Japan Architect, Architecture Theory and Graphic Representation

Japan Architect
Japan
35°41′22N 139°41′30E

Japan Architect is an international magazine aimed at promoting contemporary Japanese architecture through projects, theoretical drawings and essays.

Contemporary projects and graphic representation

Japan Architect (JA) is an architectural magazine first published in 1956. Its ambition was to popularize Japanese architecture to an international audience by being the first and only English-language Japanese architecture magazine. The magazine and the audience have evolved a lot but its objective has remained the same: to defend the current Japanese architectural ideas, publishing mainly projects in Japan. It presents esquisses, drawings, plans and photographs of projects but also essays studying various themes and discussions in the fields of Japanese architecture and urbanism. As one would expect, many famous architects have been published there, but what is interesting, especially in the 1970s, is the strong dominance of theoretical projects little known to the general public. Moreover the projects are commented, contextualized or attached to a theme that guides the issue. We propose here a non-exhaustive selection of drawings and photographs that show a great graphic expression. It focuses mainly on the last three decades of the 20th century.

“The metropolis indiscriminately casts a shadow. A deep shadow is cast on architectures too-like the shadow that appears outright on the facade of architectures, or the shadows that control space in the form of technique. As is commonly known, the metropolis, as an entity, has already been lost. Having taken leave of space, the metropolis is scattered as an ultra-spatial virtual image or as the diamond dust of memories.”

“The computer is itself a space and the omni-talented imitator of all things. In the beginning, it is only a characterless expanse. Then you call a name into this space by typing. In response to this name, a certain datum object is born and recorded into the system. It is bound by nothing and has no characteristics of its own.”

“I have always used natural materials in those parts of a building that come into contact with the human hand or foot because I am convinced that substances such as wood and concrete are invaluable materials for architecture and that one becomes aware of the true quality of architecture through the body.”