From a thatched roof farmhouse occupied by a Zen priest to Tadao Ando's experimental 4X4 House, Shigeru Ban's conceptual Shutter House, and a beautiful homage to bamboo in the form of a home, this book traverses the multifaceted landscape of Japanese living today. It also includes a list of addresses and a glossary of terms, such as tatami.

Product Description: Japanese residential building has fascinated whole generations of architects. Alongside the strict implementation of design concepts, the small conceptual houses are excellent examples for the demonstration of creative experimentation in terms of spatial configuration, materials and the ability to organise even the smallest of spaces...read more

Describes and illustrates the construction methods, materials, styles and designs of traditional domestic architecture in Japan

A house is a site, the bounds and focus of a community. It is also an artifact, a material extension of its occupants' lives. This book takes the Japanese house in both senses, as site and as artifact, and explores the spaces, commodities, and conceptions of community associated with it in the modern era. As Japan modernized, the principles that had traditionally related house and family began to break down. Even where the traditional class markers surrounding the house persisted, they became vessels for new meanings, as housing was resituated in a new nexus of relations. The house as artifact and the artifacts it housed were affected in turn. The construction and ornament of houses ceased to be stable indications of their occupants' social status, the home became a means of personal expression, and the act of dwelling was reconceived in terms of consumption. Amid the breakdown of inherited meanings and the fluidity of modern society, not only did the increased diversity of commodities lead to material elaboration of dwellings, but home itself became an object of special attention, its importance emphasized in writing, invoked in politics, and articulated in architectural design. The aim of this book is to show the features of this culture of the home as it took shape in Japan.

A photographic exploration of Japanese architecture and design in size-constricted areas explores imaginative, ingenious, and revolutionary solutions to space-compromised living.

Product Description: Renowned for its tranquility and serenity, its simple, elegant lines, and harmonious use of natural forms, Japanese architecture is admired by designers, architects, and homeowners alike for its easy grace. Now with a striking new cover, Japanese Detail: Architecture surveys the essential elements of the Japanese aesthetic...read more

Product Description: Japanese Country Style introduces sixteen unique and sumptuous homes rescued by Yoshihiro Takishita, a professional antiquarian, and illustrates how his renovations rejuvenated these all-but-forgotten architectural gems. Takishita candidly discusses the thoughts and inspirations that led him to adapt and convert these centuries-old farmhouses for modern living...read more

Shows and describes pillars, roofs, walls, doors, windows, shoji, floors, tatami mats, alcoves, ceilings, stairways, storage areas, eaves, verandas, gardens, gazebos, fences, gates, and locks

Briefly traces the history of Japan's traditional farmhouses, shows a variety of regional styles, and looks at the structure, layout and construction of these homes