From the beginning, I have been interested in an architecture of complexity — an architecture promoting difference, the pursuit of ambiguity, ideas of inclusion, the coexistence of apparent contradictions, the idiosyncratic, and the imperfect (an acknowledgement of our frailties) — work that ultimately responds to the vast and diverse forces defining the contemporary agenda. The 18 projects in this volume which were all completed in the past seven years, were selected to illustrate the continuation of this pursuit. Their programs are diverse; included are five towers, four academic buildings, four museums, two campuses, a park, a restaurant, and a laboratory building. As a group they reveal the breadth of four decades of investigation and research evolving from the generative and fertile territory of the self-defining early years, and advancing through an expansion of energies parallel to the increased scale and complexity of the work. These projects reverberate with significant pulses in the firm’s history, revealing the development and underpinnings of the Morphosis construct.

Endo Shuhei, Paramodern Architect Francesco Dal Co (Architectural Historian)

Lightness and flexibility are frequently combined in the works of Endo Shuhei (b. 1960), starting with structures in his early period, built during the 1990s. This tendency was already visible in the Shino Toseki parking lot (1990) and the Azai-cho Culture Hall (1993), both in Shiga Prefecture. These were followed by Cyclestation M at the West Exit of Maibara Station (1994, Shiga), Healthtecture K, a combined residence and Oriental medicine clinic (1996,Osaka), Halftecture F at the Harmony Hall station on the Fukui Railway (1997, Fukui). It is, perhaps, most clearly visible in Springtecture H (Springtecture Harima, 1998, Hyogo). Using corrugated steel as in the Kitagawa residence and atelier Rooftecture M (2001, Fukui), Endo eliminated the distinction between frame and membrane, producing instead springlike forms—from a theoretical perspective, linking beams with multiple columns—and employing the same structural principles in most of the structures he created. Using continuous curved surfaces, he would first determine the exterior specifications required to enhance the stability of the structural components. See, for example, the guest house Springtecture B (2002, Shiga) and Rooftecture UU, the Ueda Brake factory in Okayama (2007, Okayama). By making the membrane shift to satisfy the necessary conditions for the structures and attaching distinctive names to each of his buildings, Endo defined and articulated paramodern architecture. As demonstrated by Rooftecture OS, the Restaurant PASSO (2012, Shiga), Endo has not abandoned this experimental domain. In recent years, however, he has also been searching for new paths. From this perspective Rooftecture M’s R (the Mori Jukyo, a 10-unit residential project, 2007, Osaka) deserve a particularly close look. While Endo continues to use corrugated steel, here its use is clearly only symbolic. It can also be seen as the result of taking to the extreme an experiment first conducted by the famous French architect-designer Jean Prouve. Other examples from his most recent projects reveal similar tendencies. Bubbletecture H (the Eco-Hyogo environmental experience museum, 2008, Hyogo) and the concept design for the new National Track and Field Stadium submitted to the international design competition (2012, Tokyo) both clearly display stylistic intersections with the work of Buckminster Fuller. By selecting clear examples from Endo’s works, we can arrive at a clear definition of what makes these works paramodern. While bearing the characteristic marks of his earlier experiments, more recent works display a standardization and stylization that are suitable for distinguishing his work from that of the “modern movement.”

Norihiko Dan
1956  Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
1979  B.Arch., School of Architecture, The University of Tokyo, awarded Graduation Design Prize for diploma project
1979~82 Master fellow of Fumihiko Maki Laboratory
1982 M.Arch., Graduate School of Architecture, The University of Tokyo Established ARCH STUDIO with Gyorgy Palffy, Kojima Yujin
1984 M.Arch., School of Architecture,Yale University
1986 Established Dan + Aoshima Associates, partnership with Hiroyuki Aoshima
1994 Established Norihiko Dan and Associates
 ~present

Takato Tamagami
1973 Born in Yokohama, Japan
1996 Graduated from Meiji University
1996 Joined Architect’s office
1999 Traveled twelve countries in Europe to visit architecture
2000 Started working as a freelance architect
2002 Established TAKATATO TAMAGAMI Architectural Design
2009 Adjunct Instructor, Nihon University

