Light and Shadow

week 10

     This week is last week in which I write my blog. It is "Light and Shadow" that I will tell you about last week. Do you know a book entitled "In Praise of Shadow (陰翳礼讃)"? It is an essay which was written by Junichiro Tanizaki (谷崎潤一郎). It was published in "Traffic Economy" from 1933 to 1934, and is often cited when you think about Japanese construction and design. In addition, "In Praise of Shadow" has many remarkable parts except aspects of design, for example, the author's own sense of values, life, and beauty of Japanese people at the time and so on.


     Then, I summarized "In Praise of Shadow".

     It is "shadow" that is an important element of traditional Japanese beauty. Japanese people begin to use the conveniences of Western civilization these days (at the time when "In Praise of Shadow" was written). But Western civilization was established on the soil of Western culture, so, if the conveniences of civilization had been imported to Japan, the civilization suitable for Japanese people would have been established on the soil of Japanese culture.
     Although Western people find value in shiny things, Japanese people, Oriental people hate shiny things. Japanese people prefer darkness to light. Of course, Western houses have roof, but it is used in order to surpass the rain, and Western houses have the system to let in sunlight. So Western houses do not have the eaves. On the other hand, Japanese houses needed to prevent driving rain, so the eaves became larger and the indoor became space of darkness. However, the ancestors of Japanese people have discovered the beauty from the darkness. For example, lacquered tableware is very harmonious with light of candles twinkling in the darkness at the dim space. Ikebana and hanging scroll itself is not something to appreciate, and harmony between them and the floor and walls (=床うつり) is important.
     We create beauty in nothing. It is said that beauty not dwell on the object but exist in the figure of darkness which the darkness of the object and the object, in the light and shade.


     Next, I will state what I felt when reading "In Praise of Shadow". The traditional Japanese houses have a little light penumbra created in space by akarishoji (明かり障子) during the day. The light transmitted through such Japanese paper softly show anything in the room, and make facial expression gentle. In Japan which is hot and humid, the sunlight arrives at the ground through the thin filter of the moisture, so the natural scenery looks hazy. The ancestors of Japanese people who have looked at such views of light every day have a high sensitivity to faint appearance. Therefore, aesthetics in Japanese construction,  compared to paintings, look like an unshaded flat painting style and aesthetics in Western construction look like stereoscopic representation and rules of perspective using chiaroscuro in many cases.

Compare with Foreign Countries

week 9

     First of all, I will tell you about the affairs of Japanese houses before the affairs of houses of foreign countries. Life span of Japanese houses is about 22 years to 30 years. This figure shows that Japanese houses must be the reconstruction of each generation, that you have to think about the next reconstruction of the house as soon as you finish reconstructing it, and that the value of property of your house which is filled with your love becomes close to zero in only a few 20 years. In sort, your house which you think as property becomes your liability as soon as it completes. Moreover, if the reconstruction of houses is done frequently, incongruous cityscapes are created because the design of each house depend on the fashion of the time in which it is built, and it is no earth-friendly because a large amount of garbage is discharge.





     Next, I will tell you about the affairs of European and American houses. It is said that life span of European and American houses is about 70 years to 140 years. It is more than 4 times as long as that of Japanese houses. For example, in the United Kingdom, it is common to succeed to their houses during three generations. Moreover, it is said that American houses go up in value every year. There are few houses which become liability as soon as it is built like Japanese houses. It is because European and American houses are "sustainable housing" which has an excellent durability and design. So in Japan countless used houses are "vacant houses", whereas in Europe and America people think used houses as valuable houses and acvtively buy and sell it. Other merits of longer life span of housing are to be able to keep harmony cityscapes and to be able to reduce garbage in reconstruction of houses.


      Then what should you do in order to build "sustainable houses" in Japan? We have to think about the cause of shorter life span of Japanese houses in order to know the answer. One of the causes of it is "insulation". Japanese houses have structure to let in a air in order to spend a comfortable time in summer, but recently the building without clearance began to be made in order to shut out the cold in winter. Since then, the moisture in the room is close and is absorbed by the structure such as pillars in the walls, and water droplets are generated by the difference in temperature between indoor and outdoor around the window and on the wall. Water penetrates into the inside of structure of the house. This moisture rots a structure to support the building and encourage the development of mold. As a result, the life span of the house becomes shorter. High thermal insulate system and the system to be able to control the amount of moisture is required in order to prolong the life span of the house.

