WINDOW RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 @ Spiral Hall (Minato-ku, Tokyo)
A 9-hour academic symposium centered on windows

Featuring 27 participants from around the world, including architects, photographers, anthropologists, and sociologists, such as Fumihiko Maki, Terunobu Fujimori, Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Manabu Chiba, Michele De Lucchi, Iwan Baan, and Takashi Homma

YKK AP Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hidemitsu Hori) is marking the 10th anniversary of its Windowology program by holding a special exhibition titled Windowology 10th Anniversary Exhibition: The World Through the Window at the Spiral Garden (Minato-ku, Tokyo) from Thursday, September 28 to Monday, October 9, 2017 (public holiday). The exhibition will be complemented by a symposium, titled “Windowology 10th Anniversary Symposium: Windows Represent Civilization and Culture,” which will be held on Tuesday, October 3, 2017.

A total of 27 guest speakers comprising a variety of experts who have participated in Windowology activities in the past and unique guests from overseas will convene to present research and give lectures at this international academic symposium on windows. The participants include world-renowned architectural photographer Iwan Baan, active historian and architect Terunobu Fujimori, Switzerland-based architect and architectural historian Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, and architect Michele De Lucchi, among many others. This special full-day event that will bring together architects, historians, sociologists, and anthropologists to discuss windows is an occasion not to be missed.

■ Symposium Overview

Date + Time: Tuesday, October 3, 2017, 10:00‒20:00
Venue: Spiral Hall (SPIRAL, 3F)
5-6-23 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062
Tel.: 03-3498-1171
Admission: Free. Prior registration required (registration has closed).
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
Organizer: YKK AP Inc.
Exhibition Website: http://madogaku.madoken.jp/en/

 

■ Symposium Highlights

① Looking back on the history of Windowology together with the researchers

Twenty-seven speakers will be presenting the findings of their Windowology research from the past decade in four uniquely
themed sessions. Session 1 (10:00‒11:00) will dissect the past, present, and future of windows through presentations covering topics from the origins of the window to windows in advanced architecture.
Session 2 (11:00‒12:00) will address issues of human health and architectural sustainability in relation to windows. Session 3 (15:35‒16:35) is an interdisciplinary session in which architecture and windows will be considered from a sociological viewpoint. Session 4 (17:40‒18:25) will present new, unfamiliar windows unearthed through unique historical perspectives.

② Special window lecture by Pritzker laureate and Spiral building architect Fumihiko Maki

Fumihiko Maki, a recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize and the architect of Omotesandoʼs Spiral building where the Windowology exhibition and symposium are being held, will be giving a special lecture as part of the event. The architect, known for his precise, elegant designs, will be speaking about his recent work with windows, including the PASSIVETOWN development, which was completed in 2016 in Kurobe, Toyama, and a project he is currently developing in London.

③ Panel discussions representing unique collaborations

Two individuals who provided the impetus behind the birth of Windowology, Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani and Michele De
Lucchi, will be appearing in Panel Discussion 1 (13:15‒14:15). They will look back on the origins of the programʼs window research and activities and discuss its significance together with Taro Igarashi, who has been steering the program since its launch 10 years ago, and Tadahiro Yoshida, who is the Chairman & CEO of YKK AP Inc. and the programʼs founder. Panel Discussion 2 (16:35‒17:30) will feature internationally renowned architects and professors Manabu Chiba, Takaharu Tezuka, and Makoto Yokomizo. Chiba, whose work ranges widely from educational facilities such as the Kogakuin University 125th Anniversary Memorial General Education Building to commercial facilities; Tezuka, who designed the Fuji Kindergarten, which is known for its inviting rooftop playground; and Yokomizo, who designed public buildings such as the Tomohiro Art Museum and Shibata City Hall, which are used affectionately by their local communities, will exchange views on their different approaches to window design.

④Yoshichika Uchida to impart his knowledge on windows through recreating his Window Seminars

Professor Emeritus Yoshichika Uchida of the University of Tokyo will partly recreate the “Yoshichika Uchida Window Seminars” that he gave for young architects and researchers from 2015 to 2016. (The seminar content has been compiled into a book titled Uchida Yoshichika: Mado to kenchiku zemināru [Yoshichika Uchida: Window and Architecture Seminars] by Kajima Institute Publishing). Uchida, who is known as the founder of the field of building construction studies, as a theoretician of building openings, and as the architect of the prizewinning Saga Prefectural Museum, has made great contributions to the Japanese architecture community both as a researcher and architect. This will be an unmissable window talk in which he will share his secrets on building construction and architectural design.

⑤Terunobu Fujimori to speak about his windows as an architect

Terunobu Fujimori, a professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo and the director of the Edo Tokyo Museum, is both an active researcher and an architect. The famous architectural historian, known for founding the Architecture Detective Agency and Street Observation Society and for publishing numerous scholarly books, has also designed many buildings that inspire surprise and joy, such as the plant-covered Leek House and Dandelion House and floating tea houses such as the Takasugi-an and Flying Mud Boat. His most recent works include the Grass Roof and Mosaic Tile Museum. In this lecture themed around the keyword “ana” (“holes”), he will be speaking about the design ideas behind his windows as an architect.

⑥Lecture by architect Michele De Lucchi, former member of the legendary Memphis Group

This is a solo lecture by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, who is presenting a special exhibit in the exhibition and is also the author of the key visual for the event. His work ranges in scale from spoons to buildings. Many of his furniture and product designs can be found in collections of museums around the world, including the Centre Pompidou. His architectural work includes the Pavilion Zero for Expo Milano 2015. The title of this special lecture by De Lucchi, who regularly speaks about the importance of windows, is “The World through the Window.”

⑦Special photography talk with Iwan Baan, Takashi Homma, and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto

Architectural photographer Iwan Baan is revered by the worldʼs most famous architects, including SANAA, OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, and Frank Gehry, and he is constantly flying around the globe to capture their latest works. He will be making a visit to Japan especially for this symposium event. As all of the countless buildings he photographs contain windows, Baan can be described as one of the first people to see and photograph many of the worldʼs newest windows. In Panel Discussion 3 (18:35‒19:10), photographer Takashi Homma, who has been participating in Windowology activities since 2015, and Tokyo Institute of Technology professor and Atelier Bow-Wow principal Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, who has been conducting field research on windows around the world since Windowology was launched in 2007, will be sitting down with Baan to discuss windows and photography. This unique group of speakers promises to make for an insightful discussion like no other.

 

■ Symposium Time Schedule

 

 

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