When climbing scaffolding, one becomes Spiderman

What happens to Spider-Man's web after it's been fired? Does it stay that way forever? That's fine if the web wraps around a villain's body (maybe not), but if the web sticks to the exterior wall of a building and stays there, that's a serious problem. The web is pretty strong, so it must be hard to remove. I can only imagine how hard it must be for those who clean the exterior walls of Manhattan buildings. There must be a special detergent for Spider-Man, like a spider web remover called "Spider Web Perfect Off." Or something like "Mild cleansing that's gentle on exterior walls. Can be used with wet hands."

 

You may be wondering what I'm talking about. It's about scaffolding. The other day, I visited Yokohama Marine Tower, which was undergoing renovation work, and was shown scaffolding in detail. At that time, I suddenly thought," Scaffolding resembles spiderman's spider web." Even if I tell you that, you're probably still wondering what I'm talking about. I'll explain it step by step, so please follow me.

Anyway, let me first explain about the construction of Yokohama Marine Tower, which I had the opportunity to visit this time.

Yokohama Marine Tower, standing next to Yamashita Park, was completed in 1961 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Yokohama Port. It is a cute tower with a 10-sided observation deck. It is 106 meters high and functioned as a lighthouse as well as an observation deck. It no longer serves as a lighthouse and is now used primarily as a viewing platform, for events and as a commercial facility. The tower is currently undergoing renovation work, and we were shown the progress. It originally belonged to a private business operator, but was acquired by Yokohama City in 2007, and after renovation work by the city, it was reopened in May 2009.

 

If you look at the photos, you'll understand why. Firstly, scaffolding hung from a tower is quite unusual. Secondly, I've never seen Scaffolding built into a cylindrical structure before. I've covered many construction sites, so I'm more used to Scaffolding than the average person. But I'd never seen a circular Scaffolding like the one I saw this time. It was incredibly cool. I was excited.

I was delighted at this, but I think that the Watanabe team, who were actually building scaffolding, were a little worried about guiding an amateur like me to a somewhat unusual site.

In the explanation beforehand, I was told, "There are some 'grab brackets' that would normally be tightly assembled, so please be careful." I'm not good at sports to begin with, and in an excited state, it's very dangerous for me.

That person is the "guest" of this interview, parkour athlete Hikari Izumi. It's the cool parkour where you jump and run through buildings and walls using only your body without using any equipment. Many people may have learned about her from Luc Besson's movie "YAMAKASI."

Why did you come, Ms. Izumi?

This is because I thought that it would not be a good article if I, scaffolding enthusiast, were to simply write down my impressions. As I mentioned earlier, it could easily become an insider's story for fellow enthusiasts. A proper "observer" is needed. That is why the editor of this article chose Izumi-san.

 

This was a really wonderful choice. I didn't want someone with the same "scaffolding hobby" as me, but I also didn't want someone who didn't understand (it would be boring for the person). I wanted someone who understood me well. She was the perfect person for this luxurious request. I heard that her father worked in the construction industry, and scaffolding was something she was used to seeing. The most interesting thing was when she explained, "We put together single-tube pipes for practice." As I'm writing this, I'm thinking that she 's much more used scaffolding than I am. Anyway, this time I was able to look at scaffolding through Izumi's eyes with a fresh feeling. The result was the discovery I mentioned at the beginning, that" scaffolding is like Spiderman's spider web." And at the same time, I thought, "Izumi is Spiderman."​

 

I am a photographer who specializes in taking photos of buildings. In particular, I have taken photos of civil engineering structures and construction sites. I have even published a photo book called "Factory Moe." When I was a student, I studied urban design.

I have always been interested in "how to see a city." By taking photographs, I can "see" structures that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

 

I often hear people lament that many people are so caught up in taking photos that they don't really look at the beautiful scenery they see. This is the old idea that cameras and smartphones spoil what you can see.

This is a big mistake. You can see better through a photograph. The reason I once admired architects and have always respected them is because they have their own unique eyes that allow them to see the city. The landscape that architects see is different from ours. Perhaps in the same way, illustrators discover landscapes by drawing, and poets discover landscapes by writing. Their hands and words are in a sense a "third eye." And for parkour athletes, I think their bodies are their "eyes."​

Ms. Izumi was not a particularly talkative person, but watching her movements, I realized that she was "looking" at the Marine Tower, on which scaffolding was set up​. The slight movements of her hands and feet, and the way she put her weight on it, were completely different from other people, including me. It was as if she was admiring the surface of scaffolding and the structure. When I said this, Izumi-san nodded and explained, "For example, when I jump, I check the surface with the soles of my shoes."

