Can Aging Be Designed? — Theory of Temporal Architecture, Chapter 1

The term "aging" is often used synonymously with "deterioration."

Many people believe that buildings are most beautiful when new, and that their value decreases over time.

There are many who think this way.

But is that really the case?

Is architecture a being that simply begins to deteriorate from the moment it is completed?

Or is it a being that begins to live through time from that very moment?

When I was designing in Japan, there was an exterior wall material I often used.

Western red cedar.

Generally, using wood on the exterior is often avoided because it is believed that it will discolor due to rain and sunlight, and that it deteriorates quickly.

However, as long as the client did not dislike it, I always recommended using wood on the exterior whenever possible.

Even if it was just in a few places sheltered from the wind and rain, that would be enough.

While wood is often used inside a house, I have actually preferred to use it on the exterior.

In many cases, this material is treated with a finish like oil stain. However, I recommended finishing it in its natural state without any paint whenever possible, provided the material was sufficiently dried.

Of course, as time passes, significant color changes will appear depending on whether the area is exposed to sunlight or not, and whether it is exposed to wind and rain.

That is unavoidable.

But I want people to enjoy those changes along the way.

And when the color has completely changed, the exterior wall material finally reveals its true character.

If you apply paint, it might look beautiful at that moment.

But as time passes, color differences will emerge, and you will end up repeating the repainting process.

Painting might be an act of trying to stop time.

However, architecture cannot escape from time.

Recently, I have noticed more gray hair on myself as well.

I used to be bothered by it and would dye it.
When the color faded, I would dye it again.
I kept repeating that process.

But recently, I stopped doing that.

Even with gray hair, isn't that just how one should look at my age?
Perhaps it is even more natural that way.

I have come to think so.

I think the aging of architecture
is similar to that.

By accumulating time,
a building gradually changes its expression.

Especially in parts exposed to the outside air,
such as exterior walls and roofs, the change is significant.

However, I find that rather endearing.

Just as people age,
time also flows through buildings.

Compared to steel or concrete,
wood is a material that is particularly close to a living thing.

It breathes, absorbs moisture,
and reacts sensitively to the environment.

That is precisely why I want to cherish those changes.

Perhaps we are more afraid of 'aging'
than we need to be.

New buildings are beautiful,
and old buildings lose value.

That way of thinking
has somehow become the norm.

However, Japanese architectural culture
has originally cultivated architecture that lives with time.

Shrines and temples are maintained for centuries,
and traditional folk houses continue to be used while being repaired.

Architecture does not end at 'completion'.

It is nurtured by human hands,
over the course of time.

In one house, I once used cedar wood under the eaves.

The wood surface was a pale pink,
and the grain was truly beautiful.

That scene,
still remains in my memory today.

Perhaps the aging of architecture,
is not deterioration, but rather the traces of time.

Is design,
not the act of determining how something receives time?

Architecture does not end the moment it is completed.

Rather, from that moment on,
it touches the wind, absorbs moisture, receives light,
and continues to change little by little.

Architecture is completed over time.

This article is one chapter in a series called 'Theory of Temporal Architecture'.
It is an attempt to think about architecture from the perspectives of 'time' and 'memory'.

Beyond just the beauty of the moment of completion,
what kind of space remains in people's memories as time passes?

I would like to think about that question little by little.

In the next chapter,
I would like to consider how materials receive time.

Series Table of Contents

Theory of Temporal Architecture — Spaces that Weave Memory

Chapter 0
When Does Architecture Become Memory?

Chapter 1
Can Aging Be Designed?

Chapter 2
How Do Materials Receive Time?

Chapter 3
The Culture of Maintenance

Chapter 4
Why Is Architecture Demolished?

Chapter 5
Spatial Theory of the Five Senses

Chapter 6
The Time Scale of Architecture

Chapter 7
Architecture That Generates Memory

Chapter 8
What It Means to Design the Future

Chapter 9
Architecture That Lives With Time

Final Chapter
Architecture Is a Device for Memory