On November 11th, Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, Prof. Kazuyo Sejima, one of the world's most excellent female architects, gave a keynote speech on “Architecture and the Environment” at Sichuan University. Well-known foreign professor of Sichuan University& Honorary Professor of the University of Tokyo Fujii Akira, architect Liu Jiakun, and painter He Duoling attended the lecture along with more than 500 participants.
Prof. Kazuyo Sejima introduced the famous Kanazawa 21st Century Art Museum, the New York New Museum, and other ongoing projects such as Osaka University’s School of Arts and Sciences, Modern Projects in Sydney and the new campus of Bocconi University in Millan.
“What I experienced is reflected in the design process and many possibilities in the search process. Design is a process of accepting continuously new things.” When introducing the Inushima Project, she noted that this point-to-point renovation plan cannot be implemented quickly. The purpose is to feel what changes are brought to the village through slow transformation. The direction of such change is not what everyone expects, so it must be constantly adjusted and changed.”
“In the cases I first talked about today, some extensions to the surrounding environment of the complex buildings have been made, perhaps offering more connotations on dimension while extending to surrounding social space. This is what I am exploring. Not only it is an extension to the natural environment, and more is an extension into other fields.” In the interaction with the audience, she emphasized again her architectural philosophy and hoped to think more about “something beyond architecture” in future architectural design.
According to reports, Prof. Kazuyo Sejima won in 2010 the Pritzker Architecture Prize, reputed as the “Nobel Prize in Architecture”, becoming the second female winner in the history of the award. In her designs, transparent glass and slender columns are extensively used to create a sense of rhythm, which is filled with Japanese calmness and restraint. The review panel commented: “the buildings look very simple. The architect sees the building as a seamless object, where the existence of matters is controlled, creating an emotional background for people, objects, activities, and landscapes. They explore the unique continuous space, brightness, transparency, and materiality, creating a subtle synthesis."
The School of Architecture and Environment of SCU envisaged the "Japanese Architecture Masters Series Forum and International Exchange Activities" from 2015. Japanese architects such as Riken Yamamoto, Harahiro Shoji and Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama have been invited to give lectures.
