Nature: Let Materials Decide Their Own Form

A space that respects the inherent nature of materials. A column retains the original curve of the tree, not sawn straight, so the vertical line sways slightly. A stepping stone's shape is entirely natural, with only the stepping surface smoothed. The earthen wall surface shows fine cracks due to drying shrinkage, left unfilled. Gaps in wooden board joints are uneven due to thermal expansion and contraction. The internode length of a bamboo section is irregular. The designer's role is not to impose shapes but to select materials and determine their positions, leaving the rest to the materials themselves. Thus, there is no perfect straight line in the space, but everything is rational. Avoid: processing materials into regular shapes, filling cracks and gaps, using artificial synthetic uniform materials, straightening curves.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一個順應材料本性的空間。一根柱子保留了樹木原本的彎曲,沒有被鋸直,因此垂直的線條略微搖擺;一塊踏石的形狀完全是自然的,只有踩踏面被磨平;牆面的土壁因為乾燥收縮而出現細密的龜裂,沒有填補;木板的接縫因為熱脹冷縮而有不均的縫隙;一段竹子的節間長度不規則。設計者的角色不是強加形狀,而是選擇材料並決定它們的位置,其餘交給材料本身。因此空間中沒有一條完美的直線,但一切都合理。避免:把材料加工成規則的形狀、填補裂縫與縫隙、使用人工合成的均勻材料、把彎曲矯正成筆直。