Felix Candela





'96Mar.15-Apr.27

Yutaka Saito

Candela has taken the simple geometric shape of the HP shell and used it to introduce a dazzling array of variations into architecture. All of his works, including this enormous 60m X 90m space, are constructed in four centimeter thick reinforced concrete. When asked how he manages to make it so thin, he says enthusiastically,

It is the shape that matters. You have to design a proper shape.
His works, which are famous for their total lack of excess, which need neither additions nor subtractions, are as light and airy as a bird settling down to land. And yet the ingenious placement of light openings and the use of continuous curved surfaces fills their interiors with a sumptuous beauty.
The work of Candela: structure and design whetted down to the barest minimum bringing a new dynamism to architecture. To extract its essence and to reinterpret it in a context different from his own time---this is a stimulating task indeed.

exhibition scene

exhibition scene
Photo by Nacása and Partners

Lesture + Symposium
Mar.16 : Tokyo
Lecturer : Yutaka Saito, Noriaki Okabe, Masao Saito, Mutsuro Sasaki, Shigeru Ban

Return to Contents

Copyright (C) 1997 TOTO LTD.