Takaharu & Yui Tezuka: Nostalgic Future

The Toyko firm Tezuka Architects, headed by Takaharu and Yui Tezuka, is enjoying an increasingly international reputation for its refined blend of traditional and contemporary Japanese aesthetics, developing solutions which seem refreshingly unconventional while remaining anchored in the scale and needs of everyday life. (The names of their recent projects–“Roof House,” “Wall-less House” and “Sky House”–convey the flavor and feel of this amalgam.) Tezuka buildings often sport such features as large sliding-door fronts and verandas, and make particular use of wood and lightweight steel in order to effect a smooth back-and-forth flow between building and environment. In this respect their buildings call to mind centuries-old Japanese architectural tradition, which is absorbed into present day developments in design and construction technologies. Large public buildings such as the Fuji kindergarten and the Natural History Museum in Matsunoyama demonstrate the popularity of this synthesis.