Blank window
A window that is often sealed for decorative purposes. It does not serve the typical functions of a window, such as letting in light or air. Many blind windows were created in Europe between the late 17th and mid-19th centuries to avoid the window tax, a property tax based on the number of windows in a building. They were also used to enhance the aesthetics of large walls or to emphasize the symmetry of a facade. Also called the blind window or false window.
Texts From Articles (167)
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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 organized a walking tour of notable windows across the city…
17 Dec 2024
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CCA-WRI Research Fellowship 2024
This fellowship program, launched jointly with the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), is open to accomplished professionals who hold a doctoral degree or have substantial work experience and a co…
31 Jul 2024
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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-based architect duo Leth & Gori as part of an initiati…
14 Mar 2025
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Issue 14: A Window for Standing Still—Fieldoffice Architects, Paomagudao Park
This issue, I’d like to introduce a park that I designed myself. Jiaoxi, Yilan’s Paomagudao Park, completed in 2021, was formerly the Mingde Training Class, built as a training school (qua…
22 Jan 2025
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Architecture in Motion
Architect YU Momoeda, who is a long-time admirer of Shoei Yoh, participated in the Find and Tell residency program of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), providing his readings of the archival…
19 Mar 2025
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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 light. Here is a recap of their contents. First, in “Light is…
28 Mar 2025
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Issue 13: Democracy Under Canopies (Fieldoffice Architects)
Democracy and freedom have now spread throughout Taiwan, a place where freedom was once heavily restricted. This is something one can feel even in their daily life. The people of Taiwan are unusually …
18 Nov 2024
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Terunobu Fujimori│008: The Ribbon Window of the Karuizawa Summer House—The Modernists’ Dream, Realized in Japan
In this series, architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori, who has traveled extensively to study buildings of various times and places, will be introducing a selection of notably intriguing windows fo…
20 Mar 2025
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“Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light” Symposium to be held at the AIJ Hall on September 7, 2024
The Window Research Institute (WRI) is delighted to present the “Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light” Symposium. Shoei Yoh (1940–) began his creative career as an interior designer in the 1970s …
23 Aug 2024
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“Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light” Symposium Report
On September 7, 2024, the symposium “Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light” was held at the AIJ Hall (Architectural Institute of Japan, Tokyo). Centered around the theme of “light”, this event was organized a…
25 Feb 2025
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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 Architectural Institute of Japan. The event was held to cel…
26 Sep 2024
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From Interiors to Non-Architecture
Architect and architectural history researcher Masaaki Iwamoto, who has been leading the development of the Shoei Yoh Archive, sheds light on Yoh’s early works, from his de facto debut project, …
22 Oct 2024
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The Ingot Coffee Shop: Building as a Mass of Glass
Tomo Inoue, a building construction expert engaged in efforts to digitally reconstruct Shoei Yoh’s works using 3D scanners, explains the novelty of the Ingot Coffee Shop, an early work of architecture…
04 Oct 2024
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A Conversation with Silke Langenberg
Silke Langenberg, Full Professor for Construction Heritage and Preservation in the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich, has been conducting surveys of folk houses throughout Switzerland and explo…
25 Jul 2024
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CCA-WRI Research Fellowship 2024
This fellowship program, launched jointly with the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), is open to accomplished professionals who hold a doctoral degree or have substantial work experience and a co…
01 Aug 2023
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Issue 12: A Small Church for the Indigenous (Taitung)
It’s said that Christians now constitute around 7% of Taiwan’s population, a rather high proportion compared to Japan’s stated rate of around 1%. Though neighboring countries, their …
20 Jun 2024
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The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture Through Windows
29 Nov 2019
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“Window Behaviorology” is exhibited at VILLUM Window Collection, Denmark
Windows and daylight influence our behavior. This is unpacked in VILLUM Window Collection’s new exhibition curated by Japanese architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (Atelier Bow-Wow), who has devoted many yea…
05 Apr 2024
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Swiss Window Journeys Architectural Field Notes
09 Apr 2024
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“Light is Light and Light”
The Archaeology of the Digital exhibition held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in 2013 served as a catalyst for reevaluating the pioneering nature of Shoei Yoh’s digital designs. Martien…
04 Apr 2024
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A window with a memory
I’ve enjoyed drawing pictures ever since I was little, and used to make paintings using my own hands and brushes to apply oil to canvas and panel surfaces. Although I’ve since transitioned to making w…
22 Apr 2024
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Windows: Overlapping and passing through
