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Tokyo Weekender
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Kioi Seido: Tokyo's Enigmatic ‘Building with No Purpose'
Five years ago, the acclaimed architect Hiroshi Naito was met with an unusual request: He was asked to design a five-story structure in the middle of Tokyo with no specific purpose. The RINRI Institute of Ethics, a private social education organization, gave him free reign, proposing that the building's function will be decided according to its design. Thus, Kioi Seido, also known as 'the building with no purpose,' was brought to life. Well, not entirely free reign. According to a statement by Naito that was distributed at the exhibition, 'My client's only order was that I think about the Jomon [period]' — a prehistoric era of Japanese history that stretched from around 13,000 to 400 BCE, known for its mysterious clay figurines, knotted-rope pottery and an aesthetic that feels both ancient and strangely abstract. 'I think what they wanted was something that was not bound by capitalism or current common sense, but something that would stir emotions,' he continues. The resulting structure is understated, yet otherworldly — a synthesis of warm and cool tones, earthy and industrial textures, which combine to create an atmosphere at once familiar and disorienting. Today, Kioi Seido stands by a small intersection in the heart of Chiyoda City. A quietly extraordinary sanctuary, it may escape your notice at first glance. It's not typically open to public viewing, but for a limited time only — until September 30, to be exact — a special exhibition will allow visitors to enter the building for the first time in two years. It's not just a rare chance to see the hypnotic beauty of its interior firsthand; the exhibition also showcases 40 years' worth of diaries and sketches by Naito himself. List of Contents: A Crack in the Extraordinary The Modern Pantheon About Hiroshi Naito More Information Related Posts A Crack in the Extraordinary 'When you find yourself in this mysterious space, with the first floor deeply reminiscent of the ancient Jomon period and the second floor and above extending into the future, you will forget the routine of everyday life and feel a 'crack in the extraordinary,' says Toshiaki Maruyama, Chairman of the RINRI Institute of Ethics. Although it's not immediately obvious from the outside, Kioi Seido's concrete cube form is supported by four polygonal pillars. They cocoon an installation on the ground floor, which features 18,800 glass pieces laid in a ring formation, each representing someone lost or missing in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. The charcoal-colored tiles that coat the space all vary in sheen and shape, many of them repurposed from tiles originally used in Shimane Prefecture's Kametani kiln. Requiem for the Great East Japan Earthquake From the second floor upward, warm cedar planks, exposed concrete and beams form a four-story atrium, shrouded in light and shadow. Nine craters on the ceiling form sky lights that feel at once futuristic and timeless, each tapering upward in a slight curve. As you climb up each story and walk around, every angle offers a new perspective. The Modern Pantheon Ascending Kioi Seido's staircases is a peaceful, comforting experience, but also strangely hypnotic — it feels as though you're suspended in time and space, divorced from the external world. Naito was drawn to the Pantheon in Rome, the only Roman building to remain practically intact for centuries. He endeavored to create something immortal and innately magnetic. 'Neither the purpose nor the function of [the Pantheon] is well understood,' reads Naito's statement. 'If the question was to be purposeless, I wanted to build a modern Pantheon.' In conceptualizing Kioi Seido, Naito engaged with questions of tradition and modernity posed by architect Seiichi Shirai. In his hugely influential essay 'The Jomon Style' (1956), Shirai uses the raw, unmediated aesthetic sensibility of Jomon period objects as a vehicle to argue that architects must look beyond easily recognizable stylistic elements, and focus on the 'inner potential' — the underlying spirit — of forms. 'I believe [Shirai's inquiry] was an alarm bell to a society that was striving for rapid modernization,' Naito remarks. 