HAPPY-ISM MANIFESTO

Words  ::  Sebastián Duque   //  Images  ::  Sergio Pirrone

Happiness, according to architect Mario Shimodaira, occurs “when people can mutually rely on and agree with one another.” Architecture, he asserts, “should provide places for stimulation and engagement.” This is the heart of what Shimodaira calls “Happy-ism,” a theory infused in his projects—including the recently designed Roof Bath House in Manazuru-cho, Japan. When a TV broadcast showcased the ocean view from his Sky Terrace project, Shimodaira was appointed to design the Roof Bath House. The clients were seduced by the house’s spatial innovation, and by a Jacuzzi installed to offer stunning views. But Happy-ism was the underlying secret to the project’s success.
“A dark and gloomy space will probably not provoke much communication,” explains Shimodaira. “But as we wake up with the brightness of the morning sun or are moved by the beauty of dusk, we experience happiness brought into the spatial realm. In the same way, if architecture facilitates a place for communication and interaction, positive engagements will be made.”
In 1998, at the age of 36, the Italian-born architect opened his own office. Corporation Mario del Mare (Italian for “Mario of the Sea”) strives to integrate nature and architecture – in distinct contrast to Shimodaira’s early-career stint with an architectural company whose “intelligent” computer-controlled headquarters created an invariable atmosphere, 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. In his struggle to reconcile function with aesthetic form, Shimodaira concluded that “good architecture” is found in harmony between the two, and furthermore in buildings that elicit joy.
Happy-ism underlies earlier projects by Corporation Mario del Mare. These include the Namimachian residence in Kamakura, which Shimodaira calls “a house as an environmental amplifying device.” Windows are key, he explains. “Beyond being fixed frames that allow in the sky’s changing brightness, they also operate as megaphones of the [sound of] wind and waves.” Another project, the House with a Studio in Nakano, prompts family interaction. Originally, the client had requested a separate, sound-proof studio in which the children could practise music. “Back in the client’s former apartment, the son’s musical instruments, kept in the nursery, overflowed into the living and dining areas,” says Shimodaira. “While the father watched TV, the son practised the electric guitar with headphones on. The whole family would gather in the one room, creating a nice communal atmosphere.” Worried about isolating the children in a hidden basement, Shimodaira instead recreated that communal layout. The kitchen, dining room and living areas share a single volumetric space with the music studio, which is separated only by an anti-acoustic glass partition.

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