all photos by @husky_003 | used with permission
Almost 15 years ago, on a tiny plot of land in eastern Tokyo, a young architect named Keisuke Oka began to construct a tower of concrete entirely by hand. Located just a short walk from Mita Station, the Arimaston Building (蟻鱒鳶ル) is an intricate, organic structure whose uniqueness has earned it the nickname, the “Gaudi of Mita” after Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí.
And after nearly 15 years of doing everything from gathering materials to mixing concrete, Oka is nearing the completion of the Arimaston Building. The scaffolding has recently come down, and at a time that couldn’t be more surreal: the neighborhood is undergoing a large-scale redevelopment and the apartment buildings and offices nearby have all been demolished. Below are pictures from what construction once looked like in 2018. Ironically, all the remains is the handmade Arimaston Building.
The name Arimaston is a combination of the Japanese words for ant, trout and kite (the bird, not the tethered toy) and was inspired by Oka’s experience growing up poor in the 60s and 70s: a time, Oka explains, when people had to make everything themselves. Now, everything is made for us. And the building had no blueprints. Oka improvised as he went along, creating a building he says will last 200 years.
Once Oka’s masterpiece is completed, he plans to live there on the 2nd and 3rd floors, with plans to rent out the first floor as retail space. You can follow Keisuke Oka on social media, where he shares updates. He also has a website where he sells zines that delve deeper into the construction process.
