Mobile Kiosk—Small Architecture Project 03: “Clouds Descend” by Junya Ishigami & Tsuneishi Shipbuilding & Tsuneishi Kamtecs

• Clouds Descend
  Courtesy of junya.ishigami+associates

• Exhibition Concept

  Ishigami’s kiosk will be located in the plaza in front of the south exit of JR Fukuyama Station on the Sanyo Shinkansen line, which serves as a key gateway to the Exhibition. Functioning not only as a visitors’ information center, the kiosk will also be a sculptural work in its own right, evoking the gentle touch of clouds upon the land.

• Comment by Junya Ishigami

  This is a visitors’ information center for the Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition 2025. Its sponsors are Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and Tsuneishi Kamtecs. When I toured Tsuneishi Shipbuilding’s factory, I was overwhelmed by the sheer power of process visible before me: bending steel plates into three dimensional shapes and then welding them together to create massive ships. The ships are at architectural scale, and yet they float on the ocean and move. The work taking place at the factory was evocative of a building site.

   

  This small kiosk is also constructed by bending steel plates into three-dimensional shapes and welding them together—similar to building a ship. It is installed like a ship leaning to one side, balanced by the principle of a self-righting toy, achieved by making the base heavy. The sight of it installed on the ground, teetering precariously on the verge of falling over, is evocative of clouds gently touching the land.

• Message about the work by Junya Ishigami

  Clouds Descend

   

  I imagined clouds drifting down from the sky

  onto the Seto Inland Sea.

  They were tiny, delightful clouds.

  Clouds that had floated high in the sky

  gently settled upon the sea

  right before our eyes.

  Just like ships.

   

  When we moved away from the clouds,

  they followed us

  smoothly,

  silently.

  They followed us all the way to land

  and came ashore.

   

  Clouds as affectionate as a friend.

  Gently nestled close to the people there, casting soft shadows on the ground.

  Enveloping us all as if in an embrace.

   

  Clouds descend.

  Here beside us.