The Barbican Surveys Japan’s Post-WWII Residential Innovation

The destruction from World War II led to new demand for housing in postwar Japan; from this need for shelter arose a tradition of ingenuity in residential design. Experimenting with the single-family house, architects such as Kenzō Tange and Seiichi Shirai searched for ways to connect traditional styles with Modernism, and to incorporate client needs with evolutions in technology.

A new exhibition, opening March 23 at London’s Barbican Art Gallery, examines how the country’s residential design has developed over the last 72 years: The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945 features more than 200 pieces—including models, drawings, photographs, and films—highlighting work by more than 40 architects in the mid-to-late 20th century and beyond.

Highlights include projects by Tadao Ando, Hon. FAIA, Kazunari Sakamoto, and Hideyuki Nakayama, as well as a full-size reconstruction of Tokyo’s Moriyama House, originally built by the Office of Ryue Nishizawa in 2005. The exhibition runs through June 25.