IDEAS FOR GOODA tea house made solely from origami can be transported to anywhere in the world. This is the creation of two Tokyo architectural offices, Katagiri Architecture+Design, and Akinori Inuzuka Design. They call it Shi-An.
Shi-An is made by using traditional Japanese paper measuring 50 centimeters by 1 meter. Each are folded eight times and then inserted into each other. No support posts, glue or other adhesive are used. Furthermore, there are no rules on how to stack the paper, and the final shape and size of a construction can be varied according to how one wants to use the space. The set ups and removals are simple.
Mr. Katagiri, of Katagiri Architecture+Design says, “The small tea room, made from 4,000 pieces of origami paper pieced together, is a tea room from Japan’s traditional culture — a space made from simplified beauty. It also resembles the repeated cell division of life forms.”
Origami with its universal appeal
Origami — the traditional Japanese craft of paper folding — continues to capture the imagination of people throughout the world. It is not hard to find origami paper on sale in western countries these days.
What makes Shi-An unique is its universal appeal of this quintessentially Japanese craft, expressed in the traditional Japanese form of a tea house, and its mobility to be carried worldwide.
The creation has won many prizes throughout the world: the Taipei International Design Award, the first prize in the Kyoto Design Awards, a WAN Small Spaces Award 2016, the gold prize in the DSA Japan Spatial Design Award, the product division prize in the JID Award 2017. In 2016, Shi-An was also displayed in the Hong Kong section of the Art Basel modern art exhibition, which was held in three different cities.
The homepage of Katagiri Architecture+Design shows various other compositions made of origami in the same way as Shi-An. These methods of creating space and dividing space with origami look perfect for the offices, cafes and myriad other buildings of the future.
The fusion between modern needs and Japanese traditional culture creates unique spaces in the world that exude a palpable warmth. The possibilities are infinite.
Images via Katagiri Architecture+Design
This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD
Translated by Kirsty Kawano
