Since founding his own studio nearly 15 years ago, Shuhei Endo (b.
1960) has been concerned with creating architectural spaces out of
continuous strips of material - most often rolled or corrugated steel -
that encompass both roof and wall, looping and coiling to enclose
interior spaces while leaving much of the structure exposed. To date,
his projects have been small-scale, mostly concentrated in the Kansai
region: a parking structure for bicycles (Cyclestation M), a public
toilet facility in an outdoor park in Hyogo (Springtecture H), a
railroad station (Transtation O), a rural agricultural market
(Rooftecture B).
Responding to their standardized, industrial
materials, Endo`s projects carry generic names with repetitive suffixes
and one-letter IDs, but their form is anything but generic - the
projects resemble abstract sculpture more than they do architecture
with regular geometries. Of his Springtecture H lavatory facility,
Jonathan Glancey of "The Guardian" wrote: "This is a brilliant,
unabashed swirl of galvanised corrugated metal, its loops and spirals
derived from the structural logic of this malleable material."In
addition to small-scale work, Endo has designed two larger competition
entries, including an addition to an art museum in northeastern Japan
(Springtecture A/Aomori project, 2000), and an addition to the
headquarters of the World Intellectual Properties Organization in
Geneva (Rooftecture W/Wipo Project, 2000). Endo earned a master`s
degree from Kyoto City University of Art and worked at Osamu Ishii
& Biken Associates in Japan before opening his own office.
He was named by Architectural Record as one of nine of the most
talented emerging architects in the magazine`s "Design Vanguard 2001,"
and received an Architectural Review award in 2000. This book follows
the format of Electa`s series on contemporary architects, showcasing 32
of Endo`s projects with concise project descriptions, excellent color
photographs, plans, and drawings. It includes a complete illustrated
list of projects, a biography, and bibliography.
