Exhibition on Japanese Architecture in Paris

Starting on April 16th 2008, the “Maison de la Culture du Japon” in Paris shows ten years of Japanese architecture in an exhibition called: “Architecture Japonaise 1996-2006, Parallel Nippon”. Works by Tadao Ando, Shigeru Ban and Toyo Ito among others can be viewed here until June 21st. By means of photographs and architectural models, the exhibition explores answers of Japanese architects to our era which is full of new challenges. It is exactly the time between 1996 and 2006 that the Japanese society had to face fundamental structural changes, passing from a time of economical prosperity and euphoria to a period of recession. Architects now have to answer to globalization, the aging of population, or the hypertrophy of cities. Some 100 projects built in Japan or by Japanese architects worldwide are presented. Shigeru Ban, Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma or Kazuyo Seijima, they are all internationally renowned or upcoming stars that shape the Japanese architecture of today. The exhibition is divided in four topics: * La ville : centre et périphérie: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates), Omotesando Hills (Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Mori Building Co., Ltd. Design Entity), JR Kyoto Station Building (Hiroshi Hara + Atelier Ö), etc. * La vie : du berceau à la tombe: Crèche de Yatsushiro (Mikan), Centre de traitement en résidence pour les enfants à problèmes comportementaux (Sou Fujimoto Architects), funénarium Rooftecture C (Shûhei Endo Architect Institute), etc. * La culture : environnement, information, art: Nakagawa-Machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art (Kengo Kuma & Associates), Aomori Museum of Art (Jun Aoki & Associates), Médiathèque de Sendai (Toyo Ito & Architects), etc. * L’habitat : adaptation ou innovation: Crystal Brick (Hiro Yamashita + Atelier Tekuto / Jun Sato Structural Engineers), House SA 1999 (Kazunari Sakamoto Architectural Laboratory), Too-High Teahouse (Terunobu Fujimori), etc. A colloquium on Japanese architecture of today is scheduled for May 31st, 3 to 6 pm. Mr. Shigeru Ban will attend the conference under reservation. Website Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris (in French)