The aesthetics of “MA”
It has been a few months since the end of the Covid-19 emergency, and I think back to the theories I have read about the “new normal.” The fact is that the new reality we have experienced and the changes in social behaviour that will follow are yet to be defined. There have been many more or less authoritative voices in recent years, but as is often the case, only after several attempts to give direction does randomness take over and create an unexpected new order outside of any elaborated theory.
Similarly in architecture, in master plans, flows are defined by assuming scenarios derived from data, but then the human factor overlaying the project reinterprets it in an unpredictable way. Therefore, the human variable should always be considered as an unexpected element and become a source of enrichment for interpreting projects and spaces. In architecture we design starting from empty spaces before volumes, so we cannot fail to consider the breaks between one element and another, between a flow and its interpretation.
To do this, it is necessary to consider the concept of “MA”.
“Ma” is a Japanese term that can be translated as intermediate space, interval, pause and suspension. A very powerful concept in Japanese culture and aesthetics. Such a short word encapsulates many powerful meanings. Its very suggestive figurative structure can help us better understand all its meanings and various interpretations. The Pictogram represents the image of a door: mon (門). Such an element depicts the traditional door of the domestic threshold, with the two upper doors closed. But it could also be a door used in Japanese sacred architecture, a “torii” which literally means threshold, or point of passage between the outside and inside of a sacred area.
In the centre is the ideogram of nichi (日) meaning day or sun, which could be considered both as light and as an ancestral unit of measurement of the concept of time and its passage. This results in the creation of the ideogram (間), which encapsulates two very different concepts but which can be related to the concepts of space and time. A here and now that in the traditional Japanese home is related to the meaning of room, which is a temporary spatial moment manifested through the opening and closing of a sliding door. The Japanese room is thus a temporary place destined to change linked to the representation of pause or emptiness. Between this beginning and end, human beings experience life.
In architecture we can distinguish two macro systems that we call Closed and Open. A closed system does not lend itself to interpretation by those who experience it, while an open system is a place that allows for its decoding and thus customization.
Spaces understood as the place where the dualism of MA is expressed are the most interesting. The empty spaces in which the human variable is expressed are designed to accommodate the interpretive layer that is characterized by diversity of needs, intents and randomness.
Let’s take an example that can clarify ideas and substantiate this theory and better define the concept of space in between. Let us analyze the housing project “Moriyama House” by Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA studio built between 2002 and 2005 in Tokyo. At first glance, this housing complex suggests that domestic living takes shape in the space in between volumes. Through the arrangement of separate but adjacent individual units, the Moriyama House proposes a mode of community living by going so far as to constitute a new sociality among its inhabitants.
Architects are often accused of imposing their own vision of domestic modernity on their clients. The history of almost every major modern house of the twentieth century involves some sort of clash between architect and client, desires not fully realized, conflicts and misunderstandings that nevertheless have given us examples that have defined the history of modern living. Then again, we always talk about those who break custom and rules, not those who followed them.
the Moriyama House consists of ten volumes arranged at right angles to each other. They are meticulously separated from each other as if they repel each other but at the same time are all related. They are made of thin sheets of white-coloured metal. The openings are all square or rectangular in shape, and the resulting aesthetic is borderline studio model; it does not even look like it is conceived as a downtown Tokyo dwelling, it looks more like it is a village nestled in a forest. The neighbourhood-like arrangement of ten mini-houses has resulted in a new kind of semi-communal lifestyle. The spaces between the units are the site of daily interactions among the inhabitants. The design is an architectural device that facilitates encounters. Its composition empowers the occupants to inhabit the intervals of intermediate space that can take on different functions depending on who uses them going to confirm the concept of the Japanese home in which MA is manifested in an ephemeral and temporary way. Spaces are customized in a chaotic way to accommodate diversity. This is the part that we can predict but we will never know how it will manifest because the human variable acts by continuously making decisions that change the space over time based on the emotions that space or situation arouses.
How does personalization take place?
Simply through the application of what human beings do best, which is to make decisions. It is estimated that on a daily basis we make about 35,000 decisions even though we do not really realize this burden of responsibility that hangs over us every day. This innate aptitude is most important because if for various reasons we cannot express it we feel frustrated and depressed and our emotional intelligence suffers.
An example that easily explains this principle is the interaction with the Google Map app that gives the ability to choose the route even though the function of getting you from point A to point B in the shortest possible time is already given by the algorithm. The human being, therefore, theoretically would not need to choose but even if it is not necessary he has the appearance of being able to exercise free will and this makes him feel good and free. The success of a digital product is usually related to the fact that it establishes with the user the most accurate imitation of the H2H (Human to Human) relationship. Therefore, we can say, as, with the Moriyama household, success is given by whether or not it develops a relationship based on the human factor that is expressed through emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence
To succeed in the next decade, we are no longer talking only about technical skills, but also about interpersonal skills. Measuring intelligence according to “IQ” standards no longer makes much sense as it does not take into account emotional intelligence, which is the ability to understand and manage emotions. The skills involved in emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-control, motivation, empathy, social skills and the ability to read the emotions of others. In recent years, the trend in Western society is the inability to fully understand and deal with human emotions. This trend has proven devastating, especially in the workplace where emotions are forcibly left out. This causes devastating effects on both businesses and employees. People who do not express feelings are rewarded, and this is definitely unnatural because human beings are social animals and therefore by nature prone to the explication of emotions.
Emotional intelligence apparently works in a very simple way according to three simple principles.
01. Self-awareness.
People who are not self-aware tend to overestimate or underestimate themselves. In both cases, it is difficult to work with people who do not perceive themselves because they cannot see the vision of others and share the ideas of others. Those who underestimate themselves create problems for themselves, while those who overestimate themselves create problems for others who will then have to intervene to solve the problems that inevitably come up.
02. Self-regulation
Self-awareness enables one to manage oneself in environments and situations and to know one’s strengths and weaknesses.
03. Empathy
People with high emotional intelligence know how to adapt to the most diverse people. They do not like everyone, but they can understand everyone, they can adapt and they can open a channel of communication. Those with low emotional intelligence cannot understand their impact on the world around them and generate problems. Diversity cannot be understood only as cultural, social and economic differences, but even within a homogeneous group, there are huge differences in behaviour because we have different perceptions of ourselves.
In the work environment, those who develop their own self-awareness will be able to manage others more effectively. Awareness of one’s emotional intelligence and its importance in relationship management determines the ability to manage the human variable and the correct interpretation of the aesthetic sense of MA.
Do we still think not expressing one’s emotions in the workplace by imposing de facto standardization of behaviour is the right thing?