Why wasn’t it a window? I organized an exhibition called Medium and Dimension: Liminal and wrote a text for the exhibition catalogue entitled Apartment: Regarding walls and doors, or time and space. A…
25 Mar 2024
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Why Norman Foster Scoops Daylight into his Buildings
Norman Foster, known for blending art and science in architecture, has led the field since the late 20th century. His designs, balancing high-tech with environmental consciousness, have earned global …
24 May 2024
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Shoei Yoh: A Journey of Light—Introduction
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 cat…
21 Mar 2024
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The Windows of Hiroshi Hara’s Awazu House: Spaces of Light Illuminating the Darkness
The Awazu House, designed by Hiroshi Hara, now searches for a path toward continuity. A number of masterpieces have been created here at this home and atelier of world-famous graphic designer Kiyoshi …
26 Apr 2024
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Issue 11: Joined Somewhere, Connected Throughout—Chen Chi-Kwan, Tunghai University Methodist Hall
The campus of Taiwan’s first private university, Tunghai University, stretches across the suburbs of Taichung, a city in the center-west of Taiwan. It is Taiwan’s first Christian school fo…
04 Mar 2024
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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, formerly taught as a visiting professor at ETH Zurich a…
25 Jan 2024
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Windows of the Aichi University of the Artsby Junzo Yoshimura and Akio Okumura:The Concrete Science of Living with Nature
The Aichi University of the Arts was built to the designs of Junzo Yoshimura and Akio Okumura in 1966. Situated in the forested hills of Nagakute, Aichi, the campus was planned with consideration of e…
19 Jan 2024
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Issue 10: The Billowing School—Chen Ren-He, Wave Building, San Sin High School of Commerce and Home Economics (Kaohsiung)
When talking about the first generation of post-war Taiwanese architects, there are famous individuals such as Wang Da-Hong, who studied under Walter Gropius and were involved in many state projects s…
10 Jan 2024
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Nakagin Capsule Tower
The architectural movement of Metabolism arose in the 1960s, when Japan’s cities began to reemerge from the devastation of World War II. It was led by the critic Noboru Kawazoe, architects such as Kis…
22 Dec 2023
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Katsura Catholic Church
Completed in 1965, the Katsura Catholic Church in Kyoto is known as the only George Nakashima-designed building in Japan. The structure of the main building is composed simply of a thin, rhomboid hype…
12 Jan 2024
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Tilt windows
Tilt windows have a horizontal rotational axis along the bottom of the frame and are opened by being tilted inwards. As they do not open wide, they are particularly effective from a security standpoin…
05 Feb 2024
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Awning windows
Awning windows have a horizontal rotational axis along the top of the frame and are opened by being pushed outwards. The glass surface acts as an awning, keeping rain from being blown inside. Some are…
12 Dec 2023
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Folding windows
Folding windows consist of two or more hinge-connected panels that form a single door, which can be folded away along the length of the opening. They are characterized by their ability to create wide,…
27 Feb 2024
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Revolving windows
Revolving windows rotate either horizontally or vertically around the central axis of a window frame. The former type typically swings inwards at the top and outwards at the bottom to prevent water fr…
21 May 2024
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Stacked awning windows
Stacked awning windows are composed of a vertical arrangement of sashes that swing up and outwards all at once with the use of a handle. They allow one to control the amount of airflow by adjusting th…
08 Mar 2024
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Issue 9: The Windy County Office—Yilan County Hall (Atelier Zo)
While this column has primarily introduced the windows of unnamed buildings in Taiwan, there are a number of works of modern and contemporary architecture that I would like to discuss. One such struct…
31 Oct 2023
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A Tea House for Schönbrunn has been exhibited at the Japanese Garden in Schönbrunn
“Learning from the Japanese Tea House”, a project granted by the Window Research Institute for the fiscal year 2022, has been open to the public at the Japanese Garden in Schönbrunn. , A T…
14 Jul 2023
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A Conversation with Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter
On the occasion of the “Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan” currently being held in Copenhagen, we conducted a series of interviews with four Danish architects in cooperation …
12 Jul 2023
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Double Vision
Selecting “wallpaper” or organizing files on a “desktop” are now familiar acts that can either take place on our digital devices or in our living rooms. Through the screen’s interface, we gain access …
06 Jul 2023
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Alvar Aalto Living room of Mäntylä
This is the living room of a house designed for a senior engineer at the Tampella factory in Inkeroinen, an area that thrived on the wood industry. An array of 20 square double-layered windows covers …
14 May 2024
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Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen’s Showcase windows of the Pohjola Insurance Building
This insurance company building located on a corner lot along Aleksanterinkatu in central Helsinki was designed by the national romanticist architects Eliel Saarinen, Armas Lindgren, and Herman Gesell…
25 Aug 2023
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Issue 8: The Town of Floating Pigeon Lofts
Houses stand there, dotting the farmland. Small huts sit above them in the sky. It’s a bit of a strange sight, but one that you’ll notice sooner or later if you live in rural Taiwan. ,Smal…
