The Japan House Workshop

3 units

The Japanese house has long been the subject of considerable fascination and debate by writers and architects both in and out of Japan who found inspiration in its materials, structural systems, and aesthetics. But what are the characteristics that define a Japanese house? And how have ideas about what it should be and how it should work changed over time? This course introduces students to studies of Japanese dwellings by architects such as Bruno Taut, Kon Wajiro, and Shinohara Kazuo, familiarizing students with the key texts that sought to define and contest the parameters of aesthetics in Japanese domestic architecture. Through short readings and weekly discussions, students will learn about the formation of the "Japanese House" as an idea in the context of Japan's encounter with the West and how this idea influenced modernist design both at home and abroad in complex and sometimes contradictory ways. The workshop component of this seminar focuses on a key turning point in Japanese residential design, first through a structured study of key architectural elements, and second through a deeper examination of a specific residence using original drawings and photographs. The results of this research will culminate in an end-of-semester exhibition of drawings and models that showcases Japanese residential design at a point of transition.