'Seventy years have passed since then, and I took the question posed this time as the same one.' Naito is likely referencing what's known as the 'Jomon–Yayoi dichotomy,' a concept that gained traction among Japanese architects in the postwar period. Sparked by a broader national conversation about identity and tradition, the debate centered on whether Japanese architecture should draw inspiration from the raw, expressive forms of the Jomon period or the more refined, orderly aesthetics of the Yayoi era. Using raw concrete, a material used since ancient times, and glass, a highly precise and refined industrial product, Naito symbolically melds the elements of tradition and modernity into a harmonious whole. While the building's complexity and beauty alone is reason enough to visit, the exhibition of Naito's meticulous notes, sketches and diaries offers a fascinating glimpse into his mind. From the second floor up, you can browse 40 years worth of his plans, inspirations and thoughts. On the floor of the atrium is an installation named the 'Mandala of Words,' showcasing fragments from Naito's writings. Mandala of Words About Hiroshi Naito Born in 1950 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Hiroshi Naito is one of Japan's most acclaimed and visionary architects. Upon earning a bachelor's and master's degree in architecture from Waseda University, he worked under architect Fernando Higueras in Madrid and under architect Kiyonori Kikutake in Tokyo. Naito established his own firm, Naito Architect & Associates in 1981, and was a professor at the University of Tokyo from 2001 to 2011, when he became professor emeritus. His major architectural works include the Toba Sea-Folk Museum (1992), the Shimane Arts Center (2005) and the Kusunagi Sports Complex Gymnasium (2015). Naito's creations emphasize the harmony between the built environment and its natural surroundings, with a focus on technical durability and sustainability. Often balancing wooden and concrete textures, his gently minimalistic works evoke warmth and humility. More Information Exhibition Title: 'Architect Hiroshi Naito – Anything and Everything: Diaries and Sketches of Thoughts in Kioi Seido' Dates & Hours: July 1 – September 30, 2025 Open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays (excluding holidays and closure dates: Aug 12, 14, 16 & Sep 23), from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (last entry 3:30 p.m.) Admission: Free, no reservation required Address: Kioi Seido, Ethics Research Institute 3-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (10 min from JR Yotsuya / 5–6 min from nearby subway stations) Notes: – No parking or luggage storage – No high heels allowed inside – Restrooms located on the first floor – Photography is allowed, without tripods – Please refrain from taking photos of the notebook exhibits, talking loudly, eating or drinking Related Posts The Most Beautiful Libraries in Japan Awaji Island: Where Stunning Nature Meets World-Class Architecture Kenzo Tange: Japan's Most Influential Architect | Spotlight The Architecture of Sou Fujimoto: Primordial Future Forest
Axios
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
How Seattle is tackling its pothole problem
Seattle is moving quickly to patch its potholes, fixing most within 72 hours — unless they're cavernous enough to swallow a car. Why it matters: In a city once slammed for having some of the worst road craters in the U.S., Seattle's pothole problems are a street-level litmus test for whether the government is working. Nearly nine out of 10 Seattle voters in a 2025 Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce report said city leaders should focus on basics like potholes, parks and public safety. How it works: When someone reports a hole using the Find It/Fix It app or by phone, SDOT first determines whether it qualifies as a pothole. If yes, it gets a quick asphalt patch. If not — say it's too deep or structurally complex — it goes into a broader queue for major roadwork, per a SDOT presentation to the City Council Transportation Committee last week. SDOT says larger holes often signal deeper structural failure and are routed to capital programs for major road resurfacing or reconstruction. Many pothole repairs are like bandaids or EMT stitches, says SDOT's pavement engineering manager Elsa Tibbits. They're quick fixes to stop the bleeding, but the bigger road failures need surgery. Yes, but: Most people don't understand why the largest are often the last to be fixed, Councilmember Dan Strauss tells Axios. "The common person just sees a hole in the road that's going to eat their car," says Strauss. By the numbers: Seattle filled nearly 20,000 potholes last year — 90% within three days, per SDOT. The city budgeted $4.4 million for pothole repairs in 2024, up from $2.8 million the previous year. But Seattle still faces a $1.8 billion backlog in major maintenance for arterial streets, reflecting decades of deferred paving and infrastructure needs, Tibbits tells Axios. What's next: The city has about 312 miles of road that need rehabilitation at an estimated cost of about $460 million and 286 miles that require full reconstruction at about $1.4 billion, per Tibbits. It's prime paving season, she says, and with eight paving crews, four pothole teams and large capital construction in the works, the city is tackling complaints as fast as it can.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine's mining heartlands tell Trump: Don't take advantage of us