17 Aug 2023
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Does light stop within window panes? – Yuriko Kurimoto’s Window
Since Kunié Sugiura wrote about windows in New York last time, let’s start this article on the topic of the American windows that were once in Nagoya. Yamato Seimei Building (originally the Nago…
11 May 2023
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Transition of Kikugetsutei, Equipment In Between
29 Sep 2016
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Conversations on Windows and Architecture
06 Sep 2016
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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 designed by renowned Hokkaido architect Tetsu Katono (1924–2009) …
12 Apr 2023
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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, this is because his artwork is loaded with allusions to a…
07 Feb 2024
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A Conversation with Christine Binswanger, Raúl Mera (Herzog & de Meuron)
Herzog & de Meuron, the Basel-based architectural duo, founded their firm in 1978 after studying architecture at ETH Zurich. They have since designed numerous prominent projects worldwide, such as…
24 May 2023
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Kay FiskerStorefront at Stefansgård
The apartment building in Copenhagen. Due to restrictions placed on the use of steel during World War II, a steel lintel could not be used. Kay Fisker instead used layers of traditional brick arches t…
17 May 2023
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Between Hatakeyama and Sugiura
Kokei and Jokei: Sights we see, scenes we feel Whenever transparent glass is installed into buildings or trains or cars, a boundary is established, resulting in the creation of an inside and an outsid…
02 Mar 2023
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Issue 7: The Slate Village Down the Mountains: Pingtung
There are now around 580,000 native Taiwanese (the term used in Chinese. In Japan, it seems the term “indigenous” is often used), representing 2.5% of the Taiwanese population. The governm…
09 Mar 2023
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The Divine Invasion: Aldo Rossi’s Windows without Glass
When we face the presence of towering walls, massive mountains, or solid architectural volumes, we feel both fear and affection. The nature of a solid wall seems to suggest something divine or sublime…
13 Feb 2023
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Screen Time
Screens are everywhere: stadiums, stations, billboards, buildings, refrigerators, thermostats, on our wrists, and in our hands. As a physical interface and virtual portal, screens are also the digital…
25 Jan 2023
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Arne JacobsenBoll House
This Jacobsen’s early residential work is in the suburbs of Copenhagen. This is a bay window with a semi-regular hexagonal plane protruding from a traditional yellow brick wall, and a radiator i…
10 Feb 2023
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Arne JacobsenHarby Elementary School
The atrium hall with paintings on the wall in Harvey Elementary School on the island of Funen. Three windows which straddle the border between the roof and the wall take the northern skylight into the…
13 Jan 2023
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Arne JacobsenSoholm I
The Soholm Row Houses are built at Bellevue Beach, and Jacobsen himself purchased one of the Soholm I units for use, making the interior a place of work. The meeting room on the first floor has storag…
10 Mar 2023
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Conversation with EMI Architekten
Ron Edelaar, Elli Mosayebi, and Christian Inderbitzin founded EMI Architekten in Zurich in 2005. The office has developed a particular focus on housing and urban design in Switzerland through numerous…
15 Dec 2022
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Issue 6: Beckoning Qilous
Just about everyone in Taiwan eats similar food from the countless semi-outdoor dining halls there. The students all line up for newly opened chicken stores, and the old men dully slurp their wonton n…
27 Oct 2022
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[Extended till Summer 2023]Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan at the VILLUM Window Collection, Denmark
Please refer to the event archive from below link: ,After being exhibited at the three Japan Houses in Los Angeles, São Paulo, and London, we are excited to announce that the exhibition Windowology: N…
29 Aug 2022
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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 the frontier, and I decided to survey the quiet guesthouse before my friends woke up. While the stonework building appeared to only …
20 Jul 2022
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Online seminar“Above/Below/Between: Light on a Damaged Planet”
On Wednesday, August 24, Canadian Center for Architecture and Window Research Institute will present a seminar featuring 3 fellows from CCA-WRI Research Fellowship Program. Date Wednesday 24 August 20…
22 Aug 2022
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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 permanent home. There, she lived between two adobe homes well in…
24 Jun 2022
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Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan at Japan House Los Angeles
The Window Research Institute has held an online exhibition titled Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles since October 24, 2020. JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles launched a…
24 Oct 2020
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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 from Taiwan’s center, its sweet potato-shaped main is…
25 May 2022
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Yosuitei, Thirteen-Window Tearoom
About the Yosuitei Japanese teahouses (chashitsu) are unique buildings with small interiors and many types of windows. The Yosuitei is a thatched hut-style teahouse from the Kanei era (1624–1644) of t…
24 Mar 2022
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Windowology: Selected Research
This series of booklets contains an abridged version of a selection of the “Windowology” research that Window Research Institute has developed together with researchers and laboratories. Window Resear…
