伊东丰雄的风之塔以永不停歇、永在改变的风作为譬喻，代表东京视觉上的复杂性。相对于西方把都市视为记念碑和空间之永久博物馆，伊东眼中的东京瞬息万变，不是透过建筑，而是藉高压电线铁塔、自动贩卖机、闪烁的广告招牌和红绿灯来表现。这些小小的、暂时的种种，和萍水相逢的机遇才能定义他的城市。灯的使用具实际上和譬喻上的双重功能：天黑之后都市彻底的转化，透露出虚构状态：「虽然建筑物在白天宣告自己的存在，一到夜晚便失去真实性。」
风之塔以不断变幻的灯光奇景代表城市。21公尺高的椭圆形圆柱立在圆环交流道中央、JR横滨车站前面，公车和出租车川流环绕。白天是百货公司、银行和办公大楼组成的灰蒙蒙景致的一部份。但是随着日落，成为一个既描绘又纪录城市变化无常状态的装置。
有孔铝板由一个轻量架构支撑，将大型地下购物中心的通风塔隐藏其后，化庸俗的烟囱为高雅的圆柱。压克力镜子铺在通风塔上，和铝板之间设有上千个迷你灯泡和12个霓虹圈，底部则有30个泛光灯。灯光由计算机程序控制，随着接收到的周遭信息不断变换花样。
夕阳时分，光线交织，塔化身闪烁光亮的奇景，灯光跳跃舞动，时而透明时而晦暗。霓虹光沿圆柱体上下穿梭，铝板的表面忽隐忽现，随着因风向风速变化的泛光灯而虚实交替。无数个迷你灯泡感应周遭的噪音，形成星团的图案。
风之塔的结构随着时间变化而有不同风貌，白天平淡无奇，夜间如梦似幻，呈现出伊东丰雄想象中的都市。
Location Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Period 1986.3~1986.11
Structure steel frame
Scale ―
Site Area ―
Building Area 43.45m2
Total Floor Area ―
Magazine Title
Lotus 75 (Lotus International, Italy）
The Tower of Winds in Japanese city Yokohama is a classic building of contemporary architecture and one of the first applications showing the importance of technology as a medium for the connection of nature with the built urban environment.
Nature here is represented by the wind and the changes in noise and speed that are no longer something that human need to fight and protect its structures from, but a key design element used to determine the structure’s appearance. The Tower of Winds was being built from March, 1986 to November, 1986. The building reflects Toyo Ito‘s ideas for the importance of technology in the future of contemporary architecture.
Technology allows the building to communicate with the city, providing information about the wind, and also lies in place as a landmark that symbolizes the connection between the urban environment and nature.
During the day the perforated metal panels that cover the Tower of Winds reflect the city image and make the design appear humble and simple. But during the night, it gets lit up in an ever-changing combination of light intensity and colors. Using computer software, the lighting follows the wind speed and noise levels changing the Tower’s appearance accordingly. The Tower of Winds features more than 1300 light bulbs and 42 flood lights and neon rings (on each floor). The small lights change their colors according to the wind’s noise level and the rings change their intensity according to its speed.
Basically, the Tower of the Winds by Toyo Ito is a wind indicator in a constant relationship with the city and the natural environment, a junction between the two. It is placed at the train station area, welcoming the passengers arriving in Yokohama and its functional role is accommodating another natural element. Surprisingly the Tower of Winds houses the water tanks for the air-conditioning system of the underground mall below. The Tower is not a new construction, but a re-designing of an old concrete tower that already existed there since the ‘60s.
As a proof of the importance of the relation of technology in contemporary architecture, Toyo Ito received for the Tower of the Winds project the Edwin Guth Memory Award of Excellence by the American Illumination Engineering Society in 1987.
白天，这座铁塔，覆盖着穿孔的铝板，通过覆盖铁心的反射表面反射城市。这个项目相当简陋，通过其材料的复杂性，从字面上反映了这座城市。夜幕降临时，风之塔发挥了更积极的作用，通过两台电脑将声音和风转化为光，两台电脑感应到不同的风和噪音水平，并相应地为1300盏灯、12个霓虹灯环和30盏洪水灯提供电源。By day the tower, clad in perforated aluminum panels, reflects the city through the reflective surfaces covering the steel core. The project is rather humble, literally reflecting the city through the complexity of its material. Come night time, the Tower of Winds takes a more pro-active role, translating sound and wind into light through two computers sensing the varying wind and noise levels and accordingly powering 1300 lamps, 12 neon rings, and 30 flood lights at its base.这座塔在不断地变换，它的小灯会根据周围的声音改变颜色，它的霓虹灯环会随着城市的风而荡漾。因此，没有图案，因为光的显示是环境的直接表现，描绘在一个21米高的圆柱形表面上。The tower is constantly transforming, its small lamps changing colors according the surrounding sounds and its neon rings rippling according to the winds of the city. As a result there is no pattern since the display of light is a direct representation of the environment, portrayed on a 21 meter high cylindrical surface.这个项目就像一座技术雕塑，欢迎游客来到横滨火车站，而且奇怪的是，该项目还为地下商场的空调设备提供了足够多的水箱，而地下购物中心就坐落在它的顶上。伊藤东洋创造了技术、建筑、城市及其居民之间的无限关系，强调城市对人类的深远影响以及技术在建筑中的关键作用。The project sits as a technological sculpture, welcoming travelers arriving at the rail way station of Yokohama, and oddly enough housing water tanks serving air conditioning machinery for an underground mall that it sits atop. Toyo Ito creates an infinite relationship between technology, architecture, the city, and its inhabitants emphasizing the profound impact of the city on the human race and the crucial role of technology in architecture.东洋伊藤被授予1987年埃德温古斯杰出奖，美国照明工程学会为这个项目，这是赞扬它的世界主义。Ito在赢得比赛后获得了该项目的奖励，他的成功归功于将纯技术结构转变为城市标志性地标的能力。Toyo Ito was awarded the 1987 Edwin Guth Memorial Award of Excellence from America's Illumination Engineering Society for this project, which is credited for its tribute to cosmopolitanism. Ito was awarded the project upon winning a competition in which his success is attributed to the ability to convert a purely technical structure into an iconic landmark for the city.
