Message

Architecture, which embodies our daily lives, the land and climate, and our cultures of living, is tied strongly to society. Japanese architecture, particularly from the age of modernism and onwards, has followed a unique course of development through which it has fused together traditional wooden architecture with architectural cultures of the West.
The National Archives of Modern Architecture was born in order to have more people know about the exceptional architectural culture of Japan and to pass the culture onto future generations.

Architecture cannot be created single-handedly. Something of value can only be created when the minds of the client, designer, builders, and the various other associated people and organizations come together as one through engaging in extensive conversations with each another. Plans, models, and sketches serve as the mediums for conveying ideas in these conversations. Architectural materials such as these serve as precious historical sources for transmitting an understanding of how the culture of architecture has developed in Japan.

I sincerely wish that the culture of Japanese architecture will continue to be advanced further to develop greater richness as we learn from the accumulated history of our predecessors.

Tadao Ando