Materiality: architecture/object

For the first blog, I researched Asian hand fans. An important detail that was brought up many times was the material used to build these fans. Whether is was due to the different centuries or societies, the material used to make a hand fan always had an importance and reason. For example, laborers used large round thin paper fans to cool down during the summer while dancers used silk and feather fans for grace and movement.

Like the originality of the fan, Asian architecture is a unique style which uses timber as a primary construction material. Asian architecture is apart of one of the three most famous architecture styles including Western and Islamic. Lightweight materials and porous boundaries between the inside and outside are trademarks of Asian architecture. Japanese architect Ryue Nishikawa says "If you see Japanese temples made of wood, you can see how the architecture is made up. They have a clear construction and transparency and they are quite simple". The way Nishikawa describes the materials used in architecture resembles the simple, transparent and functional material of the hand fans. It is also known that Japanese architects create while keeping harmony with nature, which explains why wood is their most popular building material. Most of Japan's oldest surviving buildings are made of wood.

Asian materiality and design are focused on simplicity and minimality. One good example is a traditional Japanese interior which is built up of screens and sliding doors, which open and lead to different rooms. The screen system can be completely opened to create an large space or closed off for private space. Translucent paper, another material used to build hand fans, is also used for the screens and walls in Japanese buildings and creates shadows or silhouettes for people to see into the next room, but not completely or clearly.

By comparing a simple Asian artifact, the hand fan to something bigger like its architecture materiality, it's quite obvious to see that Asian craftsmen as much as architects put a lot of care and thought into their design. The material is simple yet useful and creates an enlightened atmosphere.

Michele