Hannes Rössler
zelebriert die »Harmonie der Gegensätze«. Es steht für die Planungen der Gruppe ArchiteXt, die kanonische Lehren der Moderne hinterfragte und wieder die Metropole als Lebensraum bejahte. Seither verblüfft es immer wieder, dass kompromisslose Abstraktion und ein fast übersteigertes Einfühlungsvermögen in den Ort oder die Bedürfnisse des Bauherrn kein Gegensatz sind, sondern gleichzeitig bestehen können. Ein spezifisches »Sowohl-als auch«, dessen Ausprägung außerhalb Japans vermutlich unnachahmlich bleiben wird. Eine weithin bekannte Vertreterin dieser Architektur
Rigid, ultramodern concepts have also established themselves over a period of more than 30 years. Kazuo Shinohara’s “Umbrella House” from 1961 (his smallest house, with an area of 55 m2) initiated what he later called the “zero degree machine” that became the symbol of the mini-house: pure, conceptual space. Takamitsu Azuma’s iconic Tower House, with a total floor space of 65 m2 on a plot of only about 20 m2, celebrates the “Harmony of Opposites”. It is typical of designs by the ArchiteXt Group of Japanese architects, of which he was a member, who questioned the canonical teachings of international modernism and re-embraced the metropolis as living space. Since then, it has been proved time and time again through the Japanese dwelling house that uncompromising abstraction can co-exist with and an almost exaggerated empathy for the particular: for example, the location, or the program requirements of the client. Kazuyo Sejima is a widely renowned representative of this kind of architecture. Right from the start, her work has exhibited a remarkable ornamental lightness (“Tsuchihachi House”). Her practice partner Ryue Nishizawa (at SANAA) also implements this minimalistic style in his own work (“Garden and House”).
Turmhaus, Shibuya, Tokio 1966, Takamitsu Azuma
26
Tower House, Shibuya, Tokyo 1966, Takamitsu Azuma
Other architects also design radical concept houses in this manner, for increasingly difficult plot arrangements in densely built-up metropolitan areas. Particularly notable is the playfulness with which these buildings reflect the fundamental concerns of Japanese residential architecture: for example, a multipurpose, divisible room with sliding doors and wall closets for bedding, marked by a lower entryway area (genkan) for placing shoes. The proverbial safety of Japanese cities, in combination with a historically liberal definition of what is considered public space, and generally long business opening hours, means that the immediate external vicinity of a dwelling can serve as an extended living space even in the city centre. There is the local bathing house to go to for instance, or street food available around the corner. The photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki referred to the “cockpit effect” of Japanese apart-