WHAT MUSEUM to Hold “Architectural Model: Historical Transition as a Medium of Architecture”

Throughout Japanese history, models have long been used in architectural development and are also a medium for conveying the architectural culture of their eras. Their role has continued to evolve, and today they are not only a tool for experimentation and analysis up to the completion of a building but also an evolution in materials and engineering; they have come to influence architects’ thoughts and expressions.
This exhibition showcases architectural models, which have changed along with the times and the thinking of their creators. It examines their roles and significance in their historical context, from antiquity to the present.  More than 20 models will be exhibited at the venue, including historical models such as a House-Shaped Clay Figurine (Haniwa) from the Kofun period and a wooden model of Nobeoka Castle made in the Edo period, as well as the unbuilt* model “New Tokyo City Hall Project, Competition Proposal” by contemporary architect Arata Isozaki, and the “Naoshima Hall” Model of Wind Tunnel Experiment by Hiroshi Sambuichi. During the exhibition period, exhibitors and site staff will guide visitors on tour around the exhibition, and a workshop for visitors to experience making models themselves is also planned. Details will be announced on the WHAT MUSEUM website as they are finalized.
*Unbuilt: Architecture that has not been built

Title: Architectural Model: Historical Transition as a Medium of Architecture
Dates: April 28th, 2022 (Thu) – October 16th (Sun)
* Closed during the period from July 4th (Mon) to August 5th (Fri) for the preparation of the concurrent exhibition
Venue: WHAT Museum 1F (Warehouse TERRADA G Building 2-6-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002)
Open Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Admission until 5:00 PM), closed on Mondays (but open when Monday is a public holiday, then closed the following Tuesday)
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen / University or vocational college students 700 yen / Students under high school age Free
* Including the admission for the concurrent exhibition titled OKETA COLLECTION “Mariage: From Antiques to Contemporary Art” (the first part) or OKETA COLLECTION “YES YOU CAN : The Strength of Life through Art” (the second part)
* Tickets will be on sale in early April 2022. Please see the WHAT MUSEUM official website for details.
* Tour of Architectural Model Warehouse (optional) 500 yen
Organizer & Planner: WHAT MUSEUM
Planning cooperation: Takuya Wakabayashi and Kenji Seo
Venue and fixtures design: Mandai Architects
Photograph: Kenji Seo
Graphic design: SKG
Illustration: Miltata
Cooperation: Kenchiku to Mokei [Wakate shorei] Tokubetsu Kenkyu Iinkai in the Architectural Institute of Japan, Riichi Miyake
URL: https://what.warehouseofart.org/exhibitions/architecturalmodel

A comprehensive overview of architectural models — from House-Shaped Clay Figurine (Haniwa) in the Kofun Period to models by contemporary architects

The exhibition will feature a collection of valuable architectural models from different periods, including a House-Shaped Clay Figurine (Haniwa) in Kofun-period (4th-5th century), an Edo-period wooden model of Nobeoka Castle, a Miniature architectural papercraft of tea-ceremony room (Copied), and a model reconstruction of a raised-floor building made in the mid-20th century, alongside architectural models by contemporary architects. Visitors will be presented with a comprehensive overview and chronology detailing how the roles and significance of models have continually changed with the times.

Exhibits include a variety of models by contemporary architects including Arata Isozaki, Kengo Kuma + Satoko Shinohara, Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA), Hiroshi Sambuichi and Terunobu Fujimori

On display will be the unbuilt model “New Tokyo City Hall Project, Competition Proposal” by Arata Isozaki, “Rolex Learning Center, EPFL” by Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA), the “Naoshima Hall” Model of Wind Tunnel Experiment by Hiroshi Sambuichi, and “Wani” by Terunobu Fujimori, which was sculpted from a single log. Also on view for the first time at this exhibition is a model reproduction of “A Small Bathhouse in Izu,” made over 30 years ago by Kengo Kuma + Satoko Shinohara. Visitors will be able to view valuable and varied models by contemporary architects.

Exhibition of architectural models as communication tools and for the purposes of handing down memories

ondesign’ touchable model “Glowing Model”, Machida-City Serigaya park “Park Museum” project will be exhibited. Visitors will be allowed to directly touch the model. The “Lost Homes” model reconstruction project will also be exhibited, in which towns and villages lost to earthquakes are reconstructed at 1/500 scale with the aim of preserving and passing down their regional townscapes, environments, and the memories of those who lived there.

Takefumi Aida, Koki Akiyoshi (VUILD), Arata Isozaki, Ondesign Partners, Mamoru Kawaguchi, Kengo Kuma + Satoko Shinohara, Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA), Hiroshi Sambuichi, Mayumi Takizawa, noiz, Terunobu Fujimori, Suzuko Yamada, Riken Yamamoto and more.

General Incorporated Association Laboratory for Memories of Hometown; Secretariat of “Lost Homes” Model Restoration Project, and Oshimamirai team; Oita Art Museum; The Fukuoka Cultural Foundation; Kokugakuin University Museum; Maruoka Castle National Treasure Promotion Office, Sakai City Board of Education; Chino City Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Shigeyuki Okazaki, Chairman of Department of Architecture at Mukogawa Women’s University; Professor Masaki Koiwa’s office, Department of Architecture, School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University

– Gallery Tour: What is an architectural model?
Speakers: Exhibitors, WHAT MUSEUM ARCHI-DEPOT Project staff

– Create an architectural model of a town square for everyone
Speakers: Ondesign Partners
Date: Mid-July through late August

– Travel back to the Kofun period — Learn about the haniwa house
Speakers: Taro Fukasawa (Associate Professor, Kokugakuin University Museum)
Date: Early July through late September

– The wonderful world of tea ceremony rooms at your fingertips
Speaker: Rei Mitsui (Architect)
Date: Early July through late September

* Details of the events will be announced in the official website in due course.

WHAT MUSEUM opened in Tennoz, Tokyo in December 2020. It is a facility to make artists’ and 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 should be. The result is to open 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 as well as the artists, offering an innovative space for the appreciation of art. The name of WHAT (WAREHOUSE OF ART TERRADA) implies the cultural value which is gleaming quietly in the warehouse, and the museum exhibits paintings, three-dimensional works as well as architectural models, photographs, movies, literature and installations. We plan and exhibit these diversified arts and cultures in our individual style of museum as a warehouse company in new and unique approaches.

https://what.warehouseofart.org/en/

The Architectural Model Warehouse next to WHAT MUSEUM stores over 600 architectural models entrusted to the museum by architects and architecture firms, some of which are exhibited. Visitors to WHAT MUSEUM are given access to an optional tour of the facility.

* The optional tour must be requested when booking your WHAT MUSEUM ticket.