Thoughts Beyond Architecture: The Extensive Work of Arata Isozaki
Nicolai Kruger
Arata Isozaki 12x5=60 is an exhibition filling three floors of Watari-um (The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art) in Gaien-mae, Tokyo. Isozaki is considered one of the most important practicing architects today (Japanese or otherwise), but this show is not a retrospective of his architectural work. more...
Architecture in Animation: Studio Ghibli's Design Ethos at the Edo-Tokyo Open-air Architectural Museum
Susan Rogers Chikuba
Terunobu Fujimori, an architect whose tree houses, airborne tea huts, and, more recently, Storkhouse micro-hotel in Austria dovetail evocatively with the whimsical structures depicted in Ghibli films, has provided editorial direction for Studio Ghibli: Architecture in Animation, now showing at the Edo-Tokyo Open-air Architectural Museum in Tokyo's Koganei Park. more...
Immortal Isles: The Gardens of Mirei Shigemori at Tofukuji
Alan Gleason
On a recent too-short trip to Kyoto, I wanted to see some of the many works in that city by Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975), the legendary creator of avant-garde Japanese gardens. With a tight schedule, I had to choose between visiting the Mirei Shigemori Garden Museum -- his former residence, which features the one garden he designed for himself -- and Tofukuji, a temple boasting several gardens that constitute Shigemori's first major work and are widely regarded as his masterpieces. more...
