Warehouse TERRADA’s ARCHI-DEPOT Project to Hold Special Exhibition “The Words for Architecture” at New “WHAT” Facility

In his “Dwelling/Essay” (1936), poet and architect Michizo Tachihara compares his life to a hollow ball, observing that “the mind that resides in this dwelling wraps around the outer surface of the ball, while the mind that writes this essay is enveloped by the hollow ball’s interior concave surface.” This captures the philosophy of Tachihara, who set to work on both literature and architecture simultaneously through his physical self. This exhibition is inspired by Tachihara’s philosophy. Cutting across both architecture and literature, the exhibits feature writers whose works highlight the ambience inside residences and get at the essence of these spaces that stimulate our senses, created by architects who continuously grapple with the concept of the dwelling.

Featuring a diverse cast of 15 writers, this exhibition is a unique and unprecedented collaboration between architecture and literature. Shuntaro Tanikawa has composed a new poem specially for this exhibition on “Tanikawa House” (1974), designed by Kazuo Shinohara. Other featured exhibits include poet Mimi Hachikai’s work on a residence by Junzo Yoshimura and poet Masayo Koike’s work on a residence by Yoshifumi Nakamura, both of which are poems based on personal experience and sensation. Playwright Keishi Nagatsuka has created a work on the architecture of Fuminori Nousaku and Mio Tsuneyama.
Drawing on over 20 study models employed in the house design process as well as sketches, blueprints and video, this exhibition aims to allow visitors to experience aged dwellings while exploring the physicality of the process of creating such spaces. The passages woven by our featured writers enrich the gaze with which we view our living spaces. The information about this exhibition will be updated on our official website as needed.

Title: The Words for Architecture
Dates: December 12th, 2020 (Sat) – May 30th, 2021 (Sun)
(Updated on May 10th: Temporary closure due to the State of Emergency Declaration has been extended. Please note that there will be no changes to the exhibition dates.)
Venue: WHAT 1F (Warehouse TERRADA G Building, 2-6-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002)
Open Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Admission until 6:00 PM), closed on Mondays
(but open when Monday is a public holiday, then closed the following Tuesday)
* Gallery tour is presented at 4:00 PM on Tuesdays
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen / College students 700 yen / Junior high and high school students 500 yen / Elementary school students and under 0 yen
* Including the admission for “-Inside the Collector’s Vault, vol.1-”
* Ticket: Online ticket system
* Free admission for visitors with a physical disability certificate and one of their carers
* Presentation of your school identification card indicating your age or a disability certificate will be required on admission.

Organizer: Warehouse TERRADA
Planning: ARCHI-DEPOT
Planning support: Naha Kanie
Venue design: Kohei Sekigawa
Video production: Nanako Hirose, Kenji Seo
Furnishing design: studio archē (Takahiro Kai)
Graphics: TETE BRANDING
With the cooperation of: House of Architecture
URL: https://archi-depot.com/exhibition/utaukenchiku

– Collaboration of Architecture × Poetry: A diverse cast of writers experience dwellings and create new works.
(*The year following the name of the structure is the year that construction was completed.)

Michizo Tachihara, architect and poet
Kazuo Shinohara (architect), “Tanikawa House” (1974) × Shuntaro Tanikawa (poet)
Junzo Yoshimura (architect), “Shonan Chigasaki House” (1967) × Mimi Hachika (poet)
Takamitsu Azuma (architect), “Tower House” (1966) × Misei Akegata (poet)
Yoshihiro Masuko (architect), “Mountain Lodge in Minamigaoka” (2007) × Noriko Minesawa (poet)
Masahito Nagata (architect), “Higashikurume House” (2003) × Tsukiko Nakamura (lyricist, composer and singer)
Toshihiro Tanaka (architect), “Tamagawagakuen House” (1998) × Akira Okamoto (poet)
Yoshifumi Nakamura (architect), “Cliff House” (2003), “Cliff Hut” (2017) × Masayo Koike (poet and writer)
Hiroshi Ito (architect), “Morion House” (2004) × Wakako Kaku (lyricist, poet and musician)
Yasumitsu Takano (architect), “Tateroji House” (2012) × Hiroya Takagai (poet)
Yasushi Horibe (architect), “Abiko House” (2011) × Maiko Sugimoto (poet)
Fuminori Nousaku/Mio Tsuneyama (architects), “Holes in the House” (2018) × Keishi Nagatsuka (playwright, theater director, actor)
Meiri Shinohara (architect), “Akishima House” (2020) × Naha Kanie (poet)
Naoya Mishina/Asuka Mishina (architects), “Shinoie” (2020) × Yasuhiro Yotsumoto (poet)
Kengo Sato (architect), “Santiniketan House” (2018) × Nilanjan Bandyopadhyay (poet)

– Poem and sketch by Michizo Tachihara
– New poem by Shuntaro Tanikawa
46 years ago, “Tanikawa House” (1974, designed by Kazuo Shinohara) was created based on a poem by Shuntaro Tanikawa. Now, he has composed a brand new poem just for this exhibition.
– Poem composed by poet Mimi Hachika on “Shonan Chigasaki House” (1967) by architect Junzo Yoshimura
– New film on 15 dwellings by film director Nanako Hirose and architectural filmmaker Kenji Seo
View the current state of well-known aged dwellings in a film produced by architectural filmmaker Kenji Seo and directed by Nanako Hirose, a member of director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s production company Bunbuku who has also served as assistant director to Kore-eda films
– Work by playwright Keishi Nagatsuka based on his experience of “Holes in the House” (2018), designed by Fuminori Nousaku and Mio Tsuneyama
– New song sung by Tsukiko Nakamura on “Higashikurume House” (2018), designed by Masahito Nagata
– Over 20 process models created during the design process of the buildings, as well as sketches and blueprints

WHAT will open in Tennoz, promoting art and culture by aiming to make collectors’ precious art properties that have been entrusted to us accessible to the public. We have used our unique insight as a warehousing company to explore the concept of what an art facility shouldbe. The result is WHAT — an art exhibition facility that allows members of the public to experience the artworks gathered in our warehouse by Japan’s leading collectors based on their own exacting ideas of value. The name itself — WHAT (WAREHOUSE OF ART TERRADA) — reflects our unique concept of opening up the warehouse to offer the public a look at art that they would not ordinarily have the opportunity to see. The museum exhibits works by artists active in the contemporary art scene side-by-side with the thoughts of the collectors, and also features a regularly changing lineup of works on display, setting itself apart from the permanent exhibitions seen in most art museums, and thereby creating a new kind of space for the appreciation of art that changes with every visit. Note that the precursor to WHAT, the ARCHI-DEPOT Museum, which has been storing and exhibiting works related to architecture since 2016, has been renamed the ARCHI-DEPOT Project and will continue to host exhibitions specializing in architecture in the same facility.

The ARCHI-DEPOT Project aims to enhance the value of architectural models and architectural culture.
Special exhibitions organized by the ARCHI-DEPOT Project showcase everything from study models to final models created for architectural works by Japanese architects and architecture firms active in Japan and around the world, based on a theme for each exhibition period. Aiming to achieve “enjoyable, educational and moving exhibitions,” the Project enables visitors to discover a new side of architectural models.

– ARCHI-DEPOT ONLINE https://online.archi-depot.com/
The world’s first online service offering storage functions in addition to viewing features and the ability to create portfolios of architectural models for the purpose of introducing the culture of architectural models and up-and-coming architects to the world.

– Architectural Model Warehouse
It is a storage location and exhibition venue for over 600 architectural models borrowed from architects and architecture firms. Visitors to WHAT are given unique access to an optional tour of the Model Vault.