Ryuji Nakamura isn’t exactly what you would call a traditional architect. His favourite medium is paper. Most architects prefer sturdier stuff: metal, concrete, brick. With his love of paper, his work at times crosses the boundaries between architecture and conceptual art, though he still works on buildings and houses as an architect in the traditional sense.

His work can be very playful at times. Take for example Midget and Giant, a small paper house placed over the camera on a computer. When used in a video conference or on Skype the person looks like a giant peering into a house. His most compelling piece, however, is the Cornfield, which is being shown at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. This was delicately constructed using only glue and paper. The effect is of a form both enormous yet simultaneously weightless. It makes for an utterly mesmeric spectacle.

Title:

Architect

Name:

Ryuji Nakamura

Do you mostly work in paper?

Yes. I am very interested in paper. I find its texture interesting, it is soft and hard at the same time and this produces interesting details. But I am also interested in every other material such as steel, concrete, wood, glass, plastic and so on.

Your work looks very intricate, which piece of art took you the longest to make?

The Cornfield, because it is very big and consisted of many parts. It took about 3 months to manufacture. About 15 people a day worked for 20 days, in total more than 100 people worked on it.

What is unique about your work?

My work reflects my interest in the dynamics between gravity, quantity and form. I am interested in how these three work together and I consider to be a unique approach.

I am interested in the bigness of architecture and the relation between form of architecture and gravity. Architecture cannot be made by one part, it is composed of many parts. I would consider this to be a positive rather than a negative. I think that the form and size of parts, and their joint and distribution changes architecture radically. Also, gravity affects the form and the relation of parts. Gravity causes a challenge to architecture and this results in a certain beauty.

What are you working on next?

I’m working on an installation made from metal rods in Europe and I’m also working on houses in Tokyo and Kyoto. The house in Tokyo is going to be brand new and the one in Kyoto is a renovation.

For more in the Paper Craft series go to:

Paper Craft #1: The man of many creases