Preview : [brochure] the Tokyo
International Forum by Rafael Viñoly
Architects : June 12-August 3, 1993
[text by Anne Dixon]
Author
Rafael Viñoly Architects
Date
1993
Publisher
The Museum of Modern Art
Exhibition URL
www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/398
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from our founding in 1929 to the present—is
available online. It includes exhibition catalogues,
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Preview:
TheTokyo
International
Forum
byRafael
Vinoly
Architects
June 12- August3, 1993
The Museumof ModernArt
RafaelVinoly'sTokyoInternational Forumis one of the Vinoly's design is an aggregateof simplevolumes,each
largest and most complex urban projects now under
fulfilling separate programmaticfunctions. Four cubic
construction.When completed,the combination
structures, lined up in descending sizes, house four
performingarts and conventioncenter will housefour
theaters, two spaces for exhibitionsor trade shows,forty theaters with varying capacities.The largest of the theaters will
conference rooms,reception facilities, public spaces, be the biggesttheater in Tokyoand one of the largest in Japan.
and restaurants.Commissionedand funded by the Tokyo
A long, rectangular structure connecting the theaters will con
Metropolitan Government,the Forumrepresentsthe
city's commitmentto maintainingits international stature tain box offices, educational and tourist information facilities,
in both the economic and the cultural arenas. and a rooftop observationdeck. Three below-groundlevels will
enclosethe exhibition spaces and parking areas.
TheTokyoInternationalForumdesigncompetitionwas
held in 1989underthe auspicesof the UnionInternationale The immensemarquise-shapedglass and steel hall was
desArchitectes.Thejury,which includedI. M. Pei,Fumihiko designed in collaboration with structural engineer Kunio
Maki, KenzoTange,Vittorio Gregotti,and Arthur Erickson,
Watanabe.It is the project's main reception area and is intend
selectedVinoly'sdesignfrom a field of nearlyfour hundred
entries,citing it for its "extremelyclear functional ed to ensure the Forum's landmark status. The 680-foot-long
organization"and as best suitedto the site* roof of the glass hall is supported by columnsat only two points.
"VinolyTakesTokyoForum,"ProgressiveArchitecture,January1990,p. 27. The near-parabolic steel roof structure resemblesthe wooden
left:Sketches,
transverse
sections,
1989.
Penciland
crayon
onblueprint
mountedonpaper,
30x42"
below
left:Sketch,
eastelevation
oftheater
structures,
1989.
Crayon
andpencil
ontrace,
12x31W
below:
Sketches
forroofstructure
oftheglass
hall.Page
from
sketchbook,
c.1990,Pencil
onpaper,11x8"
right:
Interior
perspective
ofglass
hall,1993.
Computer-generated
Irisprint
<. fefj*
framework of a ship's hull and is interwoven by long, undulating barrier, separating the glass hall and the plaza from the
tension cables and arced compression beams. Hanging from rail and subway lines to their east.
the perimeter of the roof trusses is the 190-foot-highglass wall. The 6.7-acresite, which had been occupied by city
Rampsand bridges traverse the interior space and cross the government buildings, is located in central Tokyo, adja
plazato connect the glass hall to the theaters. cent to the densely built Ginzacommercial district, and is
The use of glass as a building material is especially boundby subway lines and railroad tracks. Vinoly'sdesign
notable in Tokyo,which is prone to earthquake activity. Vinoly respondsdirectly to the particularities of the lot. Defining
sees the resistance to glazedstructures in that city as psycho itself amid a hectic urban environment, the building is
logical, rather than based on insurmountabletechnical prob massed at the perimeters of the site, allowing open and
lems.The glass does add to the sense of daring of this project, calm public space at its center. The landscaped plaza
which will have the largest glass roof in Tokyo and will be a marks a natural pedestrian route to and from nearby rail
prominentfeature of the city's skyline. and subway stations. The arc of the rail line to the east
The outer edge of the glass hall rests on a long, curving determinesthe curve of the glass hall. The street perpen
structure housing the conference center, offices, restaurants, dicular to the west facade serves as an approach to the
and cafes. This structure also serves as a sound and vibration Forumand situates its main entrance.
Computer-aided analysis and engineering were
neededto addressthe technical and programmaticcom
plexities of the project, yet the design process, even of
the roof structure, continually involved sketching andthe
building of study models. Similarly, the construction of
the unusually large scale model would not have been
possiblewithout both the exact laser-cutting of parts and
the intensive labor of model-makingcraftspeople.
Thoughbuilt as a presentationmodelfor the client,
Vinoly'smodelserved as a study-in-progressforthe actu
al structure, demonstrating potential weaknesses in the
design and providing a testing ground for solutions that
were implementedduring construction. The construction
process, which is taking place above and below ground
simultaneously,is expectedto take close to four years,to
be completedin 1996.
The exhaustivescope of the international design compe
tition, the centrality and magnitude of the site, and the level of
capital investmentin the project testify to the importanceof the
Forumto the Tokyogovernment.Not unlikethe grand structures
built for nineteenth-centuryworld expositions,this monumental
civic project asserts economicstrength and cultural prestigeon
both international and domestic fronts. Vinoly's Tokyo Interna
tional Forum, with its mammoth glass and steel pavilion, is
meantto infusetrade and commercewith the thrill of spectacle,
not only of theater but of architecture itself.
Anne Dixon
Departmentof Architecture and Design
RafaelVinoly was born in 1944in Montevideo,Uruguay,and
studied and practiced architecture in BuenosAires, Argentina,
before setting up an independentpractice in New Yorkin 1979.
His previous commissionsinclude ChacaraTangara,
a 90-acre planning project in Sao Paulo,Brazil (1989);
the John Jay Collegeof CriminalJustice, New York(1988);
The Manhattan office and residential tower, New York(1983);
and the MendozaSports Complexstadium,
Cerro de la Gloria,Argentina (1976).
The exhibition was organized by
Terence Riley and Anne Dixon.
This exhibition is made possible by the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government, with additional support from Taisei Corporation
and Obayashi Corporation.
Allworkscourtesy
Rafael
VinolyArchitects.
left:Aerial
perspective,1993.
Computer-altered
photographic
image,
Irisprint
above:
Roof
plan
center:
Theater
plan
below:
Transverse
section
cover:
Form-finding
sketches.
Page
fromsketchbook,
1989.
Inkonpaper,
9x6"