29 Dec 2019
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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 GROUP completed a partial renovation of its interior wall…
01 Apr 2022
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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 places, will be introducing a selection of notably intrigu…
24 Mar 2022
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The Yosuitei13 Bokusekimado
13 Bokusekimado A bokusekimado (lit. “brushwork window”), also known as a hanaakarimado (lit. “flower lighting window”) or an oribemado (lit. “Oribe window”), is a type of window in the side wall wit…
06 Dec 2021
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The Yosuitei11 Shitajimado, 12 Renjimado and Kendonbusuma
11 Shitajimado The shitajimado (exposed lath window) positioned near the ceiling beside the decorative alcove (tokonoma) is another unique feature of this teahouse, and it is thought to have provided…
05 Dec 2021
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The Yosuitei06/07 Shitajimado and Renjimado, 08 Nijiriguchi, 09/10 Shitajimado and Renjimado
06/07 Shitajimado and Renjimado Another instance where Enshu used his favorite combination of an upper shitajimado (exposed lath window) and lower renjimado (slatted window). This shitajimado has a w…
04 Dec 2021
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The Yosuitei03 Furosakimado
03 Furosakimado A furosakimado (lit. “window beyond the brazier”) is a type of window made in the wall behind the brazier used in tea ceremonies, and it is named based on its location. It provides tas…
02 Dec 2021
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The Yosuitei01/02 Shikishimado
01/02 Shikishimado A shikishimado (lit. “calligraphy board window”) is a type of window composed of a stacked pair of openings that are shifted off-axis, and it is named based on its appearance. It ge…
01 Dec 2021
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The Yosuitei04/05 Shitajimado and Renjimado
04/05 Shitajimado and Renjimado Enshu liked to stack shitajimado (exposed lath window) on top of renjimado (slatted window), and he has done so in three places at the Yosuitei. This shitajimado has a …
03 Dec 2021
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A Conversation with Christ & Gantenbein
Christ & Gantenbein was formed in 1998 by Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein after graduating from ETH Zurich. To date, they have been involved in a wide range of projects, including the reno…
31 Mar 2022
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Online Event “Hashirama Sōchi: Richness of Space in Japanese Architecture – Talk by Nakatani Norihito” Presented by Japan House London
On Tuesday, February 22, Japan House London will present an online event featuring Nakatani Norihito. ,Date Tuesday 22 February 2022 Time 12:00–13:00 GMT/ 21:00–22:00 JST Location Online Bookings Es…
18 Feb 2022
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Online Event “Windowology: Talk by Igarashi Tarō” Presented by Japan House London
On Thursday, January 27, Japan House London will present an online event featuring Windowology Exhibition Director Igarashi Tarō. ,Date Thursday 27 January 2022 Time 12:00–13:00 GMT/ 21:00–22:00 JST…
26 Jan 2022
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Issue 3: Where the Pavilions Went : Orchid Island (Part 2)
I left the village of Yeyin and took a trip around the island. Going on the road made me conscious of being in another land, but in a different way from mainland Taiwan, whether I encountered a pack o…
12 Jan 2022
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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 I flew to Taiwan’s main island for this installment, …
11 Nov 2021
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Japan House London presents Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan
The Window Research Institute is pleased to announce the exhibition Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan, from 1 December 2021 until 24 April 2022 at Japan House London. Booking from here. …
01 Oct 2021
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CCA-WRI Research Fellowship 2022
This fellowship program, launched jointly with the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), is open to accomplished professionals who hold a doctoral degree or have substantial work experience and a co…
19 Oct 2021
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Issue 1: Windows Visited by Spirits: Pingdong
After his experience on a journey through villages and folk houses in 11 Asian and Middle Eastern countries, Ryuki Taguma now lives in Yilan, located in northeast Taiwan, while practicing architectura…
14 Sep 2021
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Four Tectonic Features that Reside Within Prouvé’s Window Details
Jean Prouvé was originally a metalworker by trade, but he became a leading modernist architect himself through collaborating with progressive architects such as Le Corbusier. He is particularly known …
04 Aug 2021
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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 ahead of time to some degree, there was still some freedom t…
07 Jul 2021
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“WINDOWOLOGY: Estudo de janelas no Japão” at Japan House São Paulo
This exhibition showcases windows as fundamental elements of the Japanese society ,After being exhibited at Japan House Los Angeles, the original exhibition “WINDOWOLOGY: Estudo de janelas no Japão” (…
02 Jul 2021
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Supported an Exhibition “Co-ownership of Action: Trajectories of Elements” at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia
Window Research Institute supported an exhibition “Co-ownership of Action: Trajectories of Elements,” at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia. , Outline of the Bien…
22 May 2021
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A Conversation with Peter Märkli
Peter Märkli, one of Switzerland’s leading architects, started his career after meeting his mentor, the architect Rudolf Olgiati. In 1978 he established his own studio, Studio Märkli, in Zurich. Since…
17 May 2021
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Life in the Holy Land: Jerusalem, Israel
