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People + Architecture profile 14 schueco.com 59 properties and smaller museums in Japan in the 1990s,theyturnedthefocusoftheiractivitiesincreas- ingly towards Europe and the United States, where they quickly developed a distinctive image with their extraordinary proposals. The designs of SANAA are characterised by transparency and openness, a minimalistic reduction in terms of material and colour, and a predilection for glass, concrete and the colour white. »We concentrate on the essence. That is the most important thing to us. And the essence of a space is simply white. It is not possible to reduce things any further, otherwise our archi- tecture would probably be transparent or invisible,« explained Sejima in one of her rare programmatic statements. This search for »almost nothing« runs through the work of SANAA like a common thread. The architect duo found global recognition with the »21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art« in Kanazawa, which was opened in 2004. The circular building structure has neither a front side nor a clearly defined main entrance. Depending on space requirements, the areas can be subdivided using large sliding glass walls. With this traditionally Japanese building unit, SANAA not only brought an extremely reduced form to the complex layout but, via the circular external façade, they also created the relationship between the inside and outside worlds that are characteristic of their designs. The Zollverein Cube demonstrates how the Japa- nese architects dissolve the massiveness of Euro- pean buildings. The university building, which was opened in 2006, was built for the »Zollverein School of Management and Design« which has since clos- ed down. In their submission for the design com- petition, SANAA adorned the façades of the cube, which measures 35x35x34m, with a fine-mesh grid comprising around 3500 window openings of varying sizes. That this variety was reduced to d Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne/CH: Das Gebäude selbst ist als Landschaft konzipiert. Patios mit verglasten Fassaden vermitteln zwischen Innen- und Außenraum. d d Das Bauwerk berührt den Boden mit kaum sichtbaren Stützen und lässt einen weiten Raum unter sich. d Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne, Switzerland: The building itself has been designed as a landscape. Patios with glazed façades provide a link between the inside and outside. d d With supports that are barely visible, the building caresses the ground, leaving a vast space open beneath through which visitors from all sides find their way to the main entrance. FOTOSPHOTOSIvanBaan »Die Essenz eines Raumes ist Weiß. Noch reduzierter geht es nicht, sonst wäre unsere Architektur wahrscheinlich durchsichtig oder unsichtbar.« »The essence of a space is white. It could not be reduced any further. Otherwise our architecture would probably be transparent or invisible.« Kazuyo Sejima

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