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Over one year after its groundbreaking ceremony, MAD's Clover House is now complete. Built next to a rice paddy field in Okazaki, the family-run kindergarten marks MAD's first project in Japan. Siblings Kentaro and Tamaki Nara, who originally operated the kindergarten from their family's two-story... View full entry
Still dreaming about living in one of Muji's pre-fab houses? That wish can come true for one lucky person, and maybe their family or friends. The lifestyle brand is currently accepting applications for a two-year residency in a new test model of Muji's Window House in Kamakura—rent-free and... View full entry
Today, Airbnb is revealing a new division tasked with inventing new futures for the company, called Samara. Airbnb is also unveiling Samara’s first project: a communal housing project designed to revitalize a small town in Japan. That model isn’t meant to be a one-off. After this project, Airbnb will look to scale it to other declining small towns across the world. The idea is that Airbnb could become a force not only in sharing homes, but in urban planning. — FastCo.Design
Airbnb's experiment in urban planning was sparked by the success of an elderly woman in a rural Japanese town, Tsuyama Okayama, who listed her home on the site. While near Japan's most famous cedar forests, the town didn't receive many tourists.But build it and they will come: soon, tourists... View full entry
Spatial Bodies was created by AUJIK, a self-described "mysterious nature/tech cult," with music composed by Daisuke Tanabe. Filmed in Osaka, Japan, the video is "the urban landscape and architectural bodies as an autonomous living and self replicating organism," according to the description on... View full entry
An apartment building known as the “holy land of manga” due to its famous former tenants is to be rebuilt and opened as a museum of manga and anime in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward.
Tokiwaso, which was demolished more than 30 years ago, will be reconstructed in a park [...] Past occupants included “God of manga” Osamu Tezuka, the author of “Astro Boy,” who lived there in the 1950s; Fujiko Fujio of “Doraemon” fame; “Cyborg 009” creator Shotaro Ishinomori; and “Osomatsukun” artist Fujio Akatsuka.
— asahi.com
Related stories on Archinect:Tour hundreds of Japanese architectural models by the likes of Shigeru Ban and Kengo Kuma at Tokyo's 'Archi-Depot'Logo design chosen for 2020 Tokyo OlympicsStudent Works: Jimenez Lai View full entry
A top businessman has offered to help restore the home of [Thomas Blake Glover] a Scottish pioneer who became one of the most famous merchants in Japan [...]
If anything can be done to restore Glover House we will be prepared to do it and we have made an offer to contribute to the house reopening in his memory [...]
the building would be turned into an “ideas hub”, which could be used to strengthen business links with Japan - with a particular focus on the oil and gas industry.
— The Scotsman
The home of Thomas Blake Glover in Japan gets 2 million (!) visitors a year and is an important heritage site, representative for the scottish-japanese history of industrialisation.The Glover's house in Aberdeen is in a reversed situation. It has fallen into a state of disrepair and is in... View full entry
The museum, which will open on Tennozu Isle in Tokyo’s Shinagawa district will not only be a place for these models to be displayed, but also act as an effort to preserve them.
The space will be lined with over 100 shelves to display their permanent collection, in addition to special exhibits. Each model in the museum will be accompanied by a QR code which can be scanned using a smartphone to access more information about the structure, including photos of the completed work.
— popupcity.net
The Archi-Depot museum originated from the Archi Depot Foundation (founded last year by Terrada Warehouse and Tokyo Design Center companies), with the core purpose of conveying to a general public the significance and artistry inherent to the architectural model-making process. Before opening the... View full entry
When [Lake Suwa] freezes over, daily temperature changes cause the ice to expand and contract, cracking the surface and forcing it upward into a ridge [...] Every year since at least 1443, the priests who live at the shrine on the edge of Lake Suwa have carefully recorded the date the ridge appears.
In 1693, on the other side of the world, a Finnish merchant named Olof Ahlbom started recording the date and time of the spring ice breakup on the Torne River [...]
