Phoogaphytr ttri｜新良太／Ryoa Aaash─ “Living Workspace” where People and Activity Come Together Sugiyama Can you tell us about your “Living Workspace” project, in which you propose spaces where work and leisure intermingle?Naka I think people are more motivated and creative in their work when diverse activities are combined. “Living Workspace” is a small workspace located at the edge of Lake Biwa. Before beginning the project, I spent about a week working remotely from a guest house near the lake as a kind of experiment. After a few days, the owners asked me to help them chop firewood. Under normal circumstances, I would have told them I was busy with work and politely refused, but living in a natural environment makes one natu-rally inclined to cooperate in such ways. It was really wonderful to experience that. I would go for a swim in the lake during breaks from work. I came to realize that working in a place where I could easily mix non-work-related activities into my daily routine had a very beneficial effect on my productivity. It was from this experience that the "Living Workspace”—a space that creates harmony by bringing together various differ-ent people and activities—was born. Going forward, our aim is to not only mix together various activities but also encourage interaction between urban office workers and people like local farmers and fishermen, who have traditionally had little oppor-tunity for such contact. This will surely give rise to exciting new ideas and business opportunities.Sugiyama So, basically, your aim is to revolutionize the social environment itself?Naka That’s right. Another essential thing to consider with regard to the workplace is the concept of change. Recently, I’ve been promoting a work style called “outside work.” The modern office worker has become accustomed to an office environment that is kept at a comfortable temperature and humidity level throughout the year, but change is essential for keeping the mind active. Allowing our activities and our mood to change in synch with the outdoor environment has a positive effect on our work.Sugiyama Putting ourselves in the same environment day in and day out weakens our resilience.Naka I believe it’s important to develop a good tolerance for change. In the case of cities, however, the layout of urban spac-es and their architecture are designed to conform to social systems that are finely subdivided based on function, so it’s dif-ficult to create opportunities for change that involve an inter-mingling of various activities.Sugiyama That’s true. Such systems can greatly constrain human behavior; when designing urban spaces and architecture, there-fore, it’s important to avoid laying down too many rules and also to question existing rules.Naka Yes, I agree. Regarding such restrictive urban spaces and architecture, which create clear divisions of use to prioritize economy and efficiency, former Nikken Sekkei vice-president Shoji Hayashi once said, “Architects have been making mis-takes for 100 years—mistakes that we will spend the next 100 years fixing.” I hope that even in urban areas, we will see more and more spaces that facilitate the intermingling of various types of people and activities.23 「生きる場」は、琵琶湖のほとりにある小さなワークスペースです。プロジェクトの始動前、実験的に琵琶湖付近の民泊で1週間ほど仕事をしてみたのですが、日が経つなかで、民泊の方から「薪割りを手伝って欲しい」などと声をかけられるようになりました。普段だとつい、「忙しいから」と断ってしまいそうですが、自然環境の中にいると自然に手伝うことができて、とても気持ちの良い経験でした。また、仕事の合間に湖で泳いで気分転換をすることもできる。そうやって自分の仕事以外の行為を混ぜながら働くことで、結果的にとても生産性が上がるのを実感しました。 こうした体験から、異なる行為や人間を出会わせて「和える」ワークプレイス、「生きる場」が生まれました。今後は行為のみならず、これまで混ざり合うことのなかった都会のオフィスワーカーと、地元の漁師や農家のような方々との交流を図っていきたいと思っています。きっと面白い発想やビジネスが生まれるはずです。杉山 社会環境そのものを変革させていくということですね。仲 そうです。そして、ワークプレイスを考える上でもうひとつ重要なのが「変化」です。私は最近「外ワーク」というワークスタイルを推奨しています。現代のオフィスワーカーは、1年中快適な温湿度に保たれたオフィス環境に慣れてしまっていますが、脳を活性化させるためには変化が不可欠。屋外環境に合わせて過ごし方や気持ちを変えてみると、仕事にも良い結果が生まれます。杉山 同じ環境に身を置き続けると、自分自身の許容度が下がってしまいますからね。仲 変化を許容する感覚を、身につけることが大事だと思います。ただ都会の場合、機能ごとに細かく分かれた社会システムに、都市や建築の形態が合致してしまっているので、混ぜようとしたり変化を起こそうとしたりするのがなかなか難しい。杉山 そうですね。時としてシステムは人間の行動を規制してしまいかねませんから、都市や建築を設計する際にルールを決め過ぎないと同時に、既存のルールを疑ってみることが大切だと思います。仲 ええ。そういう経済性と効率優先で用途が明確に分けられた排他的な都市や建築について、以前、林昌二さん（元日建設計副社長）が「建築家は100年かけて過ちを犯してきた。これから100年かけてつくり直すんだ」とおっしゃっていました。今後は、都市の中にも「混ぜやすい」場所がもっと増えていってほしいですね。［日本語ページ］記事全文はこちらからご覧いただけます。[English page]Scan here to read full article.
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