ANATOMY OF METABOLISM The exhibit "Metabolism, the City of the Future" at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo is a major retrospective looking at Japan's most widely known and perhaps least understood modern architecture movement. Subtitled "Dreams and Visions of Reconstruction in Postwar and Present-Day Japan," the exhibit throws up images depicting a sci-fi world of floating cities, metropolises in the sky, and soaring geometric shapes and patterns repeated over and over with little apparent correspondence to the psychological needs of humans. — Published 2011.1214
	UIA WORLD CONGRESS 2011 There were fears that the great earthquake that struck eastern Japan in March 2011 would in some way lessen the UIA World Congress recently held in Tokyo by the International Union of Architects (UIA). — Published 2011.1026
	IN APPRECIATION OF DENNIS SHARP The death of Dennis Sharp on May 6, 2010, has robbed the architectural world of one of the most eminent and prolific authors, critics and commentators of the 20th-century architectural scene. Born in 1933 into a family of building contractors, architects and surveyors, Dennis initiated his architectural studies at the Architectural Association (AA) in London and later attended the University of Liverpool under Dr. Quentin Hughes. — Published 2010.0609
	KUROKAWA ART CENTER According to architect Kisho Kurokawa, the new National Art Center Tokyo is a perfect expression of his philosophy of symbiosis. Rather than trying to iron out irregularities and resolve contradictions into what he calls a "dull, flat harmony," his distinctly non-Western idea seeks to apply conflicts and tensions in positive ways to achieve interesting and energizing effects. — Published 2007.0404
	FOBA KYOTO Some architects pursue consistent themes that can be adjusted to any site or building type, while others take a fresh approach to every project, giving each a distinctive expression. FOBA, the firm that Katsu Umebayashi established on the outskirts of Kyoto in 1994, has a foot in both camps. — Published 2006.0927
	OITA WINKS FOR SOCCER Why limit your visits in Japan to Tokyo and Kyoto, when there are 47 prefectures altogether from north to south? If you only frequent the largest cities, you are skimming the surface and missing some of the goodies. — Published 2001.0905

Kisho Kurokawa