KYOTO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER (ICC KYOTO)
ICC Kyoto was built by engineer and architect Sachio Otani, what an obvious execution of skills in this edifice, apparent in the visual and physical aspects alike. Standing before it feels like observing an archival specimen of Metabolism, a period of architecture history which fascinates me, like that of the Dada period in the art world. Few buildings speak true of metabolism to me, yet this example is heroic.
From afar it appears as a fortress, upon further inspection perhaps a small squatter city in a dystopian future, but alas it is a government building and good luck getting in. Admittedly, I did not organise my visit, so as excited as I was to roam throughout the warren of rooms in this wonderland, I was as equally disappointed with a very polite “come back on visitors day please”, never mind I will not be in the country.
Non-the-less as the images display, there is much to experience even before you can enter. Immediately apparent becomes the fact that not a single curve exempt of the light bulb, graces the exterior. From the foyer it begins to soften into slight curves, a nice reprieve from such rigid construction among the hills of the citiy's hinterland.
I have left this edifice with intentions to return, I feel there awaits an experience for me that will transcend time, placing me directly in the zeitgeist of the Metabolist movement. I find time-travel an absolute thrill and what better performs it than architecture.