Awards
35th TOKYO SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTS & BUILDING ENGINEERS COMPETITION -Selected-
JCD DESIGN AWARD 2005 -Selected-
JCD DESIGN AWARD 2008 -Selected-
JCD DESIGN AWARD 2009 -Selected-
2nd AICA SHOP DESIGN CONTEST -Selected-
SMOKER’S STYLE COMPETITION 2010 -First Prize-
JCD DESIGN AWARD 2011 -Selected-
JCD DESIGN AWARD 2012 -Shilver Prize-
DSA DESIGN SPACE AWARD 2013 -Selected-
AICA DESIGN CONTEST 2013 -Selected-
13th Kiraritohikaru kita-no kenchiku AWARD

Kentaro Takeguchi
1994 Graduated from School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University
1995~96 Studied in Architectural Association School of Architecture, U.K.,
in Diploma Unit 5, Foreign Office Architects
1998 Graduated from master course, School of architecture, Kyoto University
1998 Established ALPHAVILLE Architects with Asako Yamamoto
2012~ Adjunct professor at Osaka Sangyo University
Lecturer at Kobe University

Asako Yamamoto
1994 Graduated from School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University
1995~96 Studied in l'Ecole d'Architecture de Paris, La Villette, France
1997 Graduated from master course, school of architecture, Kyoto University
1997 Worked at Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop
1998 Established ALPHAVILLE Architects with Kentaro Takeguchi
2010~ Lecturer at University of Shiga Prefecture
Prizes
1994 SxL house design competition, Japan
1998 Takiron international competition, Japan
2000 Nisshin kogyo architectural design competition, Japan
2005 Kyoto Architect enviromental design competition, Japan
2009,10 INAX Design Contest , Japan
2009 BEST DESIGN OSAKA, Japan
2009 World Architecture Community Awards 20+10+X Projects, U.S.A
2009,13 Design For Asia Award, Hong Kong
2009 Hise Award 09 for Innovative Excellence in Private Housing, Slovenia
2010 Japan Association of Architectural Firms 2010 Award, Japan
2010 Setsu Watanabe Prize, Japan
2012 Architectural Review House Award, U.K.
2013 International Property Awards, Asia pacific area, U.K.
2013 Prize of Kyoto Architecture, Japan
2013 JIA Kansai Architect Rookie of the year Award, Japan
2013 JCD 2013 Award, Japan
2013 SD review 2013, Japan
2014 Daylight Space 2014, Austria
2014 2x4 architecture design award, Canada

Exhibitions
2009~14 GA Houses Project, GA gallery, Japan
2011 Metabolism, the city of the future, Mori Art Museum, Japan
Primary Structures, prismic gallery, Japan
2011 Emerging Project 2011, Shinkenchiku Yoshioka Library, Japan
2012 Architecture for Tomorrow, ASJ gallery, Japan

Waro Kishi
1950 Born in Yokohama, Japan
1975 Department of Architecture, Kyoto University
1978 Post-graduate course of Architecture, Kyoto University
1981 Waro Kishi + K.ASSOCIATES/Architects
1993 JIA (Japan Institute of Architects) Award for the best young architect of the year
1996 Prize of Architectural Institute of Japan for Design
1993~2000 Associate Professor, Kyoto Institute of Technology
2000~2010 Professor, Kyoto Institute of Technology
2003 Visiting professor, UC Berkeley
2004 Visiting professor, MIT
2010~ Professor, Kyoto University

UAUS가 제시하는‘ Refocus Seoul Architecture'의 주제는 말 그대로 서울에 있는 건축물을 재조명하여 학생들의 새로운 시점으로 해석하는 것이다. 전시를 통해 한국, 특히 서울 건축의 작품성과 건축가들을 부각시킴으로서 우리나라 건축을 돌이켜 볼 수 있는 기회를 제공하는 것이 목표이다. 따라서‘ Refocus Seoul Architecture'의 전시주제는 서울 내 건축물에 드러나 있거나 숨어있는 건축적 요소를 재발견, 재조명하는 것에서 시작, 그리고 현재 건축을 배우고 있는 대학생들이 건축물 자체나 건축가의 건축적 요소를 새롭게 해석하여 하나의 새로운 파빌리온으로 탄생이다. 따라서 우리는 건축학도로서 할 수 있는 일을 찾아 실행에 옮기고자 한다. 우리는 전문 건축인과 일반 대중 사이에 위치한 건축학도로서 서울의 건축물들을 대중에게 소개하는 전시를 통해 새로운 문화의 장을 마련하여 한국 건축의 가치를 알리고자 한다. 이를 통해 높아진 국내 건축에 대한 대중들의 관심은 한국 건축계에 새로운 활력을 불어 넣을 것이다.