That's right. They are skilled not only at reading the shape and height of structures, but also at reading textures. Photography is also a tool for "seeing surfaces," but Izumi and his team do it using their bodies. I felt envious. Realizing this feeling was the biggest thing I gained from this trip. For me, who has had difficulty moving my body since childhood and has recently been suffering from frozen shoulder, there is nothing more remote from parkour, but in fact we shared the common ground of "seeing the city."​

 

What parkour athletes do is to bring back into their bodies buildings and cities that have deviated from the human scale. Even without scaffolding, Ms. Izumi can probably move freely between the steel frames of the structure. He must be looking at the view, looking at the distance of the steel frames and thinking, "I can jump from here to there." That is a different way of looking at structures than I, or an architect. In fact, he looked a little excited as he touched the steel frames, so when I asked him, "Do you want to climb the steel frames?" he smiled and said, "I want to jump!" Of course, it is not permitted, but I would like to see Izumi's heroic figure flying around inside the structure of the Marine Tower without scaffolding. I thought that his actions were, to put it dramatically, a kind of "architectural criticism."​

 

Now, finally, to the story of Spider-Man mentioned at the beginning. I have always thought that Spider-Man comics and movies are excellent "urban commentary". In movies and dramas set in Manhattan, there are always scenes that show the city from above. When I went there, I realized that the city can only be fully understood when seen from a high place. When walking on the ground, it feels like you are at the bottom of a deep valley, and it is difficult to imagine the whole city. The city is laid out in a grid pattern, so the street shapes are uniform. Of course, there are buildings of various designs, but they are all so tall that it is difficult to see them from ground level.

When people hear the word Manhattan, the image that comes to mind is of a view from afar across the Hudson River or the East River, or perhaps an aerial shot. In short, it is a city with so many tall buildings packed together that it is difficult to understand unless you look at it from a distance. To maintain distance while in the city, you have to go up into the sky. That is Spider-Man's perspective. In other words, Spider-Man's perspective and actions well represent the kind of city New York is. That is why I call Spider-Man works "urban critiques."

 

Architect Jin Johannes also wrote a review of the 2007 film Spider-Man 3 entitled "Spider-Man is an Architect!", saying, "The depiction of the 'moving city' through the perspective of the parabolic arc of spider webs is wonderful. You could even say that it is a technique that creates a new theory of Manhattan's city... In that sense, this is a masterpiece that can be said to be the essence of my origin as an architect."

Scaffolding is Spider-Man's spider web. And Ms. Izumi uses his own limbs as scaffolding to jump and "see" the buildings and the city. That is what it means for "Ms. Izumi = Spider-Man."

 

*Jean Johannes, "Spiderman is an Architect!", Detail Japan special edition "Film Discovery!", Reed Business Information Co., Ltd., 2008, p. 44

There's still a lot I want to write, but I must wrap it up now.

 

I would like to briefly tell you two more "charms of scaffolding" that I noticed this time.

One is that "it looks so cool, but it will disappear when it is completed"- in other words, "it is temporary." And the other is "it is standardized."​

 

I am someone who is strongly attracted to things that are all the same, which may be why I found scaffolding so appealing.

As I wrote earlier, the most important thing to consider during this interview was safety. This is the top priority not only during interviews, but for all construction work.

 

I think that "standardization" is the greatest invention in the history of mankind. The mass production system that makes many identical things is admirable. However, in general, "everything being the same" is sometimes looked down upon. For example, when praising a craft, you might say, "Each piece has a different expression that mass-produced products don't have." I think that they don't understand anything. What's amazing about craftsmen is that they can make "exactly the same thing," which is impossible to achieve on a mass production line. Everyone should be more aware of the engineering difficulties of "variability" and "yield."

Because scaffolding is standardized, craftsmen can work safely, and thanks to that we can use the buildings. Another thing I thought was that because all scaffolding is the same, it can be reused at various construction sites. I said I would like to know the history of scaffolding we are currently riding on, and what kind of buildings it has been involved in, and Mr. Morishita laughed and said, "That's interesting."

 

By the way, Spider-Man's spider web is fired from a homemade device called a "web shooter." It is not the product of special abilities, but the result of technology. In this respect, it is similar to scaffolding. Scaffolding is standardized from many years of experience and is made to be as easy and safe as possible to assemble. It may look simple, but it is the crystallization of technology. It is not something that is assembled by magic, but rather requires human labor. When I went to cover the Yokohama Marine Tower this time, three-quarters of scaffolding had been completed. It takes three months just to assemble scaffolding. I have visited many construction sites, and what impresses me every time is the arrangement for the work. Scaffolding is probably the best example of this. Assembling scaffolding is not the goal. It is a means. To do this, we draw up blueprints, check for safety, and proceed carefully. I sincerely hope that everyone stays safe.

Oh, by the way, I just checked, and it seems that Spider-Man's spider web dissolves two hours after it is fired. I'm relieved that I don't have to clean the exterior walls. The spider web was also "temporary". scaffolding and Spider-Man's spider web look just like each other.

 

Yokohama Marine Tower is currently closed, but a light-up event is planned for the near future.
Be sure to go and see the shining scaffolding.