WINDOW RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light

Architect Shoei Yoh began his creative career as an interior designer in the 1970s. In 2019, he donated materials from his professional archive to Kyushu University, where they are currently being cataloged into the Kyushu University Shoei Yoh Archive. A selection of Yoh’s materials was also added to the collection of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) following its 2013 exhibition Archaeology of the Digital. The ambitious architect, whose pioneering works in wood and digital design have been gaining renewed appreciation, sought to create designs that express “light as a natural phenomenon”. This seven-part essay series written by researchers in Japan and Canada delves into Yoh’s archival materials to contemplate the light that the architect aimed to capture.

Masaaki Iwamoto