There are two important aspects to consider when viewing firsthand this collection of works by Yosizaka. One aspect is his role in providing a major link between Japan's burgeoning architectural development in the 1960s and 1970s and the design philosophy of the master of modern architecture, Le Corbusier. Yosizaka worked in Le Corbusier's atelier in Paris for two years before setting up his own office, Atelier U, in 1964, and he was instrumental in translating many of his mentor's works from French to Japanese. He was also one of three Japanese architect apprentices of Le Corbusier who oversaw the only project by Le Corbusier realized in Japan, The National Museum of Western Art.

The second important aspect to understand is that while Yosizaka utilized the technology and architectural vocabulary of Le Corbusier, he redefined the use of concrete by focusing the purpose of design on community and human relationships. Whereas the sculptural forms of Le Corbusier retained more of an artistic formality, the aesthetic developed by Yosizaka seems to melt forms softly, deferring to the movement of people to explain their shape. This is evident in his design method of sculpting with clay, which exemplified the visceral relationship he saw among people, place, and material. This desire to reflect the simultaneous nature of human relationships, which he saw as establishing unity while not sacrificing the identity of individual parts, led him to develop his influential theory of design collaboration known as "discontinuous unity."

The exhibition presents Yosizaka's work in four segments representing important aspects of his theory of discontinuous unity through house, form, organization, and civilization. The house represented the first base of community to Yosizaka, being the family. Including his own home, the exhibits of houses illustrate his view of house as layered ground planes on which different activities may occur. Yosizaka saw form as the product of discussion, collaboration, and hands-on work. Be it a roof shape that sheds snow, a building cantilevering off a mega-column structure, or a conical building embedded in the landscape, Yosizaka treated form as an extension of the collaborative process and consequently imbued with life. The exhibits depicting organization embody his aforementioned design methodology of collaboration and group discussion. This is very evident from the central exhibit, an oil-based clay model of the Inter-University Seminar House in Hachioji. Probably the best known of his built projects, this is a village-like camping complex that exudes life through the vitality of its individual forms while simultaneously knitting seamlessly with the undulating landscape of the site. The fourth area of exhibits regarding civilization depicts the way in which Yosizaka's political views were intertwined with his views of community and equality. Global maps with reversed orientations show his concern with political hierarchy on a global scale, while life-sized scale details show his keen interest in the interaction between materials and humans.

On a personal note, I must admit that my favorite exhibit is indeed the 1:50 scale model of the Inter-University Seminar House. Over the past 20 years I have had the opportunity to conduct workshops with architecture students in this complex, and the feeling of wonder and inspiration one has when navigating a stair through an inverted pyramid or conducting class on an undulating rooftop truly reveals his love for connecting human activities. Interacting with this model, as well as the other exhibits, is a great opportunity to experience firsthand Takamasa Yosizaka's "discontinuous unity," and the contribution he made in creating a humanistic approach to architecture.