Book Description

The book reconsiders the theme of living in a city by exploring new approaches that reveal a different way of integrating projects into the existing city. Due to their scale, extensive built environment, and efforts to grow the city from within, London and Tokyo face similar urban development issues but occupy cultural contexts in which themes of proximity, privacy, community, and public space take on different meanings and require distinct solutions. The housing projects of Nishizawa and Taylor show how inhabitants can live in a house, and, at the same time, enlarge the scale of their living to the neighbourhood and the city. They introduce, within the specificity of their cultures and philosophies, the idea that a housing project is a way of contributing to the atmosphere, the character and the life of the city. The book contains statements by Nishizawa and Taylor framing their approaches and ideas, accompanied by images and explanation of their projects and a discussion between them, as well as essays by Giovanna Borasi focusing on the relevance of this topic today, and by Peter Allison framing the architecta (TM)s approaches in a historical perspective and within the two cultures and a preface by Mirko Zardini. Cet ouvrage considA]re le vivre en milieu urbain en explorant de nouvelles approches pour intA(c)grer des projets de construction da (TM)habitations au sein de la ville existante. Tokyo et Londres sont confrontA(c)es A des problA]mes de dA(c)veloppement comparables, A(c)tant donnA(c) leur taille, leur urbanisation excessive et leurs efforts pour se dA(c)velopper au coeur mAame de la ville. Toutefois, les contextes culturels sont diffA(c)rents, les notions de voisinage, la (TM)espace privA(c) et public, la collectivitA(c) na (TM)ont pas la mAame signification et requiA]rent des solutions diffA(c)renciA(c)es. Les projets des deux architectes japonais et britannique Ryue Nishizawa et Stephen Taylor montrent comment des habitants peuvent vivre dans leur maison, tout en A(c)largissant leur espace de vie A la (TM)A(c)chelle de leur environnement immA(c)diat et de la ville. Nishizawa et Taylor, chacun avec ses spA(c)cificitA(c)s culturelles et philosophiques, indiquent comment un projet da (TM)habitation peut contribuer A la (TM)atmosphA]re, au caractA]re et A la vie de la ville. Ils dA(c)veloppent leur dA(c)marche et leurs idA(c)es au cours da (TM)un dialogue et dans de courtes dA(c)clarations, accompagnA(c)es par des photos et des explications sur leurs projets. Giovanna Borasi constate la pertinence du sujet pour notre A(c)poque dans un essai A(c)clairant, et Peter Allison met en perspective historique et culturelle la dA(c)marche des deux architectes.