Zen Architecture: The Building Process as Practice

by Paul Discoe, Roslyn Banish (Photographer), Alexandra Quinn

Paul Discoe was in on the ground floor of Zen architecture in the United States. In the 1960s he became a student of Zen Buddhism, studying and building at the Tassajara complex in northern California. His own wood-based Zen-Buddhism architectural structures and renovations in the United States and Europe are the focus of this book. With passionate prose, Discoe identifies the elements of Buddhism that are represented in his buildings and describes the trials and triumphs of blending current building methods and codes of the United States with ancient Japanese joinery techniques. Zen-Inspired Architecture has delightful photography of his structures, and the illustrations show just how a Zen structure has its beginnings.

An ordained Zen Buddhist priest, Paul Discoe studied Art History and Philosophy as an undergraduate in the United States and Buddhist temple design and construction in Japan. He became a student of Suzuki-roshi at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California, and after four years, Suzuki sent him to Japan to train under a traditional master builder for five years. Upon returning, Discoe founded Joinery Structures in 1988. His projects include the Kojin-an Zen temple in Oakland for Akiba Sensei, the Founder's Hall and Kitchen at Tassajara, the Lindesfarne Guest House and Wheelwright Center, the Abbot's House at Green Gulch, as well as several prestigious homes and projects internationally. His current project is the Sonoma Mandala project on Sonoma Mountain in California, which will be a significant Zen temple complex in North America.

Alexandra Quinn is a writer, editor, and freelance arts management consultant living in San Francisco. Her publications include exhibition catalogs, educational guides to museum exhibitions, and Candy Story, translated from the French novel by Marie Redonnet.

Roslyn Banish is a San Francisco-based photographer. She has authored a number of documentary books, combining photographs and text. Roslyn received a Master's degree in photography from the Institute of Design in Chicago.

Genres: Architecture

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2008

Reviews

[Emily Carlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely gorgeous

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of this book was enjoyable and informative, highlighting the architect Paul Discoe's work on Zen centers such as the San Francisco Zen Center's Tassajara, Green Gulch, and City Center complexes, and Kojin-an Zendo in Oakland, California. It was interesting to learn how traditional Japanese architecture was adapted to Western codes and standards, and how the architect used reclaimed wood and fallen trees for some of the buildings. It includes many photos and and a number of drawings.

However, the residential section devotes a number of pages to a compound in Woodside, California, that includes many buildings around a lake, bridges, pool, etc. The architect and his firm worked on it for a dozen years or so. It so excessive that I found it hard to believe that all of these buildings were going to be used by one person/family. The book does not state it, but this complex was built for Larry Ellison. While the details about the buildings are useful for someone interested in Japanese carpentry, the inclusion of this project seemed very out-of-place in a book entitled "Zen architecture." Elsewhere in the book, the author talks about using reclaimed wood from street trees, preferring modest structures, etc. I felt like some sort of explanation was needed about a project that was so obviously wasteful, unsustainable and seemingly incompatible with the philosophy of the architect and his Zen practice.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of gems in here about auspicious Zen design (entering a building from the south, crossing over a body of water, etc). Particularly interesting was how Discoe merged these Eastern ideologies and practices into Western building codes- creating something entirely new in the process. Towards the end it basically became a look book for Joinery Structures.

[Elnaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.goodreads.com/book/google_...

[Jennifer Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photography is beautiful (I like joinery and gardens), text is interesting, diagrams are great, but the buddhists riddles annoyed me and I forced myself to finish it.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Inspiration on every page.