     By the way, the government also begin to think about the measures against "sustainable houses". In 2008, "200 years housing (200年住宅)" was promoted and in 2009, the "Bill about the Promotion of residential recycling" was submitted. As th above, the whole country is working on "sustainable houses".

Architectural Techniques

week8

     There is a variety of residential construction in Japan. Only Japan has such many residential constructions in the world. The main method is the following six kinds.

・Conventional method of construction (timber framework method) 【在来工法 (木造軸組工法)】
・Wood-frame construction (wooden frame wall construction) 【ツーバイフォー工法 (木造枠組壁工法)】
・Prefabrication method (lightweight steel frame) 【プレハブ工法 (軽量鉄骨造)】
・Steel Weight 【重量鉄骨造】
・Reinforced Concrete (Reinforced RC) 【鉄筋コンクリート造 (RC造)】
・Log house 【ログハウス】

 

In addition to this, there is a method derived from these six kinds, but these almost can be classified into these six. Here, I summarized each characteristic of three of them. 

Conventional method of construction (timber framework method) 【在来工法 (木造軸組工法)】

     Conventional method of construction (timber framework method) is the most mainstream in Japan. About 80% of Japanese houses are built with it. When the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred, that the buildings which were built with conventional method of construction collapsed have been widely known, but most of them were old buildings which was built before 1981 and buildings which satisfied earthquake resistance standards. There was little damage to all new buildings since 1989. Japanese has been used to this method since ancient times, so you can not talk about home building in which you can feel the warmth of wood throughout.

Wood-frame construction (wooden frame wall construction) 【ツーバイフォー工法 (木造枠組壁工法)】

     Wood-frame construction (wooden frame wall construction) is the most mainstream in North America. In North America, more than 90% of houses have been built in this method. The merits of this method are reasonable, excellent productivity and seismicity, excellent fire resistance, and fashionable outside appearance. This method born from the North American style of life in which one builds oｒ reforms one's house by oneself is based on standard system of 2 inches in order to obtain cheap material everywhere and at any time. Moreover, this method has the monocoque structure which support the building with surfaces, so it has 1.5 to 2 times as high seismicity as conventional method of construction.

Prefabrication method (lightweight steel frame) 【プレハブ工法 (軽量鉄骨造)】

     Prefabrication method (lightweight steel frame) has the purpose of mass production like industrial products. This method uses "brace" instead of bracing of conventional method of construction in order to strengthen the building. This biggest advantage of this method is that quality of this is stable and this can be supplied in large quantities because of this industrialization.

     You can not decide which structure is the strongest. If you build a house to observe seismic standards required by law, the house can withstand a major earthquake. In addition, you can not decide which structure you the most comfortably live in, but Japanese commonly like to live in conventional method of construction.

Relation with Earthquakes

week7

     Hello!
     I will tell you about relation with earthquakes.
     Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, "a house to withstand earthquakes" is more strongly demanded, and, today, construction technique such as "earthquake resistant", "active vibration control", and "seismic base isolation" is generally known well. However, few people still understand the difference among them. Then, I will tell you about it.

     A building which is called "earthquake resistant construction" is one which suffer little damage from a tremor with an intensity of 4-5 on the Japanese seven-stage seismic scale and which do not collapse when a tremor with an intensity of more than 5 on the Japanese seven-stage seismic scale occur. "Earthquake resistant construction" have tough and solid structure section to withstand earthquake and suffer seismic energy to its entire building, so it do not collapse. But there is some danger of earthquake resistant construction's suffering serious damage indoors.
     "Active vibration control construction" is a structure which is equipped with some damping device such as a damper and so on and which absorbs the energy.
     "Seismic base isolation construction" absorbs a tremor of earthquake with seismic isolation device, and controls transmission of seismic energy to the top of the building. Compared with the seismic design, "active vibration control construction" reduces the strength of shaking during a major earthquake to 1/3-1/5, so "active vibration control construction" can suffer less damage but also to not only the building but also indoor. The rental housing do not have active vibration control construction because it costs much money to build it.

