EXHIBITION: KUMAMOTO ARTPOLIS – ARCHITECTURE THROUGH COMMUNICATION

BY AMELIA GROOM

The urban landscape and the buildings around us affect us on individual and social levels in many more ways than we often recognise. Coming to Japan Foundation Gallery in the city and the Tusculum in Potts Point this month is an exhibition of a bold breakthrough in urban planning and structural design known as Kumamoto Artpolis (KAP). A public program that transformed Kumamoto, a humble prefecture in the south of Japan, into a museum of ingenious contemporary architecture; KAP came out of a desire to enhance the local culture through city planning and design.

In 1988, pioneers of the project, Mohiro Hosokawa (Kumamoto’s governor at the time, later Japan’s Prime Minister in 1993) and architect Arata Isozakai, took on a radical attempt to challenge the archaic city planning system that was implemented at the turn of the last century. The results were astounding: almost 100 constructions were developed with a sensitive awareness towards functional and environmental design, in harmony with Kumamoto’s natural and historical contexts.

Today, KAP envisions Kumamoto to be a global centre of beautifully designed buildings, representative of Japan’s contemporary cutting-edge architecture. They focus on developing local communities so that succeeding generations can benefit from a higher quality of living, and they strive to motivate the people (including local residents and young architects) to participate in the ongoing planning process.

One of the key projects of KAP is Tom Heneghan and Ingä Dagfinnsdöttir’s Kumamoto Grasslands Stockbreeding Research Institute. Heneghan is currently Chair of Architecture at the University of Sydney, and coinciding with the exhibition he will be hosting a public forum called Constructing Japan on September 19 (6.30pm at the Japan Foundation in Chifley Plaza). He will speak about the KAP program as a catalyst in the creation of the contemporary architecture of Japan, and about architecture’s role in community renewal. The talk is free but bookings are essential – RSVP to reception@jpf.org.au or on 8239 0055.

Kumamoto Artpolis: Architecture Through Communication is a worldwide travelling exhibition featuring 73 images and sketches of this remarkable exercise in city planning and architecture.

Kumamoto Artpolis: Architecture through Communication
Until September 27
Japan Foundation Gallery, Level 1, Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square
Mon ‘ Sat, 11am ‘ 4pm (closed 13th & 15th)
Tusculum, Australian Institute of Architects, 3 Manning St, Potts Point
Mon ‘ Sat, 10am ‘ 4pm
FREE