“Clouds, Bubbles, and Waves” of Japanese architecture
What are “clouds, bubbles, and waves”? They suggest impermanence of Japanese architecture, but also resiliency of it. At the symposium on this very curious subject at Yale School of Architecture, Yoko Kawai of PED had a pleasure to moderate one of the sessions. Japanese architecture is known for its respect to the impermanence of life […]
Designing Mindfulness: Spatial Concepts in Traditional Japanese Architecture
On May 31st, Yoko Kawai is going to talk “Designing Mindfulness: Spatial Concepts in Traditional Japanese Architecture”, at TALKS+ of New York Japan Society. Please join this event!
Design and Posture – Secrets of Being a Little Happier
You are in the middle of the beautiful landscape. But instead of looking up, you look down to your phone and slouch. Sounds familiar? When you slouch, you not only look bad but also feel powerless and hopeless. The repetitive strain on the neck and cervical spine can develop the neuromuscular syndrome that involves depression […]
Cat’s Eye View of Japanese Architecture vol. 5 – Perishable Landscape
Do you know what colored maple leaves and cherry blossoms have in common? The answer is that both are perishable. Their colors, red of maple and pink of cherry, last only for a few days. Japanese people cherish them because of their short lives. Yes, I said “because of”, not “in spite of”. The logical […]
Image of Beautiful “Noise”? – Happy Fourth of July!
Have you ever seen fireworks from where you cannot hear the noise they make? I did once. It was surreal. I wanted to shout “where is the sound?”. Japanese landscape often has wonderful quiet quality as I said in “Image of Quietness and of Japanese Space“, our last blog. But it also includes images that must be accompanied by […]
