A study of the Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio

04/07/2021. [TASCHEN]
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA

Olympics Opening in Tokyo will be in a few weeks, and everything Japanese will be the subject of attention. The large format book "Contemporary Japanese Architecture" which was published by TASCHEN, and edited by Philip Jodidio is a survey of Japan’s contemporary architecture scene.

The book, which brings together the latest trends in Japanese architecture, from the most archaic to the most avant-garde, reveals how the likes of Tadao Ando, SANAA, Shigeru Ban, Kengo Kuma, and Junya Ishigami are relinking past, present, and future—building greener and smarter than ever before.

Yuusuke Karasawa – S-House, Omiya, Saitama, Japan, 2013. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Koichi Torimura.

Yuusuke Karasawa – S-House, Omiya, Saitama, Japan, 2013. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Koichi Torimura.

Terunobu Fujimori – Mosaic Tile Museum, Kasahara, Tajimi, Gifu, Japan, 2016. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Akihisa Masuda.

TNA / Makoto Takei + Chie Nabeshima – Helix House, Tokyo, Japan, 2015. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Daici Ano.

Norihiko Dan – Omotesando Keyaki Building, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, 2013. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Kozo Takayama.

Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Nacasa & Partners Inc.

Hiroshi Sambuichi – Naoshima Hall, Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan, 2015. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Shigeo Ogawa.

Hiroshi Sambuichi – Miyajima Misen Observatory, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Japan, 2013. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Sambuichi Architects.

Kengo Kuma – Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum, Yusuhara, Kochi, Japan, 2010. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Takumi Ota.

Junya Ishigami – Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, London, UK, 2019. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Iwan Baan.

Junya Ishigami – Botanical Garden Art Biotop / Water Garden, Nasu, Tochigi, Japan, 2018. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Iwan Baan.

TNA / Makoto Takei + Chie Nabeshima – Helix House, Tokyo, Japan, 2015. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Daici Ano.

Toyo Ito – ‘Minna no Mori’ Gifu Media Cosmos, Gifu, Japan, 2015. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Iwan Baan.

Tsuyoshi Tane – Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan, 2017–20. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by © Daici Ano.

Index. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio.

Interior pages. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio.

Cover. Contemporary Japanese Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Photograph by ©Hiroyuki Hirai

The contemporary architecture of Japan has long been among the most inventive in the world, recognized for sustainability and infinite creativity. No fewer than seven Japanese architects have won the Pritzker Prize.

“Delving into ancient traditions and open to the most contemporary thought and technical capacities, the Japanese are a force to be reckoned within contemporary architecture.”

Philip Jodidio.

Since Osaka World Expo ’70 brought contemporary forms center stage, Japan has been a key player in global architecture. With his intentionally limited vocabulary of geometric forms, Tadao Ando has since then put Japanese building on the world’s cultural map, establishing a bridge between East and West.

In the wake of Ando’s mostly concrete buildings, figures like Kengo Kuma (Japan National Stadium intended for the Olympic Games, originally planned for 2020), Shigeru Ban (Mount Fuji World Heritage Center), and Kazuyo Sejima (Kanazawa Museum of 21st Century Art of Contemporary Art) pioneered a more sustainable approach.

Younger generations have successfully developed new directions in Japanese architecture that are in harmony with nature and connected to traditional building. Rather than planning on the drawing board, the architects presented in this collection stand out for their endless search for forms, truly reacting on their environment.

"Contemporary Japanese Architecture" reveals how the unique creativity of the latest in Japanese building is a fruit of Japan’s very particular situation that includes high population density, a modern, efficient economy, a long history, and the continual presence of disasters in the form of earthquakes. Accepting ambiguity, as seen in the evanescent reflections of Sejima’s Kanazawa Museum, or constant change and the threat of catastrophe is a key to understanding what makes Japanese architecture different from that of Europe or America.

This XL-sized book highlights 39 architects and 55 exceptional projects by Japanese masters—from Tadao Ando’s Shanghai Poly Theater, Shigeru Ban’s concert hall La Seine Musical, SANAA’S Grace Farms, Fumihiko Maki’s 4 World Trade Center, to Takashi Suo’s much smaller sustainable dental clinic. Each project is introduced with photos, original floor plans and technical drawings, as well as insightful descriptions and brief biographies. An elaborate essay traces the country’s building scene from the Metabolists to today and shows how the interaction of past, present, and future has earned contemporary Japanese architecture worldwide recognition.