exploring how architecture can survive beyond demolition
In Disassembly and Memory, Japanese artist and architect designer Go Izumita dismantles an abandoned farm shed in rural Aomori and reconstructs it materials in a memorial sculpture inspired by megaliths. Transforming a structure on the verge of extinction into a new landscape, the project explores the relationship between architecture, memory and traces of human presence. The sculptural work explores how architecture can persist beyond demolition.
The work was created from an abandoned agricultural shed located in Fujisaki, a rural town in the north Japan. Instead of keeping the structure in its original form, the project dismantled the building and was reconstructed his materials into a new sculptural monument inspired by megaliths and ancient standing stones. The original shed had long been left unused and was gradually deteriorating. While such buildings are often considered waste or removed without a trace, the project approached the structure as a repository of memories, work and material history.
Disassembly and Memory at the Aomori Art Museum | all images by Hayate Yagi unless otherwise noted
Disassembly and memory rebuild a shed using its own materials
Disassembling the shed by hand and carefully sorting its components, artist and architect designer Go Izumita sought to reveal qualities often overlooked in architecture, including weathered textures, accumulated traces of use, and the unique character of aging materials. The sculpture was constructed entirely from materials salvaged from the shed, including timber, clay walls, corrugated steel sheets, patterned glass and other architectural scraps. The form is deliberately different from that of the original building.
By separating the material from the architectural form and giving it a new geometry, the project explores the displacement between structure and surface, an idea developed through the concept of ‘Texture Displaced’. Depending on the viewer’s position, the sculpture reveals different silhouettes and material relationships. It functions as what the artist describes as a “Safe Ruin,” a monument that preserves the presence of a lost building while preventing physical occupation. Through this transformation, Disassembly and Memory proposes an alternative future for architecture that faces abandonment and demolition, allowing its memory to remain as part of a new landscape.
its appearance changes depending on the viewing angle
a sculptural work inspired by megaliths, reconstructed entirely from the materials of a dismantled farm shed
exterior view of farm shed before dismantling | image courtesy of Go Izumita
interior view of farm shed before dismantling | image courtesy of Go Izumita
1:10 scale model of the hangar, made of the same wood, soil and metal as the original construction
installation view of the final exhibition of the Cultural Affairs Agency’s Media Art Development Support Program at TODA HALL & CONFERENCE TOKYO
the shed’s clay walls were reclaimed, reworked and formed into new panels
rare patterned glass, a type rarely produced today | image courtesy of Go Izumita
corrugated steel with blue painted corrugated steel, with its weathered surface bearing the traces of time | image courtesy of Go Izumita
Steel panels painted red, where layers of rust create a rich and distinctive texture | Image courtesy of Go Izumita
corrugated steel whose surface reveals a rich texture when closely examined | image courtesy of Go Izumita
project information:
name: Disassembly and Memory
designer: Go Izumita | @go_izumita
photographer: Hayate Yagi
designboom received this project from us DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom
