In Japan, the "Gaudi of Mita" advocates slow construction

With its rickety lines and strange ornaments, Keisuke Oka's building has been compared to that of Studio Ghibli's animated film "Howl's Moving Castle."

This iconic four-story "Arimaston" building took nearly two decades to emerge from the hands of an architect convinced that his slow approach to construction can and must serve as an example to the world, where everything today must be built quickly.

In 2005, Mr. Oka wanted to build his project alone, born from an impression: the buildings of Japanese cities and villages were "very sad and devoid of life", as if they were "all designed on a computer".

Inspired by butoh, this slow, minimalist and surrealist Japanese dance, Mr. Oka then began to construct a slightly crazy work.

Apart from the help of a few friends, he built the entire building himself and even claims that the concrete - which he mixed himself - is of such quality that it will last more than 200 years.

“Design and build at the same time”

Another challenge that Mr. Oka, nicknamed the "Gaudi of Mita", the Tokyo district where the "Arimaston Building" is located, set himself: he designed his building as the work progressed.

"The person who builds a building and the person who designs it are very far apart," he regrets. "In order to bring the building to life, I tried to design it and build it at the same time."

Mr Oka told AFP that the structure was nearly complete and he planned to live on the top three floors and use the ground floor and basement as a studio and exhibition space.

"It's very easy to see the difference with the tall buildings just behind," he says, referring to the skyscrapers in the background of the Arimaston Building.

Another stumbling block for his project: the neighborhood is undergoing large-scale redevelopment and neighboring apartments have been demolished. As part of this work, Keisuke Oka's building must be moved back 10 meters, which means transporting the entire structure on rails.

Once this operation is completed, he intends to move in and continue working on the finishing touches, in addition to his work teaching at universities.

However, when he started this project at the beginning of the century, he did not imagine that it would take him almost 20 years.

"I thought that with my abilities, I could do it in three years," he smiles today.

"Stop mass producing"

Mr. Oka grew up in rural Japan and when he was still an architecture student, his teachers saw enormous potential in him.

But depression in his thirties caused him to abandon architecture for a while, before his wife persuaded him to buy a small plot of land and build a house on it.

Today, he acknowledges that the Arimaston Building project has given him renewed confidence and he is amused by the surprised reaction of passers-by.

Mr. Oka hopes people can appreciate the value of handcrafting, even in a city like Tokyo.

"There used to be a lack of many things in the world, but now there is too much," Keisuke Oka told AFP, inside the building's curved gray walls.

"We have to stop mass producing and find another solution, otherwise we are heading straight for problems."

He also said he was inspired by his upbringing, when his mother made clothes for the family because they couldn't afford to buy them.

"More than half of the clothes we make now are thrown away," he notes, describing a world "overflowing with objects." "We need to start manufacturing at a slower pace," he advocates after proving himself in the art of slowness.