using a base color for the entire building is seen in places like the Keio Mita campus, though it is relatively rare.  

The Picture Frame Effect at SFC

Student Researcher:  ​Masakazu Sakakibara (EI B3)

Key Words: 
・Picture effect
・The Through Effect
・Effect of Wanting to Peek

In Maki’s architecture, the technique of impressively framing views is skillfully employed, and it is frequently used at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus as well. I became interested in how limiting the field of view in architecture has an effect at the SFC campus. To analyze the intention behind the framing of openings at SFC, commonly used in Maki’s architecture, I created juxtaposed photographs of the hidden parts outside the frame to visualize the field of view difference. The choice to design the campus with viewpoints like this transforms the lush green space into something akin to an open-air theatre or a work of art.  
・Picture effect  
Cutting out parts of landscapes to create a new one gives the feeling of a painting on a wall. The frames exclude much from the usual wide view, viewers experience a different landscape. To achieve the frame that is just right, the viewing position is sometimes subtly designated. 
・The Through Effect  
SFC has an abundance of wide views, yet it's the deeply carved views that penetrate both indoors and outdoors, strongly evokes site's layout and axial planning sense. 
・Effect of Wanting to Peek  
Small openings in stairways, corridors, and other spaces that might otherwise be closed off make you feel like you are at SFC no matter where you are.  

Space Experience Picture Scroll of “SPIRAL”

Student Researcher:  Takumi Tsukada (PM B3)

Key Words:
The richness of spatial changes in the sequence of the Spiral Building

Walking through Maki's architecture, I was fascinated by the richness of its spatial changes.  I took up the Spiral building and tried to display it like a picture scroll so that we can objectively analyze the sequence of spaces that pedestrians experience when they follow the path. I found several patterns that create changes.
(1) Gradual changes in floor height and abrupt changes in ceiling height.
(2) When you are unexpectedly led back the way you have just come, a completely different space unfolds ahead of you.
(3) As your body changes direction, what you see changes to the left and right.  

Depth created by a Collection of Forms

Student Researcher:  Ema Kobayashi (PM B3)

Key Words:​ 
Creating depth maps

I became interested in the composition of Okusei through daily experiences with Maki’s Architecture at the university. To analyze the depth of the building, I created a "depth map" for Hillside Terrace and SFC, visualizing the depth of the building. The rule to visualize the "Depth Map" was to intensify the depth as it increases. In Hillside Terrace, the depth of the space is changed using glass and steps, etc. In SFC, spatial elements as seen reminiscent of a city's blocks.  

About the Archive

About Keio University

Acknowledgements

The archive extends its thanks to the Maki family and Maki and Associates. Many Thanks to the friends and colleagues who have contributed to the ongoing development of this project. 

The Maki Archive and associated research projects were made possible by the generous support of the Takenaka Corporation. 

The archive is based at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus and led by a team of researchers and assisted by students, advisors, faculty, and allied professionals. The initial team includes (positions are as they were at the time):

Yasushi Ikeda, Project Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance
Hiroto Kobayashi, Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance
Yohko Watanabe, Professor,  Keio University Art Center
Tohru Ohnuma, Project Research Associate, Graduate School of Media and Governance

Don O'Keefe, Part-time Lecturer ( 2021 )

Keio University was founded in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa, a distinguished scholar and champion of social reform and modernization. Keio is the oldest institute of western higher education in Japan and among its most prestigious. 

Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) is one of 11 Keio University campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. Fumihiko Maki designed most of the SFC campus, which opened in 1990.