Contemporary Japanese Architecture
by Philip Jodidio
(TASCHEN)
This work presents 55 projects by Japanese architects, mostly in their native country, and includes household names alongside less-known practitioners. Philip Jodidio’s introduction gives the thrust of the volume in discussing the history of Japanese architecture, its socio-economic context and key figures past, present and emerging. Of the current post-Fukushima period, he writes, ‘Japan has responded with energy and invention, but today’s buildings are surely greener, smaller, and less expensive than those of another era. This is a time of shrinking expectations’.
Shrinking or not, expectations of Japanese architects remain high, and the volume displays their work beautifully via sumptuous photography on black paper. Projects vary from breathtaking natural spaces like Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Enoura Observatory to educational, cultural, commercial and residential works across all scales. In the country’s best traditions, attention is paid to detail and materiality as well as context. ‘The