I could see land the color of milk out of the airplane window. My journey had started in China, moving ever westward from there, and I was now on a short flight from Egypt headed to my final destinati…
22 Mar 2021
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Takashi Homma on photographing the window in Le Corbusier’s architecture
Eye Camera Window: Takashi Homma on Le Corbusier will be presented at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montreal. On display is a series of Takashi Homma’s photographs reflecting the photogr…
12 Feb 2021
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From the “Window” Snapshots of the 1970s to Contemporary German Photography
Candida Höfer is one of Germany’s leading contemporary photographers. She studied under master photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, and is today widely known as a practitioner of the Becher school of…
03 Oct 2018
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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 of architect Gion A. Caminada, who has designed many buildin…
15 Feb 2021
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An Interview with Richard McGuire, the author of Here: Everything is Transitory
Here is a graphic novel spanning more than 300 pages that allows readers to experience millions of years of time while observing a single corner of a room. Since its first publication in 2014, the wor…
26 Jan 2021
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Takashi Homma Looking Through: Le Corbusier Windows has been reprinted and is now back in stock
Takashi Homma’s Looking Through: Le Corbusier Windows has been reprinted from the first edition and is now back in stock. Find your nearest stockist here. ,Looking Through: Le Corbusier Windows By Tak…
27 Jan 2021
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Japan House Los Angeles Presents a Webinar Discussion “New Views: The Influence of Windows on Architecture and Society”
Japan House Los Angeles Presents a Webinar Discussion “New Views: The Influence of Windows on Architecture and Society” ,On Monday, December 7, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles will present a webin…
04 Dec 2020
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Dreh-Kipp Windows
Windows with two opening and closing functions, one of which involves rotating inwards horizontally (“collapsing inwards”), while the other operates by rotating inwards vertically (“opening inwards”),…
13 Nov 2020
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Rei Naito: Mirror Creation
Rei Naito is an artist who creates works that converse with the environments that surround them, posing the question “Isn’t simply existing on the earth a blessing in itself?” In the case of Mirror Cr…
02 Nov 2020
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Horizontal Outward Projecting Window
In this sort of window, the upper frame serves as the axis of rotation: it moves up or down along a groove or rail attached to the top and bottom of the window frame. The window opens when the lower f…
27 Oct 2020
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Japan House Los Angeles Unveils New Exhibition: “Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan”
Exhibition Marks First for JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles Since Pandemic Closure; Featuring Windows & Their Unique Perspectives on the World ,The Window Research Institute is proud to announce the launch…
28 Oct 2020
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Vertical Outward Projecting Window
In this sort of window, either the left or right frame serves as the axis of rotation: it moves to the left or right along a groove or rail attached to the top and bottom of the window frame. The othe…
30 Jul 2020
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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 seemed especially so. Just walking from my hotel out into the s…
15 Jul 2020
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Supported an Exhibition “Rei Naito: Mirror Creation”
Window Research Institute supported an exhibition “Rei Naito: Mirror Creation,” at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. ,Outline of the Exhibition Rei Naito: Mirror Creation …
27 Jun 2020
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Exhibition delays – The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture Through Windows at MIMOCA
Due to disruption caused by the coronavirus, The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture Through Windows at the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA; Kagawa, Japan) has bee…
25 Jun 2020
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Power Window
Windows that open and close mainly through electric power using a switch or remote control to operate them are called power windows. As they can be opened and closed without touching them directly, th…
02 Jun 2020
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High Altitude Window
Installed in a high place such as the top of a stairwell, this sort of window facilitates “gravitational ventilation” by making use of how warm air rises. They are opened and closed using a switch or …
22 Apr 2020
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Windows in Photography: Conversations with Iwan Baan, Takashi Homma and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto
Three panelists discuss how photography, architecture, and windows are interrelated. They are Iwan Baan, who has been photographing prominent architectural works by the world’s leading architect…
09 Apr 2020
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Chiharu Shiota The Sense of Daily Life and Smells Soaked into Windows Gives Power to My Work
Chiharu Shiota is an ever-active Berlin-based artist. In works such as her large-scale installations that tie spaces together with massive amounts of threads, she has used clothes, beds, suitcases, an…
15 Oct 2019
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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 street were male, while bus seats for men and women are divide…
19 Feb 2020
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Windowology: New Architectural Views from Japan Exhibition at Japan House London
Japan House London is temporarily closed to hinder the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Any changes to the above status will be communicated through our website or social media. https://www.japanhous…
03 Feb 2020