By Vladyslav Smilianets and Thomas Peter ZHOVTI VODY, Ukraine (Reuters) - As Kyiv and Washington work on a deal that will give the U.S. a share of Ukraine's mineral wealth, Ukrainians who live with seams of iron beneath their feet have a message for Donald Trump: don't take advantage of us, these resources are ours. The U.S. president has put pressure on Kyiv by threatening to stop the flow of military supplies to help it fight Russia's invasion unless the U.S. gets some payback for the billions of dollars the aid is costing. But the deal is sensitive for Ukraine, which has a proud history of mining coal and iron ore and hopes to exploit seams of increasingly sought-after rare earths. Mineral revenues are a crucial pillar of the state budget. In the city of Kryvyi Rih, on whose outskirts open-cast iron ore mines have gouged huge craters in the landscape, 71-year-old pensioner Oleksandr had little time for Trump: "You can't trust that ginger guy, he's not that kind of person." "From what I can see, they only want to take, not to give," he said as he shopped near the UGOK iron ore mining and processing plant. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, himself from Kryvyi Rih, said on Monday the negotiations on creating a mineral revenue fund from which the U.S. would draw had made progress since a memorandum of intent signed on April 18: "The document has become much stronger - more equitable - and could be beneficial to both our peoples, for Ukraine and for America." 'MINERALS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE' Zelenskiy knows he must win Trump over after a difficult relationship so far, but that there will be uproar at home if he makes a bad deal. About 60 km (40 miles) north of Kryvyi Rih is the town of Zhovti Vody - or "yellow waters" - where uranium and iron ore were mined for decades. "I hope that the people who are involved in this think about Ukraine and its people, because our mineral riches belong to the people," said 71-year-old resident Nina Fesenko. Olga Marynska, 68, said she hoped the government would prevent Ukraine being exploited. "We don't have to give them everything," she said. "I don't think we have to do it in such a way that they take everything out of that fund." Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday that there was now agreement that the deal would not seek to pay for U.S. aid provided to Kyiv in the past. That may help to reassure Ukrainians who feel they have battled Russia since 2022 not only for themselves but also on behalf of the West: the U.S.-led NATO defence alliance that they seek to join, and the European nations to which many Ukrainians feel much closer than to President Vladimir Putin's Russia. "I do think that for us as Ukrainians, it feels a little bit like another country is using our vulnerability, which was not created by us," said Ukrainian legislator Inna Sovsun. She said it was "critically important when we are designing the future to keep in mind that people will live here in the future". (Additional reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Straits Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Ukraine's mining heartlands tell Trump: Don't take advantage of us
FILE PHOTO: A woman sits in a park in Zhovti Vody, a mining town that is a legacy of the Soviet Union's uranium industry amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, Ukraine April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter FILE PHOTO: A factory structure that is a legacy of the Soviet Union's uranium industry is seen at a shut-down mining facility in Zhovti Vody, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, Ukraine April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter FILE PHOTO: An excavator digs as mining dump trucks drive in the Southern Iron Ore JV open-pit mine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter FILE PHOTO: Flowers grow around a flooded open-pit mine that is a legacy of the Soviet Union's uranium industry, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zhovti Vody, Ukraine April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter ZHOVTI VODY, Ukraine - As Kyiv and Washington work on a deal that will give the U.S. a share of Ukraine's mineral wealth, Ukrainians who live with seams of iron beneath their feet have a message for Donald Trump: don't take advantage of us, these resources are ours. The U.S. president has put pressure on Kyiv by threatening to stop the flow of military supplies to help it fight Russia's invasion unless the U.S. gets some payback for the billions of dollars the aid is costing. But the deal is sensitive for Ukraine, which has a proud history of mining coal and iron ore and hopes to exploit seams of increasingly sought-after rare earths. Mineral revenues are a crucial pillar of the state budget. In the city of Kryvyi Rih, on whose outskirts open-cast iron ore mines have gouged huge craters in the landscape, 71-year-old pensioner Oleksandr had little time for Trump: "You can't trust that ginger guy, he's not that kind of person." "From what I can see, they only want to take, not to give," he said as he shopped near the UGOK iron ore mining and processing plant. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, himself from Kryvyi Rih, said on Monday the negotiations on creating a mineral revenue fund from which the U.S. would draw had made progress since a memorandum of intent signed on April 18: "The document has become much stronger - more equitable - and could be beneficial to both our peoples, for Ukraine and for America." 