ANALYSIS OF URBAN SPACE IN JAPAN. FIELDWORK IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

Studies of ordinary objects and urban trivia have a long tradition in Japan. In the context of the twentieth century, it would be possible to trace the legacy of the influence produced in architecture in terms of methodology. Urban fieldwork, which emerged after the fervour of the anti-Anpo protests in Japan, was a major tool for understanding the city and its relationship to society. If there is a common denominator that links the generation of architects who scanned the city in these decades, it is the purpose of finding new urban readings that reveal hidden meanings beneath the layers of time. The surveys conducted by Arata Isozaki and Teiji Itō in the Toshi Dezain Kenkyūtai (Urban Design Research Group) research group paved the way for understanding the genuinely Japanese urban space. The summary of these explorations, together with the subsequent urban research carried out by groups such as Konpeito or The Architectural Detective Agency, based on the close attention to ordinary objects or individual expression, represent a fruitful alternative of urban analysis, as they highlight the everyday city, transcending the limits of traditional field research. The highlighting of elements, configurations or constructions that we a priori take for granted reveal, in some cases, extraordinary situations that reflect a common pattern.