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Chapter 2: The frame – the window as optical device or trompe l’oeil from Mantegna to Ryan Gander
Whether facing outwards to the world or inwards to the self, an artist is often restrained by the framing device of the window—unable to break free from a rectilinear box or blank surface that demands…
03 Feb 2020
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Casement Window
Casement windows open by rotating horizontally to the left and right from the center, taking either the left or right edge as an axis. Some open into the interior, while others open onto the exterior.…
18 Dec 2019
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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 along the mountain’s steep face, and it seems to also …
03 Dec 2019
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The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture Through Windows at MOMAT, Tokyo
The Window Research Institute and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT) will be holding an exhibition titled The Window: A Journey of Art and Architecture Through Windows at MOMAT from Nove…
01 Nov 2019
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Breathing in the Desert: Yazd, Iran
The bus that headed from northern to southern Iran passed once more through alien landscapes created by the desert. It’s as if one must pass through other planets before arriving in another city…
01 Oct 2019
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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 centered around a massive crater lake, Takht-e Soleymān is said to…
03 Jul 2019
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Sash Window
A window that opens and closes by moving two or more parallel panels vertically over two or more grooves or rails is called a double sliding window, where both the top and bottom panels move. These so…
12 Jun 2019
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Japan Through the Window Selected for Phase 3 of the Japan House Touring Exhibition Project
Following a strict selection process, the jury for the 3rd phase of the Japan House Touring Exhibition Project has chosen Japan Through the Window (working title) to be presented at the Japan House lo…
06 Jun 2019
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Double Sliding Window
A window that opens and closes by moving two or more parallel panels horizontally over two or more grooves or rails is called a double sliding window, where both the left and right panels move. This s…
15 May 2019
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Chapter 1: The studio – exploring the mind of the artist from Caspar David Friedrich to Spencer Finch
An artist contemplates a blank canvas or a white piece of paper in the studio or at a table, perhaps waiting for a memory or some inspiration to stimulate that first mark. What follows is an insight i…
26 Apr 2019
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Interview with Tom Emerson, 6a architects
Based in London, 6a architects is an acclaimed architectural office best known for its numerous cultural and educational projects including the Fashion Gallery of the Victoria & Albert Museum or C…
22 Apr 2019
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Gordon Matta-Clark and Apertures
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is currently featuring the exhibition Gordon Matta-Clark: Mutation in Space. Matta-Clark graduated from Cornell University, where he had majored in architectur…
17 Sep 2018
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The Bauhaus and Its Influence in Japan
The Bauhaus, founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, laid the foundations for modern design with its innovative curriculum that embraced the abstract and constructivist trends of the time. Despite operati…
09 Jul 2021
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“Placing” a Home: East Gilan, Iran, part 2
In Kachalam, a village in East Gilan, a man agreed to show me around in his car despite it only being our first meeting. As he did, I discovered one home that seemed conspicuously old. I told him I wa…
07 Feb 2019
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“Placing” a Home: East Gilan, Iran (Part 1)
Iran was an unknown land to me before I visited it myself. My vague image of it had been of a desolate desert dotted with ancient remains. And so I was surprised to learn that Iran, like Japan, had ar…
14 Dec 2018
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Windows: Openings and devices
Laurent Stalder, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), has researched various threshold devices in architecture, and published about the topic under the title “Thr…
12 Dec 2018
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Part 6: Proverbs Left to us by Laozi
The aperture in Japanese architecture is the “ma,” or “space between objects.” The aperture in western architecture is the “hole.” What is it in Chinese architecture, then? This is a study on the as o…
05 Dec 2018
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Part 2: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto “Window Behaviorology”
Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (Architect, Atelier Bow-Wow) has conducted “Window Behaviorology”, an extensive field work on windows around the world, since he joined Windowology in 2007. In the seco…
13 Nov 2018
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Part 1: Yoshiharu Tsukamoto “Window Behaviorology”
“Human behaviors are the best design resources.” Architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (Atelier Bow-Wow/Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology) has conducted “Window Behaviorology”, extensive site surveys o…
05 Nov 2018
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Windowology film “Transition of Kikugetsutei”screening at AFFR, the worldʼs largest architectural film festival in Rotterdam
We are pleased to announce that the short film “Transition of Kikugetsutei” by Waseda University Nakatani Seminar and Kenji Seo has been selected to be screened at the 10th edition of the …
09 Oct 2018
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Window Research Institute Website Relaunched
The Window Research Institute has relaunched the website. For details, please see here. ,Window Research Institute
14 Sep 2018
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Part 5: To China International Window City!