'MINERALS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE' Zelenskiy knows he must win Trump over after a difficult relationship so far, but that there will be uproar at home if he makes a bad deal. About 60 km (40 miles) north of Kryvyi Rih is the town of Zhovti Vody - or "yellow waters" - where uranium and iron ore were mined for decades. "I hope that the people who are involved in this think about Ukraine and its people, because our mineral riches belong to the people," said 71-year-old resident Nina Fesenko. Olga Marynska, 68, said she hoped the government would prevent Ukraine being exploited. "We don't have to give them everything," she said. "I don't think we have to do it in such a way that they take everything out of that fund." Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday that there was now agreement that the deal would not seek to pay for U.S. aid provided to Kyiv in the past. That may help to reassure Ukrainians who feel they have battled Russia since 2022 not only for themselves but also on behalf of the West: the U.S.-led NATO defence alliance that they seek to join, and the European nations to which many Ukrainians feel much closer than to President Vladimir Putin's Russia. "I do think that for us as Ukrainians, it feels a little bit like another country is using our vulnerability, which was not created by us," said Ukrainian legislator Inna Sovsun. She said it was "critically important when we are designing the future to keep in mind that people will live here in the future". REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
29-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ukraine's mining heartlands tell Trump: Don't take advantage of us
Summary Ukrainians urge Trump not to exploit their mineral wealth Zelenskiy under pressure to reach equitable deal with U.S. Mineral revenues essential to Kyiv's state budget PM Shmyhal says deal won't seek to pay for past U.S. aid ZHOVTI VODY, Ukraine, April 29 (Reuters) - As Kyiv and Washington work on a deal that will give the U.S. a share of Ukraine's mineral wealth, Ukrainians who live with seams of iron beneath their feet have a message for Donald Trump: don't take advantage of us, these resources are ours. The U.S. president has put pressure on Kyiv by threatening to stop the flow of military supplies to help it fight Russia's invasion unless the U.S. gets some payback for the billions of dollars the aid is costing. But the deal is sensitive for Ukraine, which has a proud history of mining coal and iron ore and hopes to exploit seams of increasingly sought-after rare earths. Mineral revenues are a crucial pillar of the state budget. In the city of Kryvyi Rih, on whose outskirts open-cast iron ore mines have gouged huge craters in the landscape, 71-year-old pensioner Oleksandr had little time for Trump: "You can't trust that ginger guy, he's not that kind of person." "From what I can see, they only want to take, not to give," he said as he shopped near the UGOK iron ore mining and processing plant. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, himself from Kryvyi Rih, said on Monday the negotiations on creating a mineral revenue fund from which the U.S. would draw had made progress since a memorandum of intent signed on April 18: "The document has become much stronger - more equitable - and could be beneficial to both our peoples, for Ukraine and for America." 'MINERALS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE' Zelenskiy knows he must win Trump over after a difficult relationship so far, but that there will be uproar at home if he makes a bad deal. About 60 km (40 miles) north of Kryvyi Rih is the town of Zhovti Vody - or "yellow waters" - where uranium and iron ore were mined for decades. "I hope that the people who are involved in this think about Ukraine and its people, because our mineral riches belong to the people," said 71-year-old resident Nina Fesenko. Olga Marynska, 68, said she hoped the government would prevent Ukraine being exploited. "We don't have to give them everything," she said. "I don't think we have to do it in such a way that they take everything out of that fund." Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday that there was now agreement that the deal would not seek to pay for U.S. aid provided to Kyiv in the past. That may help to reassure Ukrainians who feel they have battled Russia since 2022 not only for themselves but also on behalf of the West: the U.S.-led NATO defence alliance that they seek to join, and the European nations to which many Ukrainians feel much closer than to President Vladimir Putin's Russia. "I do think that for us as Ukrainians, it feels a little bit like another country is using our vulnerability, which was not created by us," said Ukrainian legislator Inna Sovsun. She said it was "critically important when we are designing the future to keep in mind that people will live here in the future".
