Hidakuma goes to London

About the Distillation of Architecture collaborative exhibition

Hidakuma was selected for the collaborative exhibition Distillation of Architecture: 家具,  organized by the Maeda Corporation and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. Tsubakuma, the team composed of Hidakuma and Tsubame Architects, was one of four teams from Japan selected for the exhibition, which explored the integration of form and materials.

The title and theme of the exhibition was put forth by Shin Egashira, a longtime educator at the Architectural Association and Diplomat Unit Master. According to Egashira, distillation in architecture is the refinement of ideas, materials, and processes. Tsubakuma decided to integrate two other meanings into their installation.

Distillation can also mean the elimination of impurities to extract the purest essence of something. This process is echoed in the selection of the best trees of a forest for crafting furniture, or the repeated cutting and polishing of woodworking. In line with Hidakuma’s vision of utilizing unused resources, the project redistills the waste from these processes. Spirits and alcohol are also distilled. The team was inspired by pubs, the social gathering places of Britain. Rather than simply an exhibition piece, Wood Waste Micro Pub was envisioned as a place of gathering, where people can discuss the situation of Japanese and British forests.

What We Did: Bricolage Process

Upcycling of Scrap and Unused Materials

Design and Fabrication

Credits

Organized by: Maeda Corporation, Architectural Association School of Architecture

Design & Fabrication Process: Motoki Chiba, Kota Sakurada (Tsubame Architects); Kotaro Iwaoka, Kosuke Kuroda, Saya Nikata (Hidakuma)

Production: Kazuya Tanaka, Yuji Tanaka (Tanaka Architecture)

Wooden Flavour Sticks for Distilled Spirits: Fumito Egami (Hidakuma)

Project Period: April 2024 – January 2025

Exhibition Period: January 17 – March 7, 2025

Venue: AA Gallery and Front Members’ Room, 36 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3ES

Website: https://www.aaschool.ac.uk/publicprogramme/whatson/distillation-of-architecture