Héroes.

Edward Suzuki. architect.

i am seldom moved to elation by works i encounter these days. when an architect feels challenged by commission. the finished work is often imbued with a strange feeling of passion. works such as these are the ones that i. as a critic. can praise wholeheartedly. up until the early 1980s. i was fortunate to encouter a fair number of such works. during those years. i was deeply moved by the youthful energy of pioneering professionals. of those who dared to break the taboos of modern architecture in their quest for a new symbolism of their age. now. that turbulent time of development has come full cycle. and dreedom of expression is limited by few taboos today. i can´t help feeling. however. that this age in wich even the most outrageous designs are readily accept has robbed our modern architects of their mettle.
when i first laid eyes on edward suzuki´s reprensentative cration. the shibuya police department´s udagawa police station. i was elated. yhough nothing more than a neighborhood police station. the design is a imposing one. bringing to mind the blade of a scythe.
the galvanized exterior plate is a cloudy. the color of wine. this plate is studded with neat rows of rivet - like protoberances. raised in the surface at regular intervals. the overall effect resembles an amored car. but as soon as i saw it. i recollected the coarse animal skin described in eugene ionesco´s play. rhinoceros.
in the course of ionesco´s play. the skin of an apparently gentle man gradually thickens to form a rough. scaly covering. an image intended as metaphor for the spread of fascism.
surface texture is an important factor in the architectural desogn. the surface of suzuki´s police station forms an unusual skin wich seems to project a menacing presence. similar to the terror evoked by the impervious hide of rinoceros. though several years have elapsed since the completion of the police station. the insistent avowal of existence manifested in this skin is still the most striking such statement in the shibuya area.
a blade of stainless steel. reminiscent of the cutting edge of a scythe. juts aggressively from galvanized skin forming an insistent visual surprise. closely resembling the guillotine which claimed the head of robespierre...
fascism and the guillotine - not usually the kind of images one associates with a police facility. but for me. at least. these are the images brought to mind by edward suzuki´s architectural design. in the these days faintly obsequious goverment attitudes toward such projects. i am continually elated by the contrasting co-existence of a work such as this.
many post-modern structures elevate the commissioner who pays for the work above the
the executioners. the architects who actually design structures. but edward suzuki´s udagawa police station is that rare creation which displays the greatness of the commissioner and the architect as well. indeed. no such radical object of urban expression comes to mind. in any other capital or corner of the world.
suzuki describes his work of anarchitecture. his cration reflecs his determination to wreak havoc on the complacency of modern architectural mores. for suzuki anarchy combines with architecture equalling anarchitecture.
attaching the label of anarchy to a police station is one of the paradoxes inherent in suzuki´s work.
in this age in wich taboos no longer constrain expression. the commissioners of architectural works are becoming increasingly understanding of the aims of design. however. apparel manufacturers and food and beverage entrepreneurs can only grasp such concepts at a certain level. they too are in pursuit of anarchy of a kind. but. with backing from such as these. the finished work is inevitably far from interesting: at best it may resemble an ethnic discotheque. of noticeably questionable national origins.
conversely. the award of an unappealing commision. a police station. seems to have been the catalyst for suzuki´s creators spirit. leading him to execute this ultimately radical design.