     As mentioned above, each how to withstand earthquakes is different. The most popular construction in Japan is "earthquake resistant construction" and "earthquake resistant construction" is used in about one hundred thirty thousand building per year now. On the other hand, now "seismic base isolation construction" attracts attention, but the number of it is still small and about two hundred fifty building per year. For example, Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building renewed recently  also has "seismic base isolation construction". Therefore, I tell you about "seismic base isolation construction" in detail.
   
      Every three structure is excellent in terms of preventing the destruction of the building itself, but only "seismic base isolation construction" has advantage of  "reducing the shaking in the building". The mechanism in "seismic base isolation construction" is that seismic isolation devices which are embedded in the foundations absorb the violent earthquake energy, turn into a gentle roll, and minimize the damage of furniture's falling and so on. It is said  that the tremor of seismic base isolation is one-third as large as that of earthquake resistant and active vibration control. Then, I will tell you about what is "seismic isolation devices". "Seismic isolation devices" are "laminated rubber" formed iron and rubber into a thing like mille-feuille and withstand pressure of up and down by many layers of rubber and steel and deform and restore flexibly for lateral vibration.

     The reason why seismic base isolation less prevail than earthquake resistant is that construction costs are higher and construction period is longer. However, it is said that a great earthquake such as "capital epicentral earthquake" and "Tokai earthquake" occur in Japan in the near future, so you have to take precautions against earthquakes at a little cost.

Mansyon and Apart

week6

     Hello!
     I will tell you about mansyon and apart in Japanese.
     Both mansyon and apart in Japanese are apartments in English. Then, what is the difference between mansyon and apart in Japanese? Is there a definition of the defference between mansyon and apart in Japanese? Few people know this, so I look into the difference between mansyon and apart in Japanese in detail.
     In conclusion, the clear definition between mansyon and apart in Japanese do not exist, so if a real estate agent thinks a building as mansyon, the building is mansyon, and if a real estate agent thinks a building as apart, the building is apart. In short, different real estate agents have different ideas of what the difference between mansyon and apart in Japanese are. However, generally speaking, a quasi-fireproof and low-rise property of wooden frame and lightweight steel frame is called apart, and fireproof multifamily housing of steel-reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete is called mansyon.

     I summarized the each feature of mansyon and apart in Japanese.

■What is mansyon in Japanese?
・Fireproof structure of reinforced concrete and steel-reinforced concrete
・Being able to build high-rise housing
・High sound insulation
・High-grade sense
・Rents of the expense of mansyon are higher than that of apart because it cost more money to built mansyon than apart.
・Administrative costs of mansyon are higher than that of apart because in many cases mansyon is equipped with elevators and a caretaker is in mansyon.

■What is apart in Japanese?
・Semi-fireproof structure of wooden frame or lightweight steel frame
・Most of apart in Japanese are two-storied building.
・it is impossible to build high-rise building because its structure is weak.
・Rents of the expense of apart are cheaper than that of mansyon because it cost less money to built apart than mansyon.
・Administrative costs of apart are cheaper than that of mansyon because in many cases apart is equipped with no elevator and a caretaker is not in apart.


      Then, in the above, what is the biggest difference between mansyon and apart when you live every day?  It is "how you hear the sound". It is apart that it is easy to hear the sound of neighbor and the upper and lower floors. Even if apart have structure of lightweight steel frame, walls and floors are the same as wooden, so perhaps it is easy to hear the sounds. Compared to apart, mansyon has tough structure, so mansyon has high sound insulation. But even if mansyon has thick walls, mansyon sometimes do not have concrete walls. Why then, please be careful. When thinking about the above, mansyon is clearly better than apart. However, apart also has advantages. One of them is the price. Moreover, in case of mansyon, concrete contain the moisture, so it is easy to condense, and mansyon tend to accumulate the moisture because of the height of the confidentiality. But in case of apart, apart has moderate breathable, so you do not worry about the moisture of building itself.

     In short, mansyon and apart in Japanese have each of advantages and disadvantages. I want to be useful for you when you select mansyon or apart.

