Mimi Zeiger

Critic, editor, curator and instigator.

The Tokyo architect takes us behind the scenes of the Tamedia headquarters in Zurich, a modern mid rise employing ancient Japanese joinery construction.

Having explored material in every format – from his cardboard tube emergency shelters to his Centre Pompidou-Metz, with its glulam timber roof – the Tokyo architect and his firm now turns their attention to miyadaiku and sukiya-daiku, the Japanese carpentry techniques of tea houses and temples, which use no nails, screws or other hardware. This sophisticated joinery is the main feature of the 10,120-square-metre Zurich head-quarters of Tamedia, a major publisher of newspapers, magazines and online media. Azure contributor Mimi Zeiger spoke with Ban about what makes this style of wood construction both innovative and sustainable. Read More …