Inspired by the powerful texture of Clave’s work, including oil painting and collage, they decided to spread washi over sheets of expanded aluminum mesh, generating a new kind of texture with a sense of solidity and transparency. They used the sheets as screens throughout the interior of the building.
The screens were prepared in western France by Yasuo Kobayashi, a washi manufacturer, whose studio is in Niigata. During the process of washi making, the mesh sheet is soaked in a starchy liquid made from kozo (mulberry) and sunset hibiscus.
Various levels of transparency were achieved by controlling and adjusting thickness of the solution and the way washi is dried.
Photo credits: Kengo Kuma and Associates