Expense

week5

     Hello!
     I will tell you about the expense of Japanese houses.
     When you are planning to build your house, you are worrying about the expense to build your house the best. So, I looked into the expense of construction of Japanese houses.
     The expense to build housing can be roughly divided into three, and it is main body construction expenses, expenses of incidental construction, and other expenses. Many people misunderstand that the expense to build housing is the product of price per unit of area in only main body construction expenses, but main body construction expenses account for about seventy-eighty percent of the entire budget of residential construction. Expenses of incidental construction are the expense to make outdoor and site of the house and the expense for decoration such as interior. Expenses of incidental construction account for about fifteen-thirty percent of the entire budget of residential construction. Other expenses are the expense other than the house itself what is called indirect expenses. Other expenses account for about five- thirty percent of the entire budget of residential construction. In addition, if you change the design for the house and extend the progress of the work, it costs you much money to build your house. Of course, when owner visits the site of construction, you have to add transportation expenses to budget.
     Next, I tell you about some of the detail progress of the work. Temporary works is the work not to remain as a form after completing the house such as scaffolding and sheets in order to work safely, temporary electricity, temporary water, temporary toilets, and cleaning up. The expense of these account for about two- five percent of the entire budget of residential construction, but the quality of temporary plan greatly affects the subsequent steps and neighborhood relations. If you build a wooden house, the most important work is a woodwork. A woodwork is that carpenters make residential wood frame. The expense for a woodwork changes depending on the degree of the material used and the size of the house. As a general guideline, the expense for a woodwork account for about three-forty percent of the entire budget of residential construction. Painting works are the work to finish surface by painting the inside and outside of the house. The outer wall, iron stairs, and railing of balcony outside and wood parts such as the fittings and skirting is painted. In general, the coating unit price includes preparing the ground element, undercoat, and finish coat. Painting process is different depending on the matrix material and the type of paint. Interior works are the contents of the internal finishing of the house except those recorded at other work such as woodwork, roof, tile, and plastering. In short, interior works are finish works of the wall, floor, and ceiling inside the house. Equipment works are divided into water supply and drainage and sanitation works and electrical equipment construction works. Equipment is the remarkable price difference due to the difference function, design and grade, so you have to understand each of the characteristics and select the device that suits your purpose.

Recent Japanese Houses

week4

     Hello!
     I will tell you about the recent situation of Japanese houses.
     The total number of houses in Japan is 57.59 million and the total number of households in Japan is 49.97 million. Approximately fifty five percent of the total number of houses in Japan is a detached house, approximately three percent of them is a tenement house, and approximately forty two percent of them is an apartment. Moreover, when classifying houses of Japan with regard to their structure, about twenty seven percent of the total number of houses in Japan is a wooden house, about thirty two percent of them is a wooden and fire-proofed house, and about thirty three percent of them is a reinforced steel-framed concrete house. The national average size of house in Japan per house is about eighty eight square meters, and the national average number of rooms per house is about 4.7 rooms. In addition, the ratio of owned houses is about sixty percent. However, there is a great difference between the city and the country in how to build houses, size of houses, the ratio of owned houses. For example, in Tokyo, the number of apartments is more than the number of datached houses, and takes up about sixty seven percent of the total number of houses in Japan. In the size of houses, compared to about fifty nine square meters in Tokyo and about sixty seven square meters in Osaka, the size of houses in Toyama is one hundred fifty one square meters and the size of houses in Akita is one hundred thirty five square meters. The ratio of owned houses in Tokyo is the lowest in Japan and about forty one percent, and the ratio of owned houses in Osaka is the second lowest in Japan and about forty nine percent. The ratio of owned houses in Toyama is the highest in Japan and about eighty percent, and the ratio of owned houses in Akita is the second highest in Japan and about seventy seven percent. In short, we can say that  many people live in rental narrow apartments because, in urban area such as Tokyo, the price of land is high and the population is dense. By the way, an apartment has become higher. The highest apartment in Japan is a house of height of two hundred meters and a fifty four stories house in Osaka.
      In the period of rapid economic growth that began in the 1950s, Japan became a housing shortage of population because the population centered at urban area, so a lot of apartments began to be built in order to supply a large amount of housing. After that, not only a rental apartment but also a condominium appeared. At the same time, the number of the nuclear family rapidly increased, for many young people left thier parents and moved to urban areas. In 1955, the ratio of the nuclear family was as many as that of the three-generation households, but, in 1980, the ratio of the nuclear family became sixty percent and the ratio of the three-generation households became sixteen percent. Then, the ratio of the three-generation households has decreased, while the ratio of single-person households has increased.