*updatemag

Issue 1
May 2017
22
exhibit is the Moriyama house,
however, the viewers are directed
to start the exhibition on the top
level of the space. There, the visitors
are introduced to the important
role that architecture played
in both social and economical
development of Japan after the
total destruction in suffered during
the World War II. The most
interesting being a movie reel
exploring the idea of a home, as
a structure, and how this home,
as a structure can be a reflection
social values in regard to the
family life in Japan. There is the
first ever aired commercial of the
so-called “capsule” apartment by
Kisho Kurokawa, an architect who
was also a part of the prominent
“Metabolism” movement. The
capsule acted as a symbol and
a prediction to the future of the
society in Japan, and the world,
really. It was created on the presumption
that the modern man
will be solitary and focused on
the importance of an individual
rather than the relationship with
others. Around the same time, an
important American historian and
moralist was coming to similar
conclusions as Kurokawa, and he
predicted that there will be a rise of Narcissism
in the public(for further details look at The
Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch).
What is interesting, is that the architects have
managed to come to a similar conclusion as cultural
theorists, and that this was not just a local
issue in Japan, but to an extent, a global one.
The Crazy Family by Soho Ishii, is a literal interpretation
of the idea of destruction of family
relations, as well as the need for a family home,
where the family members, paranoid about the
upcoming termite attack physically demolish
their family home, yelling and screaming in
agony as they do this.
“ The ideal is to create something
that, through its presence, makes
the overall environment look
better, and at the same time
makes your own building look
good by virtue of its relationship
with the surrounding buildings.”
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa,
Architects at SANAA