Mark West, Canadian architect and University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture, came to see me.
He has been trying to build architectural structure by fabric.
Currently, he has been studying and fabricating architectural joist and post utilizing fabric formwork in order to supply the methods to corporate enterprise. He has not yet led to build architectural structure.
He showed a strong interest in URC method.
Took Mark to「Stone Renaissance」「セルフビルドin鴨川 (self build in kamogawa)」and Mr. H.Kondo’s House.
Mark in the middle, Mr. Kondo, left
Canopy top by thick steel becomes floor slab inside.
URC method used for casting concrete structure
Mark makes mystical objects.
http://umanitoba.ca/architecture/cast/research/fabric_formwork/index.html
Next day, visited「Gyousoan」and「Dango House」
In 2008, I was invited to University of Manitoba.
Very stylish and independent research center in the extensive college campus
Many works displayed inside.
There are about 10 people who are trying to cast concrete structure in flexible formwork in the world.
Mark wanted to exchange information with them.
Two days presentation took place with small audience.
Conferenceの様子（video)
Most of them had not yet led to build architectural structure.
Sandy Lawton from USA was only person who building architectural structure by net beside me.
But he has not installed heat insulating material yet in cold climates.
I came up with an idea of URC and made a presentation in 1997, 11 years before the Fabric Formwork Conference.
It seems I am the only one building high quality architectural structure by fabric.
After the two days presentation, Mark ran a workshop for the all attendants.
I executed a structure modeling by spraying plaster to fabric.
Took a Commemorative photo after a workshop.
I was pleased to meet people who were struggling with fabric-formed structure.
I was not only one.
Scene of every one’s activities
Attendants stand on the joist Mark executed by fabric formwork.
Mark in the middle, Unno fifth right
Mark showed me the post he executed after the conference.
I asked Mark to show me some Canada. He took me a ride in a car with cracked window.
What I saw was just dead flat land and we ended up a lake, dead flatter.
I stopped by Chicago and New York on the way home.
F. L. Wright in Chicago and Mies van der Rohe in New York. It’s all impressive.
Milwaukee Art Museum by S. Calatrava was breathtaking.
I was rather strongly impressed by Milwaukee County War Memorial by E. Saarinen right next to Museum.
It has spine-chilling structure.
The Farnsworth House build by Mies, located near Plano, Illinois looked quite different from photos I have seen.
I was not interested in Mies very much but it is kind of thing
I have to see to understand.