PRIMA Competition : AMT Student Ryuku Otsuka’s project
In 2019, PRIMA launched an annual competition open to architectural and design students across Europe. Up to 3 winning students will have the opportunity to create a permanent work of micro-architecture on the Carrières du Boulonnais using 3 materials – stone, concrete and steel. This year, Parsons Paris is very proud to congratulate Ryuku Otsuka, AMT ’21, for making it through to the Best 30 preselection!
This competition is an opportunity for students to confront the entire creative process, from design thinking to manufacturing. These projects will be under the artistic supervision of Atelier 37.2, directed by Parsons Paris First Year Coordinator Francesca Bonesio, whose mission will be to accompany the participating students through to the realisation of their projects and to facilitate the interface between the local firms chosen to construct the works. Surrounded by architects, artists and industrials, the winners develop a strong experience in the professional sphere while expressing their design language. The PRIMA architectural park will be a unique and valuable body of work of a new generation.
Student Ryuku Otsuka developed an “interactive artwork to create a private space, which makes spectators only see the sky by lying down on top of the object.” Osaka’s work, called Untitled (Connectivity), is an answer to the lack of connection and communication in today’s society. The minimalist approach relies on a 300 x 400 x 400cm block of stone, with in one version an incorporated double ladder made of steel, and in another, a staircase cut out from the stone along two faces. Both versions have an incorporated a meditation space at the top that offers a unique experience to connect with the universe.
Otsuka expresses his concept in the following words.
“Everyone has faced loneliness. It is an anxious feeling about a lack of connection or communication with others, but it can also be felt even when surrounded by other people. If you think about it, we are living in such a lonely world. Once you are out of a comfortable family home and go to the professional world, it gets harder to trust people. When you walk around the city, most people try to avoid contact with others unless they want something from you. And to do that, everyone uses their phone while walking, so they can avoid everything else on the street.
Be Connected. The Universe is Right in Front of You.
The sky is the universe, and everyone looks at the same atmosphere no matter where you are in the world. It exists more prolonged than the earth, and it continues to create while it destructs. It is the biggest mystery and the infinitive atmosphere, which people once imagined where the heavens are. Instead of looking at the smartphone and being lonely, this artwork allows you to look at the sky while nothing distracts you. More than 50 cm of the stone wall enables you to shut down everything else and look at the universe above you all alone. It is a meditational space that perhaps, makes you think about your life, situation or even the existence of heaven. It can be the experience you would never have anywhere else.”
Ryuku Otsuka’s Instagram and Website allow more insights on his work.
