Hidden Order: Tokyo Through the Twentieth Century

by Yoshinobu Ashihara

English (translation)Original Japanese

Genres: Architecture

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

About the author

Born in 1918, Yoshinobu Ashihara graduated from the University of Tokyo an subsequently attended the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University as a Garioa-Fullbright student, earning his degree as a Master in Architecture in 1953. His doctorate in Architecture was earned at the University of Tokyo in 1962.
He established his own architecture firm in 1956 and designed various well-known buildings in Japan, including the Musashino Art University, Japan's Olympic Gymnasium and Control Tower and the National Museum of Japanese History.

Reviews

[mahatmanto · Rating 4 out of 5]

ini buku kuna [1989], tapi asyik. tadi nemu di rak dan baru nyadar bahwa belum pernah bikin catatan tentangnya.
saya mengenal tulisan ashihara lwat buku terdahulunya "exterior design in architecture", yang mengulas dengan bagus bangunan bila dilihat dan dibentuk dari luar.
sedangkan buku yang ini mengulas perkara kekuatan yang mengendalikan atau yang menata ruang dan bentuk dalam arsitektur dan tata kota. kota tokyo sepanjang abad ke-20 sudah menjadi kota modern, sama seperti kota-kota besar lain di dunia. ditata dan dibentuk menurut kaidah efisiensi ekonomis.
kaidah yang sama dianut oleh kota-kota modern, sehingga wajah kota pun sama di mana-mana.
adakah kekuatan lain yang juga bekerja dalam pengaturan ruang serta wujud/bentuk kota, selain efisiensi itu tadi?

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if short, work on the differece between Western/Chinese and Japanese architecture. Ashihara grounds part of his thesis weather, which is reasonable enough, but also bases a portion of it on the Japanese practice of removing shoes within the house, arguing that this creates a "floor-based" architectural style as opposed to a "wall-based" one in Western culture: i.e., walls take more prominence in Western culture because furniture and hangings are removed from the floor, due to it being perceived as less clean than Japanese ones.

Compellingly argued.