The aperture in Japanese architecture is the “ma,” or “space between objects.” The aperture in western architecture is the “hole.” What is it in Chinese architecture, then? This is a study on the as o…
22 Aug 2018
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Movie “THE CORALLUM”
movie “THE CORALLUM” ,“Hashirama equipment” is a term used for cultural assets and refers to the entire architectural components between pillars. Specifically, the hashirama equipment incl…
10 Jul 2018
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The Window Works at the Existential and Philosophical Level
Windows will never cease to work, change, and evolve. In the final session of this interview series, Yusuke Obuchi speaks with world-renowned architectural critic Jeffrey Kipnis, who has previously ta…
02 Nov 2016
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In New York: Windows and Looks
Since traveling to New York in the 1970s, artist Masao Gozu has spent over 40 years unveiling work that takes the window as its theme. His Bowery Street (Day ⇔ Night) series that captures New York’s i…
12 Jul 2018
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The Window is the Difference between the Life and Death of a Space
There are many things you can understand about a company’s image by looking at the way it makes use of windows and glazing. Hernan Diaz Alonso, who is known as the director of the Southern California …
11 Oct 2016
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Architectural Intention behind Technology
Reiser + Umemoto is the architect duo behind the design of the O-14 office tower in Dubai. What ultimately supported the realization of the complex architectural design that could only be developed wi…
27 Sep 2016
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Windows as Connectors between the Inside and Outside
Architect Ryue Nishizawa has designed a wide variety of projects, including houses, a church, a station square, and art museums. He has also found international success through SANAA, a practice that …
06 Sep 2016
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How Technology Changes the Future of Windows
Nader Tehrani is an Iranian-American designer who has completed numerous architectural projects worldwide. Having served as the Head of the Department of Architecture at MIT from 2010 to 2014, he is n…
06 Sep 2016
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MOMAT Collection “Windows and Photography”
The Windows and Photography exhibition was held as a part of MOMAT Collection from May 24 to August 7, 2016. Photographer Takashi Homma, who has explored the relationship between photos and windows to…
06 Sep 2016
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The scene of brilliant street
It’s pleasant to take a walk on the city of Paris. The roads which were built in a different reason and in a different era are crossing. Walking the street, I can find buildings, cafes and shops…
13 Jun 2016
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“Why is This Guy Asking Me to Think about the U-value and the Leakage?”
Associate Professor Yusuke Obuchi of the University of Tokyo conducted a series of interviews with architects / architectural critic working at the forefront of the field. In this session, he spoke wi…
06 Sep 2016
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What Do You Think of Glass?
