Tokyo Jewel Box : Ando + Olafur

Obayashi had in mind a house that would be a collaborative effort between artists and architect, and he commissioned works by several talents, including Danish-born light artist Olafur Eliasson, Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka and Japanese lighting architect Shozo Toyohisa, who has designed lighting for exhibitions at MoMA in New York. “When Eliasson came up with the idea of working with the courtyard using ceramic tiles, I really liked it,” says Obayashi, who was hesitant to propose the idea to Ando. “Many architects want minimal change within their design. They want to speak with their own language. In Mr. Ando’s case, his language is glass, steel frames and concrete.”
With over 6,800 platinum-glazed ceramic tiles attached to the concrete walls of the courtyard, Eliasson created an astonishing spectacle. “Small changes in light make the tiles appear different, and it changes the light in the interior as well,” says Eliasson. “You really get the feeling of a temporal or ephemeral component to the house and the constitution of its space.”
“Olaf’s work has a very strong impact,” says Ando. “You don’t ever see anything like this in my work. In the beginning I thought the tiles were too drastic technically and aesthetically. They arrived late. We didn’t know if they could be affixed properly. It’s difficult to adhere things to the surface,” he admits. “Of course, I work with a lot of artists. In Los Angeles, I’m making a guesthouse and exhibition space sort of like Yu-un, and we’re doing things with Damien Hirst and other people with installations on the surfaces. So it may become common with this kind of project where one installs treatments on certain surfaces.” (to find out more..)

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passage and images from: http://www.architecturaldigest.com/architects/features/2008/01/ando_article_012008?currentPage=1

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