in flakes

　MOUNT FUJI ARCHITECTS STUDIO is an architectural unit comprising HARADA Masahiro and Mao, that provides comprehensive designs for the quality of living environments through the design and production of interiors, streetscapes, and furniture, as well as architectural planning. Here is what they thought when they visited Towada: “Snowflakes in winter, cherry blossoms in spring, rays of sunlight in summer, falling leaves in autumn, and artworks dotted around the city— there is always something dancing in the city’s clear air.” Towada is thus filled with beautiful, unsullied fragments of the four seasons, each fragment floating around freely. To express this impression of the city, they arranged in flakes, an artwork of benches, on Kanchogai Avenue, as if gently carried there on the breeze.
　in flakes is made of stainless steel with the surface polished to a mirror shine. Mirrors reflect many things. Sitting on these art benches, one can enjoy the sight of fragments of the four seasons in Towada, such as floating leaves and sunlight filtering down through the trees, in spring, perhaps even having the experience of “floating” with the cherry blossoms.
　Wouldn’t Towada’s beauty suddenly seem even more special by seeing it reflected in mirrors? These art benches on the street cannot reflect everything in Towada, but when they do reflect things, it is as though the city’s very beauty has been captured within. in flakes shows us how to appreciate the city’s unrestrained beauty.

Photo: Oyamada Kuniya