WINDOW RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Of Homes and Windows in the 20th Century: In Conversation with Ken Tadashi Oshima, the Curator of Living Modernity: Experiments in Housing, 1920s–1970s

In the twentieth century as waves of modernization swept across the globe the home became a site of architectural experimentation—an arena i…

Arch window

A window with an arched (curved) upper frame or opening. There are various shapes such as the semi-circular arched window and the pointed la…

Splayed window

An opening with an angled internal dimension allows more light to enter. It is commonly observed in European historic architecture particula…

Louis Kahn and the Power of Shadow

Does shadow have the power to give form to architecture? The increasing number of transparent buildings and LED installations enforces the i…

Swiss Window Journeys: A Conversation between Andrea Deplazes, Laurent Stalder, and Momoyo Kaijima

On 12 April 2024 to celebrate the publication of Swiss Window Journeys: Architectural Field Notes the Chair of Architectural Behaviorology o…

A Conversation with Leth & Gori

How do you create a house that can be maintenance-free for 50 years and last for at least 150 years? The Brick House designed by the Denmark…

Shoei Yoh’s “Light Architecture”

Through this series “Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light” we have compiled analyses of the work of architect Shoei Yoh focused on the theme of lig…

Shoei Yoh: Architecture of Light, the Real, and Monism

Architectural historian Yoshitake Doi who began teaching in Kyushu in the 1990s and witnessed firsthand as Fukuoka-based Shoei Yoh completed…

Talk Event Report: Swiss Window Journeys Speakers: Momoyo Kaijima, Chie Konno, Fumiko Takahama, Mio Tsuneyama

On June 22 2024 (Saturday) the Swiss Window Journeys – Swiss Windows and Architecture talk event was held in the Architectural Hall of the A…

The Windows of the Cachat Buvette in Evian｜Jean Prouvé’s Windows #4

After resuming his creative activities with his new firm Jean Prouvé Constructions Prouvé presented an alternative version of the béquille i…

Chochikukyo

Virtual Tour

Located in the foothills of Mount Tennozan overlooking the headwaters of the Yodogawa River in Yamazaki Kyoto this residence is characterize…

The Windows of the Komai House by W. M. Vories & Co.

The soon-to-be 100-year-old Komai House now called the Taku & Shizue Komai Museum stands along a canal path in Kitashirakawa a suburban …

A Conversation with François Charbonnet (Made in)

Made in is a highly acclaimed architecture firm that was founded in Geneva Switzerland in 2003. François Charbonnet one of its co-principals…

The Prince Karuizawa: The Materiality of Kiyoshi Seike’s Windows

The New Karuizawa Prince Hotel (now The Prince Karuizawa) built in 198…

Terunobu Fujimori│005: The Katōmado of the Shizutani School Auditorium: An Un-Japanese Japanese Window

In this series architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori who has trave…

The Experimental Design of the KATONO House in Sapporo

Known as an experimental work of modern architecture tailored for Hokkaido’s climate the KATONO House (Personal Residence) in Sapporo design…

Donald Judd and Windows: Contemplating Openings Through the Artist’s Interior Designs and Architectural Renovations

0. Introduction——Why Judd Now? Donald Judd (1928–94) an icon of American Minimalism has many admirers in the architecture world. Presumably …

Terunobu Fujimori | 004: The French Windows of the Glover House: Arrivals from India

In this series architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori who has traveled extensively to study buildings of various times and places will be…

Issue 7: The Slate Village Down the Mountains: Pingtung

There are now around 580000 native Taiwanese (the term used in Chinese. In Japan it seems the term “indigenous” is often used) r…

Terunobu Fujimori | 003: The Vertical Sliding Windows of the Public Speaking Hall (Mita Enzetsukan)

In this series architectural historian and architect Terunobu Fujimori who has traveled extensively to study buildings of various times and …

Issue 5: The Matsu Islands: Small Windows on the Frontier (Part 2)

The first morning of the new year arrived as I stayed in my room on th…

Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Windows in New Mexico

At age 62 after living between New York City and New Mexico for many years artist Georgia O’Keeffe made rural Northern New Mexico her perman…

Issue 4: The Matsu Islands: Small Windows on the Frontier (Part 1)

The Matsu islands are located in northwest Taiwan about as close to mainland China as you can get. It’s one of the farthest locations …