— National Geographic
"When scientists want to glimpse the climate of the ancient past, they almost always have to use indirect evidence—changes in tree rings, ice-core layers, or pollen deposits. But the ice records from Japan and Finland, which are the longest of their kind, give us a more direct look at the... View full entry
Forget the life and death drama of heart transplant surgery—what about the insane pressure to expertly fold a piece of origami in under 15 minutes? Located in Japan's Okayama prefecture, Kurashiki Central Hospital is holding fierce recruitment competitions in which surgeons must assemble tiny... View full entry
Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers on Monday chose logo A — a stark indigo-and-white checkered circle — as the games’ replacement emblem after the original design was scrapped last year amid claims of plagiarism.
The Tokyo 2020 Logo Selection Committee chose the logo from a shortlist of four following a competition open to any resident of Japan aged over 18. Almost 15,000 entries were submitted.
The winning logo was designed by Asao Tokolo, a 46-year-old artist [...].
— japantimes.co.jp
"The design comprises 45 interconnecting pieces forming a checkered pattern known as ichimatsu moyou. Use of the color indigo is intended “to express a refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan.”"Previously: 2020 Tokyo Olympics panel launches nationwide call for new logo... View full entry
A powerful earthquake has struck southern Japan, causing casualties and collapsed buildings.
According to Japan's Meteorological Agency, the quake hit at 9.26 pm and was centered seven miles east from the town of Mashiki in the Kumamoto prefecture.
Initial reports placed the quake at a magnitude 6.4, but this was later downgraded to 6.2 by the US Geological Survey.
A number of "strong" aftershocks have also been reported.
— the Independent
According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, at least 40 people are seeking medical treatment, one woman is in critical condition, and others may be trapped beneath rubble.Some images from social media are already showing the destruction: View full entry
Working with [Seibu Group's] design team, [Sejima] has proposed a concept for [their] 'Red Arrow' series that would be one with the environment, melding into the background as it travels through city and countryside. The plan represents a sharp deviation from train designs of the past, which have emphasized a bold, striking look through slick lines and bright colors. In contrast, Sejima has chosen keywords like 'friendly' and 'soft' to define her new vision for express trains in Japan. — Spoon & Tamago
More on Archinect:Watch SANAA's "River" project come to life in this time-lapseFirst glimpse: SANAA wins over Snøhetta for Budapest's new National Gallery + Ludwig MuseumCut away confusion from your NYC commute with these beautiful subway mapsWill LA's new metro extension bring growth to the... View full entry
“In the design, I would like to say there are no similarities at all,” Kuma told reporters when asked about Hadid’s claims. [...]
“The conditions set for the competition mean that automatically some similarities emerge ... the concept is completely different, so it is absolutely a different building, despite the similarities”. [...]
Hadid’s office is reportedly consulting lawyers, and said it would “take legal action if our concerns are not promptly addressed to our satisfaction”.
— theguardian.com
For more on the contentious issue of architectural copyright and intellectual property, make sure to check out:"Never the Same River Twice" – Experimental preservation and architectural authorship with Jorge Otero-Pailos, on Archinect Sessions #47Should architecture strive for originality? Can... View full entry
The organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are refusing to pay a British architect for her designs for its main stadium unless she gives up the copyright and signs what amounts to a gagging order, it has been claimed.
Zaha Hadid Architects, which won the original contract to build a state-of-the-art national stadium in the Japanese capital, has reacted angrily to the attempt by the Japan Sports Council to effectively seize ownership of the copyrighted designs.
— the Telegraph
New details continue to emerge from the dispute between Zaha Hadid Architects and the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which is rapidly shaping up as one of the most acrimonious conflicts that the profession has witnessed in decades.According to the Telegraph, the Japan Sports Council (JSC)... View full entry
The company promised to “faithfully reproduce” several beloved artifacts in the lobby, including wall tapestries, paper lanterns and sliding doors, the lacquered furnishings and map of time zones...But those plans have done little to assuage the concerns of preservationists, many of whom contend that Tokyo is destroying its greatest postwar architectural assets to accommodate the 2020 Olympics and a recent surge in tourism. — The New York Times
The New York Times profiles the historic Hotel Okura Tokyo, which began reconstruction last September, much to the dismay of preservationists worldwide. The Times covers its modernist legacy and the pressures of the real estate and tourist market that Tokyo can't avoid.Previous news about the... View full entry