empty drop

Starting from the question ‘Is it truly necessary?’, the Japanese firm experimented with the concept of space. As architects, should we keep making additions, or can we think differently about architecture and its uses?

Inspired by their homeland of Japan, Shingo Masuda + Katsuhisa Otsubo Architects merged East and West in the green envelope by linking it to the primitive religion of animism, where natural elements such as rivers, trees, or rocks define places for gatherings and rituals. One such location that still captured the imagination in contemporary Japan was the Akakura jinja, a 15-metre-high rock surrounded by a cedar forest. It stood in isolation, marking an open space for dance and encounters without the addition of a physical, built space.

Using a locally familiar material – brick – and the city’s colour palette, Shingo Masuda + Katsuhisa Otsubo Architects proposed a new abode that transcended the seasons. Three circular sculptures, constructed from fired and stacked clay bricks, shot outwards from the centre. Their silhouette alluded to a rock that had broken through the substrate, with only the outer shell still standing.

empty drop was constructed from 11,000 bricks that had been joined using the Flemish masonry bond. The work not only explored the boundaries of the material but also how it was used in the contemporary building sector. It formed a contrast with the functional city and – like an unchanging mastodon – marked a gathering place for meeting and deepening. empty drop: a celebration of emptiness within the busy pattern of Bruges.