08.09.08
Posted in F-Design, J-Design tagged Dome house, Futuro at 13:56 by krause
We have Matti Suuronen’s Futuro, designed 1968. Now the Japanese strike back with the styrofoam home Dome.
Futuro village:
Dome village:
There are interesting dome houses, spherical, round and even revolving houses around the globe (pun intended), not to mention all sorts of traditional habitats like huts (Africa, Celtic etc.), teepees, Sami fur kota teepees, yurts, and of course, igloos. This dome house in Hakui, Nooto hantoo (Nooto peninsula, Japan) was photographed by me in 2006.
Recently, the Futuro sold at Christie’s for €140,000 (¥23,200,000 or $210,600). The production has been discontinued, so the only way to acquire one is to buy a second hand Futuro.
A brand new Dome will sell at 3 million yen (under $30,000 or €18,100), but there are more expensive extended homes / public building solutions.
Futuro will arrive at your door step fully assembled. Only “legs” or supports and plumming, electricity etc. will need to be completed after transportation.
The Dome modules are assembled in a fraction of the time required to build a traditional house. The modules can be lifted by two or three people, and once the modules are snapped into place, the house is covered with plaster, painted, and customized.
Karaoke place in Suijin no mori.
Futuro will blend into the Finnish lake side landscape perfectly (?):
Interior of Futuro:
The interior is more versatile than in Futuro, which is always the same size, and not very spacious: The Dome can be used as a sauna, shop, bar, office, hotel etc. in addition to just being a home.
Some videos of Dome.
The Finnish Futuro and Japanese Dome are not the only round, dome etc. shaped or spherical houses. There are lots of ufos around. As this is not a blog dealing with architecture, here are links to non-Japanese and non-Finnish round houses.
Dymaxion
Sunspace Homes
Bulleâ Ă 6 coques
Kugelhaus
And a blog with unusual living solutions:
Flatrock
And you can always search for “dome home” or “dome house” “round house” “rotating house” “spinning house” or “revolving house” – lots of interesting images there.
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06.29.08
Posted in J-Design, Japanese, Wafuku (kimono) at 15:16 by krause
In the Western world, the swastica has become a hated symbol. Not many Westerners know that the swastica, or gammadion is an ancient symbol of any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. Japanese maps are filled with manji, or swastikas. The map legend clarifies they mark the spots of Buddhist temples (tera):
But what should one think of this haori jacket on sale at kimono flea market Ichiroya:
Even the seller seems to think this is not a manji but a swastika: “…seems to be used at the restaurant as work clothes. It has a unique war atmosphere, including flags of Japan and Nazi Germany with combat plane motif.” I suspect the evel symbol is actually a happy one, as aviators used it commonly as a good luck charm. Even American aviator Matilde Moisant wears one:
I suspect the symbol is thus a manji. Manji is the name of the symbol in Japanese. It is a kanji, a character of Chinese origin: U+534D ĺ or éĺ (gyaku manji) and U+5350 ĺ. The manji symbolizes Dharma, universal harmony, and balance between opposites. “When facing left, it is the omote (front) manji, representing love and mercy. Facing right, it represents strength and intelligence, and is called the ura (rear) manji.” (Source: Wikipedia)
As I am poorly informed, I’ll leave the question unanswered.
A traditional yukata fabric design (wakgara) called sayagata (ç´çśžĺ˝˘) features a manji: 
As the manji is not associated with Nazism in Japan, it is widely used as decoration. This michiyuki coat has woven manji: 
This bag also features a manji: 
In Japan, manji are also used as family crests, kamon: 
Otonomiya’s site displays manji kamon used to decorate kimono.
Blogger Tatamishokunin (de gozaimasu) arranged the tatami mats as manji and gyaku manji:
The small square tatami mat is a half width mat used to cover the tea hearth.
The Origamist has folded a manji origami box: 
It seems the manji is used in Japan facing both ways. Google finds less of the reverse manji in Japanese context and more in the German context, though, but that might have to do with the logic Google uses.
Symbols are as culturally relative as anything else. Still, we live in a globalized world, so there is certainly need for reciprocal sensitivity.
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