Softness can beat the strong

What is strength in architecture?  As Japan had 3.11 Earthquakes and Tsunami in 2011, a world-famous architect, Dr. Kengo Kuma saw lots of strong buildings destroyed by nature so easily.  How can we build stronger buildings?  How can we get along with nature?  And What is real strongeness?    

His answer was quite interesting.   Essence of being strong is nothing but softness and flexibility.  Being flexible and soft is a key to strong buildings.  Then he started to explain his architectures, motives and structures of the buildings in the UCLA A. UD Lecture which is available in the link above.

Kuma-san's lecture was so inspiring and informational which give us various viewpoints to see and accept nature.  

This also reminded me the saying of "Softness can beat the strong (hardness)" which is one of the concepts of Judo.  

As you know, Judo is one of the popular martial arts to pursue the strength in both body and mind.   Yes, it is a symbol of strongness, but the meaning of Judo is "The Way of Softness"  which may be a characteristic of Japanese culture, too.   In a sense, Kuma-san talked about this theme according to his designed buildings and experiences.

Last but not least, I thank you Mo-san for sharing this wonderful video of Kuma-san with me!  It was more than interesting!  And I want to add a link to Japanese video which could benefit Japanese speaking friends.

強さとは何か？いかに強固な建築物をつくることができるのか？大震災で強固と思われていた建物が破壊され流されていく映像をみて、世界的な建築家、隈研吾さんが目指したのは、柔らかさ、そして自然のフレームとしての建築物でした。隈さんはいいます。強さとは、言い換えれば、いかに柔らかくそして柔軟性（Flexibility)に富むものであるのか、と。思うに、精神的な強さも同じです。頑固はダメです。いかに、多様な視点をもって、多様な現実を受け止めれられうのか？いかに柔軟にものごとを考えられるのか？

英語でのレクチャーでしたが、多角的な示唆に富む、目から鱗の動画でした。