A collection of insights by contemporary Japanese architects on creating a more sustainable and adaptable built environment.

“Architects can open up the black box, break down the barriers of institutions and conventions, and reconnect the network into an ecosystem.”

—Fuminori Nōsaku

More and more architects are looking for the appropriate responses to the complex conditions of the present, such as limited resources, shifting demographics, and the urgent need to imagine more resilient, climate-responsive, and adaptive forms of living. In Japan, many of these challenges and crises are unfolding with particular intensity and visibility, potentially providing insight into the demographic and urban transformations that other countries may experience in the near future. At the same time, engaging with the contemporary architecture of Japan provides an opportunity to examine a culture in which architecture has long negotiated the relationship between continuity and change, tradition and innovation, and permanence and transformation—an approach that provides valuable perspectives for rethinking architectural practice today. Japanese Perspectives weaves together nine essays by Japanese architects, presenting their ideas, practices, and concepts of sustainability and reuse, alongside field observations that juxtapose architectural projects with everyday urban life and trace the connections encountered while navigating large cities.