Associate Professor Yusuke Obuchi of the University of Tokyo is the foremost authority on digital fabrication research in Japan. He hosted this interview series with experts working with architecture …
28 Jul 2016
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Exhibition “Present State(ment)”
“En: art of nexus” is the theme of the Japan Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2016, one of the world’s largest modern architecture festivals. How are …
27 May 2016
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fear and pleasure, and as theater
The city of Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements. First arrondissement including the Louvre Museum is located approximately at the center of Paris. From there, the arrondissemens are numbered in a…
21 Dec 2015
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Boundary Window
“En: art of nexus” is the theme of the Japan Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2016, one of the world’s largest modern architecture festivals. How are …
27 May 2016
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Sunny Loggia House
Chie Konno(t e c o)”Sunny Loggia House” The 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2016 “En: art of nexus” is the theme of the Japan Pavilion at the 15th Intern…
27 May 2016
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la fenêtre à la française
Six years have passed since I arrived in Paris. Although my daily life has been changing and evolving every moment, Paris has kept the skyline since it has been built. The scenery of the small windows…
17 Sep 2015
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Window Bookcase (1)
This project started when we commissioned o+h, the young wife-and-husband team of architects Maki Onishi and Yuki Hyakuda, to design a bookcase for us. This is the first article in a series of entries…
17 Dec 2014
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Thinking about Windows through Photography
Contemporary photographer Takashi Homma held a conversation on the theme of “Thinking about Windows through Photography” with his long-time acquaintance, architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto. The session sta…
17 Dec 2014
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The Red Earthenware Bowl: Eastern Tibet, Ser thar, Part 1
I boarded a bus in Chengdu, the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan, and headed toward eastern Tibet. My destination was the Nyingma Buddhist sect’s Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, located in…
01 Nov 2017
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Windowology 10th Anniversary Exhibition: The World Through the Window @ Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Windowology 10th Anniversary Exhibition: The World Through the Window @ Kanazawa Institute of Technology [ Date+Hours ] 21 October-12 November, 2017 10:00-19:00(Sat./Sun./Holidays 10:00-17:00) [ Admis…
17 Oct 2017
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Shizuka Yokomizo + Takashi Homma The Origin of the Idea
One of artist Shizuka Yokomizo’s emblematic works is her Stranger series, in which she has used photography to capture the distance between herself and others across windows. The artist’s personal exp…
26 Sep 2016
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The Criminology of Windows
According to sociologist Georg Simmel, windows have two fundamental meanings. Firstly, they create a unilateral connection between the inside and outside. Secondly, they constitute a path that exists …
10 Dec 2019
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YKK AP Windowology 10th Anniversary Exhibition / Symposium Website Updated!
30 Aug 2017
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Windows make society; Society makes windows
Is the Happy Era-of-the-Window Over? ,Which do you prefer: a society with windows or a society without windows? If asked, I imagine the majority of people would choose a society with windows. However,…
14 Mar 2019
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Window Bookcase (2)
This is the second entry on the Window Bookcase Project. We at the Window Research Institute asked o+h, the architectural practice of Maki Onishi and Yuki Hyakuda, to produce a furniture piece that ca…
01 Apr 2015
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YKK AP presents Windowology 10th Anniversary Exhibition: The World Through the Window
10 Jul 2017
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Steel House
“En: art of nexus” is the theme of the Japan Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2016, one of the world’s largest modern architecture festivals. How are …
27 May 2016
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House at Komazawa Park
“En: art of nexus” is the theme of the Japan Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2016, one of the world’s largest modern architecture festivals. How are …
27 May 2016
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Supported a Symposium “THE SAGA OF CONTINUOUS ARCHITECTURE”
30 May 2015
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Giving Color to Windows
Textile coordinator/designer Yoko Ando has been directing how textiles are used around windows in the work of many architects both young and old. Spaces can be enriched by adding color to their window…
18 Mar 2015
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The Windows of the Teien Art Museum
Sumally is a social networking service that has been created from the concept of making “an ‘encyclopedia’ for everything that exists in the world” by categorizing things into the two categories of “W…
09 Mar 2015
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Cats, Fashion, and Windows
Madoka Hattori is the director of ilove.cat, an online magazine themed on cats and creators, and a freelance editor for honeyee.com and .fatale, two prominent online fashion magazines that define Toky…
25 Nov 2014
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Hiroshi Nakamura Windows and Affection
The following interview was held with architect Hiroshi Nakamura, who has been gaining recognition for the numerous projects that he has designed with the theme of creating a sense of affection. We as…
19 Aug 2013
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Window and Sharing (Second Half)
Interviewed are now widely noted architects, Yuri Naruse and Jun Inokuma, who are well known for their project on the theme of “sharing.” The talk is centered on the role and enchantment as well as a …
24 May 2013
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Window and Sharing (First Half)
Interviewed are now widely noted architects, Yuri Naruse and Jun Inokuma, who are well known for their project on the theme of “sharing.” The talk is centered on the role and enchantment as well as a …
24 May 2013
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Vol. 4: Windows in Italian
Linguist Yasunari Ueda looks into the origins of words that mean “window” from around the world to explore the process through which the concepts of the word have expanded over the ages. In Volume ４, …
11 Sep 2018