JA118, Winter 2020


Book Description

- The issue reflects on the history of the many crises that humanity and cities have experienced, and reviews what we -- both humans and cities -- have gained as a result - Explores how diseases such as plague, smallpox, cholera, and influenza have promoted the development of scientific medicine, while cities have adopted new sanitation technologies and spatial norms. And infrastructural technologies and types of spatial order have boosted our resilience and redundancy against natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, and floods JA118 features Place+Urbanism series titled City: Designed by Crisis. In 2020, the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are truly facing a global crisis. At the same time, the digitization of society is accelerating, remote work arrangements are becoming more prevalent, and the urban landscape is also showing signs of change. Humanity has repeatedly faced a variety of global crises over the years. Each time, we have generated new wisdom to overcome these crises, changed our social systems, and reshaped our cities. We have also managed to overcome the worsening of poverty, traffic accidents, and environmental pollution caused by war and economic depression by building mutual support systems and creating new spatial configuration for cities. In this issue, we look back at the history of the many crises that humanity and cities have experienced, and review what we -- both humans and cities -- have gained as a result. Text in English and Japanese.




Space in Detail


Book Description




Church On the Water, Church of the Light


Book Description

These two small and exquisite churches by Tadao Ando - one rural and 'open', the other urban and 'enclosed' - complement each other perfectly and together provide an insight into Ando's creation of sacred space. The Church on the Water occupies an idyllic pastoral site and consists of two squares, one large, one small, that overlap and are arranged facing a man-made pool. The Church of the Light is built in a quiet residential area of Osaka. Here Ando explores the spiritual force of the effects of sunlight on raw concrete. Slits cut in the form of a cross perforate the chapel's front wall; when lit up by the morning sun they create what Ando describes as a 'cross of light'. With these two churches, Ando provides a synthesis of opposites, creating spaces that attain a purity and calm through powerful architectonic forms.







Ryue Nishizawa / Sanaa


Book Description

Following the example of music publication, Source Books in Architecture offers an alternative to the traditional architectural monograph. If one is interested in hearing music, he or she simply buys the desired recording. If, however, one wishes to study a particular piece in greater depth, it is possible to purchase the score--the written code that more clearly elucidates the structure, organization, and creative process that brings the work into being. This series is offered in the same spirit. Each Source Book focuses on the work of a particular architect or on a special topic in contemporary architecture and is meant to expose the foundations and details of the work in question. The work is documented through early studies, models, renderings, working drawings, writings, and photographs at a level of detail that allows complete and careful study of a project from conception to completion. The graphic component is accompanied by commentary from the architect and critics that further explore the technical and cultural content of the work.




The Japanese House


Book Description

"Published on the occasion of the exhibition 'The Japanese House: architecture & life after 1945,' this catalogue contains a vast selection of photographs, drawings, projects and analyses offering a comprehensive overview of Japanese residential architecture from the post-war period to the present day. 13 thematic sections present different aspects of the research, documenting the work of archistars such as Toyo Ito, Kazuyo Sejima and Kenso Tange, the contributions of architects less well known outside Japan and the experimentation of the younger generations. In parallel, essays by the curators and by Hiuroyasu Fujiola and Kenjiro Hosaka, along with biographies of all the architects, painstakingly map the country's domestic architecture"--







The Social Psychology of Nonverbal Communication


Book Description

The Social Psychology of Nonverbal Communication gathers together leading nonverbal communication scholars from around the world to offer insight into a range of issues within the nonverbal literature with the aim to rethink current approaches to the subject.




Tezuka Architects


Book Description

The Japanese architect Takaharu Tezuka caused a stir in 2015 with his TEDtalk "The best kindergarten you've ever seen". As the first text-focused publication, Tezuka Architects: The Yellow Book now provides an insight into the design philosophy of the internationally renowned architecture firm. Based on a lecture by Tezuka at Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), this "pocket guide" in scale and feel introduces the architects' way of thinking, using examples of seminal projects in recent years. Buildings such as the Roof House (2001), the Child Chemo House (2013), or the Fuji Kindergarten (2007) illustrate the powerful impact of Takaharu and Yui Tezuka's design and show how architecture can contribute actively to building a better society.




Architectural Yearbook


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