Architecture with “Madosoto” at all times and in all places

Fushimi: Today as we begin our new series “Madosoto: Outside Scenery” we would like to discuss the scenery outside the window. First let me …

Junzo Yoshimura, Sonoda House: Sliding Glass Door Leading to the Garden and Waist-high Window Making a Space Somewhat Core to the Design

A room with a vague focal space During an exhibition of the work of YOSHIMURA Junzo (1908–1997) in 2005 (held at The University Art Museum T…

The Windows of the Migishi Atelier: Inheritance and Change

In October of last year (2021) the Migishi Atelier (Kamisaginomiya Nakano Tokyo) was opened to the public after the architecture collective …

Terunobu Fujimori｜ 002: The Diverse Openings of the Yosuitei’s Thirteen-Window Tearoom

In this series architectural historian and architect Terunobu Fujimori who has traveled extensively to study buildings of various times and …

Shikidō/Frosted Glass Window for Study

This place is the birthplace of Shiki Masaoka where he lived until the age of 17 years reproduced in Matsuyama Ehime Prefecture. Shiki studi…

Issue 3: Where the Pavilions Went : Orchid Island (Part 2)

I left the village of Yeyin and took a trip around the island. Going o…

Issue 2: The Buried Black Roofs : Orchid Island (Part 1)

While we may often speak of “Taiwanese people” people belonging to a variety of ethnicities and religions live in Taiwan. While …

Windows of the Prouvé House｜Jean Prouvé’s Windows #2

The Prouvé House is an intriguing example of a building that was made …

Final Issue: Asia, Traveled through a Window

This will be the final installment of my four-year-long serialization documenting my eight-month-long trip. While I had decided where to go …

Yusho Takiguchi, Aram from Armenia

The atmosphere in a room viewed through a window. The outdoor scenery …

Life in the Holy Land: Jerusalem, Israel

…ies much like its holy sites. Stones may be sturdy but that also makes them difficult to move. Given that the people of the Old City live li…

The Smile Sealed Inside a Bubble—Natsume Soseki’s Inside Glass Doors

…n for The Bear and the Paving Stone which has been translated into English. An admirer of Soseki and the author of the book of essays Wander…

A Conversation with Gion A. Caminada

Vrin is a village of fewer than 250 people nestled in a lush valley in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. It is also the home …

Rushing Along the Nile: Egypt and the Nile

After walking around Cairo for a few days I took a flight to Aswan Egypt’s southernmost city. From there I followed the Nile River nor…

Facing the Arches: Cairo, Egypt (part 2)

Before Al-Qahirah the city that would become Cairo was created in the 10th century the city of Fustat stood slightly to the south. In this r…

A Combining City: Cairo

I got on a plane in Jordan and flew to Cairo Egypt. It was my first time on the African continent. Though most capitals are busy Cairo seeme…

A Conversation with Gigon / Guyer

The Chair of Architectural Behaviorology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) led by architect Momoyo Kaijima condu…

The Architecture of the Window

In addition to his design practice the architect Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani has also cultivated a unique philosophical approach to the fiel…

Sensing Mother Earth: Petra, Jordan

During my trip I saw many ruins in many countries. While these sites stood distant from our modern lives the people who created them must no…

Religion and Cities: Isfahan, Iran

I experienced no small amount of culture shock in Iran as it was the first Islamic country I visited. Many of the people I passed on the str…

Memories of a Skylight: Tashqurqan Part 3

The following morning when I arrived at Classy’s house at the scheduled time we met with another man who seemed to be about the same age as …

Shifted Windows: Masuleh, Iran

There is a small village in the valleys of Iran known as Masuleh that has stood there for over a thousand years. Its tiered homes are built …

Memories of a Skylight: Tashqurqan Part 2

After driving for about 7 minutes in Classy’s car the windshield of which had a crack in it we arrived at a wetland area that was completely…

Memories of a Skylight: Tashqurqan, Part 1

I headed further west from Turpan by train to arrive at a city in the western reaches of China called Kashgar. From there I climbed a mounta…

Starting by Surrounding: Takht-e Soleymān, Iran

I took a cheap shared taxi from Zanjan in northwest Iran headed next to the ancient ruins of Takht-e Soleymān. An archeological site centere…