Use it or lose it: The (im)possibility of interpreting traditional Japanese spatial forms within contemporary architectural practice

Abstract

This paper explores the indigenous characteristics of Japanese architectural space and how this distinctiveness, on a wider spatial scale, can be transferred and reinterpreted within contemporary Japanese architectural practice. One of the identified spatial elements utilised for research is shinden-zukuri, a type of annexe style, which can be viewed as a group of multiple buildings that can be recognised as a single building. In this paper, the researched element is extrapolated, transferred and interpreted within contemporary architectural practice. The examination of said identity, the open spatial form, confirms its widespread utilisation and deep-rooted nature in the mental landscape of the Japanese people. The findings indicate that contemporary Japanese architecture and architectural practice is beginning to reach a fork in the road: whether it can retain its observed spatial identity and resist, or assimilate the current trends suppressing the previously identified spatial values. The overall findings indicate that the condition of contemporary Japanese architecture oscillates between openness and closedness and will require attuning to the changing circumstances if the perceived spatial values are to endure.