Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects – The Archaeology of the Future

 

©Takuji Shimmura / image courtesy of DGT

 

 

It is our great honor that, following exhibitions in Tokyo, São Paulo, and Basel, České Budějovice could join the list of cities to present the work of architect Tsuyoshi Tane and his studio, ATTA.

Places always have memories that are deeply rooted in the earth. This process of thinking deeply, from the past to the future, slowly changes archaeology into architecture. In his work, Tsuyoshi Tane clearly shows that memories do not belong to the past but that they are fundamental to creating the architecture of the future.

Tsuyoshi Tane was born in Tokyo in 1979, attended Hokkaido Tokai University, and gained professional experience in London, Denmark, and Sweden.
He then settled in Paris, where he still works today. In 2006, he co-founded the DGT architecture studio (Dorell – Ghotmeg – Tane). Another important date in Tane’s career is the year 2017, when DGT ceases to exist and he founds Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects (ATTA).

ATTA’s portfolio includes numerous important projects, the most significant of which are the Estonian National Museum (2016), the Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art (2020), Kofun Stadium (built for the 2020 Olympics in Japan), the Todoroki House in Valley (2018), and the Hirosaki Museum of Art in Aomori, Japan (2020). He is currently working on 388 Farm (a 3.4-kilometer-long urban agriculture project in the city of Shibuya) and on two hotel projects, the Imperial Hotel Tokyo and the Hotel de la Marine in Paris.

ATTA is the recipient of numerous important awards, including the Grand Prix of French architects in 2016 and 2021 and the Grand Prix from the Estonian Culture Foundation.

Tane’s name has gained increased renown in the world of contemporary international architecture, and we are convinced that this remarkable project of the Archaeology of the Future will be a clear signal as to just what an extraordinary architect he is. It is also another exhibition of contemporary Japanese art and architecture in the Czech Republic that expands the already large number of creative individuals that have been shown exclusively by our gallery. Other examples include Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Reyko Ayoagi, Sukenari Masanori, Atsuo Hukuda, Katsuo Katase, Takashi Suzuki, and Takeshi Hosaka.

All projects undertaken by Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects begin with a phase of study, with the goal of uncovering the memories of the particular place and integrating them into the creative process.

Tane himself says on this subject, “At ATTA, we aspire to create architecture that nobody has ever seen, experienced, or even imagined before. However, we are not after novel and futuristic architecture. We are taking a broader perspective to materialize architecture originating in memories of a place. As a first step, we travel back in time and excavate the past to find memories embedded in a place, like an archaeologist would do. It is a surprising and joyful process, searching to encounter and deeply getting to know what we did not know, what was forgotten and what was lost due to modernization and globalization.”

All this is the foundation for the approach to architecture that Tane calls the “archaeology of the future.”

The exhibition pulls us into a poetic space filled with diverse architectural designs ranging from small, intimate projects all the way to the studio’s most fundamental realizations. Along with “archaeological” items and remarkable models, the countless images, photographs, and sketches clearly demonstrate Tane’s thought process and illustrate the path he has chosen to follow. Everything is a part of the process by which he engages in archaeological research in line with his “manifesto.”

Tane seeks out stories associated with a place, references that help him put together each particular project and that also become inspiration for the future. Within this context, the memories of a place form the projects’ central principle. His work thus mediates the experience of being in architecture that is rooted in the memory of a place.

Memory influences the present and shapes the future. I believe that the work of ATTA represents a clear call for everyone with a sense of responsibility for the present and future of our cities to reflect on architecture’s potential, its mission, and its future possibilities.