Life flows
as an ever-changing stream.
Our bodies remain in a dynamic state characterized by a constant inflow of matter, energy, and information. This creates a momentarily stagnant order “afloat in the stream” before it rapidly flows away again.
According to the second law of thermodynamics — the law of increasing entropy — order moves only in the direction of disorder. This stands as one of the great principles of the universe. However, life alone is the force that seeks to maintain order in defiance of this law. Only living things take the initiative in disassembling and remaking themselves at the same time. This “dynamic equilibrium” is the essence of life itself. It is what the French philosopher Henri Bergson described as “climbing back up the slope.”
However, dynamic equilibrium cannot overcome entropy, as it acts in opposition to one of the great principles of the universe.
Life eventually relinquishes its order and returns to the great cycle of nature. In other words, the life of an individual is finite. Life has value precisely because it is finite. And despite being finite, life is an intrinsic part of the infinite chain of life.
For my pavilion, we proceeded with an architectural plan that would help visitors experience this DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM OF LIFE. In the pavilion, life maintains a dynamic equilibrium, embodied in a momentarily autonomous order amid the ever-changing flow of this stream. It may resemble a momentary flickering of life in the process of morphogenesis of the gently floating cellular membrane.
FUKUOKA Shin-Ichi, Producer
Biologist, Author
Born in Tokyo in 1959. FUKUOKA Shin-Ichi graduated from Kyoto University, where he later completed a doctoral program. After working as a researcher at Harvard Medical School and as an assistant professor at Kyoto University, he was appointed to his current posts of professor at Aoyama Gakuin University and visiting professor at Rockefeller University in the U.S.A. Dr. FUKUOKA has published many books that re-examine the nature of life from the perspective of dynamic equilibrium theory, including the “Dynamic Equilibrium” series (Kirakusha) and Seibutsu to Museibutsu no Aida (“Between the animate and inanimate”; Kodansha Gendai Shinsho), which garnered the Suntory Prize and became a bestseller, with more than 870,000 copies sold. As an aficionado of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, Dr. FUKUOKA served as supervisor and director of the Vermeer Centrum Ginza, which has employed advanced digital printing techniques to exhibit digital recreations of all of Vermeer’s works. Dr. FUKUOKA was also put in charge of the “Quest of Life” theme project for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
Born in Tokyo in 1959. Dr. FUKUOKA is currently a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University and a visiting professor at Rockefeller University in the U.S.A. He preaches a new view of life he has termed “Dynamic Equilibrium,” which views life not as a collection of parts, but as a flow that is constantly broken and rebuilt. Dr. FUKUOKA was also put in charge of the “Quest of Life” theme project for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
With its gently floating appearance,
the large ring-shaped roof resembles life in its momentary state as an “ever-changing stream.”
The single ring constantly changes shape and re-emerges,
all the while maintaining its dynamic balance as if borrowing the energy of gravity and wind
without resisting its flow.
Six months later, the shape of the ring changes again as it returns to the flow of the grand cycle,
reminiscent of the baton of life being handed to the next generation.
Architecture resembling life in transition
Architectural Design: HASHIMOTO Naoki
NHA｜Naoki Hashimoto Architects
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1985, HASHIMOTO Naoki graduated from the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. He worked at Ateliers Jean Nouvel as an overseas researcher of the Pola Art Foundation while studying at a graduate school of The University of Tokyo. After returning to Japan, he worked at Naito Architect and Associates. Since 2019, he has been the head of Naoki Hashimoto Architect Inc. (currently NHA Inc.).
Living things engage in self-regulation while also providing mutual support; in other words, life is both altruistic and
complementary. Amid a constant flow of matter, energy, and information, life continually renews itself while
undergoing destruction.
Life flows in this dynamic equilibrium of repeated decomposition and synthesis while maintaining complementarity.
This exhibition is an interactive light installation through which the viewer experiences the dynamic equilibrium of life.
A spatial experience is created by a scrolling image of dynamic life on which the body is transformed into particles that
dissolve into the environment. These particles trace the history of life while moving between various living entities in
different environments. This installation enables the visitor to realize the altruism and complementarity of his or her
own life in the flow of the dynamic equilibrium. Thus, the phenomenon of dynamic equilibrium is revealed as the
essence of life.
Exhibition Director: Takram
Takram is a global design innovation studio that partners with forward-thinking individuals and organizations to create transformative products, services, brands and ideas.
