"Japan Now "

Ithaca/NYC Conference Spotlights Contemporary Japanese Architecture


Robert Stuart Taira Nishizawa at the Ithaca conference
Robert Stuart Hiromi Hosoya and Toyo Ito confer before their presentations.
The celebrated Toyo Ito and other well-known Japanese architects came to Ithaca and New York City this fall for a double conference sponsored by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University. “Japan Now: Country Positions in Architecture and Urbanism” addressed ways in which the newest generation of Japanese architects must address global issues and opportunities while finding answers to topics unique to each locality.

Ito, who received the 2006 Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects, delivered the keynote address at the conferences. He is best known for the influential Sendai Mediatheque, built in 2001 in Sendai, Japan; the building uses a unique structure to compose fluid spaces with hardly any walls.“Japan Now” is the second in a series of conferences and exhibitions curated by AAP, designed to reveal some of the most intriguing currents in contemporary architecture, landscape architecture, art, and urbanism in different parts of the globe.A related exhibition, held in AAP’s Hartell Gallery from October 29 to November 11, included work from each of the participants: Hiromi Hosoya (Hosoya Schaefer Architects), Momoyo Kaijima (Atelier Bow-Wow), Mitsuhiro Kanada (ARUP), Taira Nishizawa (Taira Nishizawa Architects), and Toyo Ito (Toyo Ito & Associates Architects). The exhibition was organized by Yasufumi Nakamori in cooperation with a group of Cornell architecture students.The New York City conference was produced in collaboration with the Japan Society.