Spiral building

Fumihiko Maki, Wacoal Media Center, Tokyo Japan, 1982-1985

Spiral is a building by architect Fumihiko Maki in Aoyama. It was commissioned by the lingerie company Wacoal and was completed in 1985. It is a multipurpose building, with gallery space, multipurpose hall, cafe, restaurant and bar, lounge and shops.
The building's defining feature is a seemingly floating spiral ramp that circles the rear gallery space and ascends to the second floor. The aluminum and glass exterior façade reflects the cluttered nature of the surrounding cityscape. Also known as Wacoal Art Center, Spiral is a hub of cultural life in Aoyama, presenting music, art, film and theater events.
Fumihiko Maki defined the concept of Spiral Building as follows:

“In this building I wanted to represent the chaos of the city and for this purpose I took the typical elements of modern architecture, such as the cube, the cone and the hemisphere and combined them in an integral way.”

At first glance the building seems to be inspired by the architecture of Richard Meier: the white color, the use of overlapping geometric patterns and shapes, the aluminum finishing panels among others and even the use of a wavy volume in the facade. Yet here you do not perceive the rigorous geometry and rationality of the American architect. There is also a reference to Peter Eisenman, the deconstruction and recomposition of design elements. But inside the building you do not perceive the spatial complexity that other deconstructive works convey, but rather an ordered succession of spaces.