Building Design in Tokyo

This building always makes me think when I go past it. How did the architect convince the building owner this would be a good idea? How did they present this to the city planning organization? How did they get approval? How did they not get objections from the neighboring building owners?

In a city where strange architecture can be found in many places and building codes seem to be quite flexible with regard to design appearance, it is not the strangest building I have ever seen. The “why” seems like it could have a multitude of answers anyone of which could be right, but I always wonder about the “how?”.

I found today a site in English written by the architect which talks about the design concept for this building and some of their other works, where they state:

There is no common standard in Tokyo that defines what a new building should be. There is not so much as a single concept of how individual buildings should be built in order to create the ideal city nor any strict legal regulations to achieve such a goal.

http://www.makoto-architect.com/aos/aos1.htm

The discussion of design they give is quite in depth and interesting. It really is worth reading in full. Here is another excerpt specifically related to this building:

The Aoyama Technical College building is also intended to restore the fundamental strength that buildings ought to have. Ancient structures, from the Pyramids to the great cathedrals, possessed the awesome power of large spaces. Most of modern architecture, it seems to me, has lost this basic power. Architecture ought to be something capable of moving people’s hearts and giving them a physical thrill in a way possible in no other art. That power deserves to be restored. Another purpose of this building is to assure that anyone who might see it experiences, both mentally and physically, an definitive feeling of excitement.

I certainly feel a certain mental anguish whenever I walk past the building and am grateful that we are shown the back of the creature to the main road rather than its front. The ability of design to raise questions in peoples minds and give them a “thrill” is no doubt being achieved here also.

Here is the Japanese language site of the School, where interestingly they do not prominently display the building on the front page. http://www.aoyamaseizu.ac.jp/

What is your take on this building and Japanese city planning / architecture design in general ? Do designers of small buildings with interesting shapes have too much license to depart from what is considered normal ?