Made in Tokyo: Guide Book

by Junzo Kuroda, Momoyo Kaijima

A guide book to the unique modernity of Tokyo's urban space through the architecture that architects would like to forget. Born of a functional need rather than aesthetic ideal, golf range nets span spaghetti snack bars and a host of 70 other remarkable combinations are pictured and described in this quintessential glimpse of Tokyo's architectural grass roots.

Genres: Architecture, Japan, Cities, Japanese Literature, Design

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2001

Reviews

[Sandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept getting surprised every time I turned each page of this book in a funny way. The book solely focuses on describing their findings without preconditioned meanings and categories which in my opinion gives a sense of sincerity to it. The book highlights the 'no good' architecture, or should I say, the 'da-me' architecture of Tokyo and subsequently reveals the quirkiness and the humour of the mundane that are often ignored by architectural magazines in a very entertaining but thoughtful way.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating exploration into the inner designs of tokyo’s highly dense cityscape. the “guide book” illustrates 60+ buildings with multiple functionalities, including:

- bus housing (bus terminal + apartment housing)
- super car school (supermarket + driving school)
- sewage courts (sewage system + tennis courts)
- multi-floor embassy buildings

this definitely opened my eyes to the city’s highly ergonomic mindset for zero wasted space, and invites me to take a closer look as I walk through tokyo’s streets, noticing the vending machines on every block, and the highways built on department stores or parking lots.

@ tsutaya books, ginza

[Ángel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro que nos muestra cómo la necesidad de optimizar el espacio arquitectónico en una ciudad tan densificada como Tokyo dá lugar a una creatividad desmesurada.

[Martí Catalan · Rating 5 out of 5]

S'ho deuen haver passar tan bé escrivint aquest llibre! Comencen el libre des d'una intuició gairebé infantil, però la passió i les hores de feina que hi ha darrere son immenses. I això es nota en l'amabilitat del llibre cap al lector: en com et deixa devorar-lo en una tarda o bé anar fent a poc a poc; en com cada pàgina és una nova descoberta que no deixa indiferent a ningú i a vegades fins i tot fa riure, per la manera tan crua i sincera, intencionada i detallista d'explicar-te la seva visió de Tokyo. I no és nou dir-ho, però és una referència indispensable per entendre i practicar l'arquitectura contemporània.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Less a guide book and more documentation of the authors' travels in Tokyo looking for 'da-me,' or 'no-good,' architecture: anonymous buildings designed with function over form in mind. These are the buildings that define Tokyo, obsessed with the efficient use of space and without regard to programmatic distinction. This book does not seek to create a typology of 'da-me,' but instead to understand the city as an ecology of its inhabitants.

The book itself comes in a really pleasing yellow cover and is full of black and white photos and little line drawings. My favourite was the 'graveyard tunnel,' where a road cuts directly under a temple graveyard.

[Emilio Frausto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of a kind of architecture endemic to big, chaotic cities, that is often overlooked by architecture theorists and historians.
The introductory essay is quite compelling and expresses some interesting ideas I'll surely be returning to in the future.

[Sofía Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veces es divertido jugar ver el mundo con una lente apolítica y desapegada de las sensaciones y ambientes, puramente desde una reflexión sobre las simbiosis entre los usos y formas de la ciudad. es un fanzine caro, lo tendría en cuenta en un viaje a japón.

[Eun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing introduction to some of the unknown buildings in Japan. Hidden gems to how Tokyo utilises its limited space

[Jazmín Luaces · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente mirada tipológica sobre la ciudad. Escapando de la mirada formalista, crean nuevas nomenclaturas que reconocen a la ciudad de Tokyo, como una increíble ciudad.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little look into some of tokyo's more unnusual buildings. I love the little quips at the bottom of each entry, it feels like the authors had fun making this :)

[Camila Dominguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this for research.

[Yuen Phuket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of good examples of 'no good' buildings (but refreshing, innocent and adorable to me:) with clear diagrams/ descriptions, especially their effort to explain the relationship and categorize those urban micro-ecosystems. Also inspire me to categorize 'void spaces' in some areas of chaotic Bangkok (although it is not as dense as Tokyo)...One of my favourite books!

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bilingual (En/Jp) book providing a unique overview of the functional yet aesthetically clashing architectural typologies found in Tokyo. Great visual analysis with excellent examples and illustrations.

[Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

so pretty but old seeming