Japan Pavillon

Under the influence of various waves of modernization, Japanese society changed fundamentally during the 20th century. While a sharp increase in industrial productivity generated an unprecedented level of economic wealth and social well-being, it also led to a simultaneous specialization and fragmentation of large parts of Japan's social fabric. These transformation processes were reflected as their most visible expression in architecture, urban development and landscape planning and have been increasingly questioned by a number of architects in recent years.

In this reassessment, architectural drawings play an important role as a traditional instrument for conception, organization and execution. In addition to their function as simple instructions for constructing a building, they are an ideal tool for critically scrutinizing, documenting and evaluating architecture. Like ethnographic approaches, they allow different uses, needs and aspirations to be examined - from the perspectives of both human and non-human actors. Furthermore, they form the basis for a collective approach to designing individualized but shared environments in a globalized world.

The aim of the exhibition is therefore to formulate “Architectural Ethnography” as an alternative approach to engaging with our society. The drawings range from construction specifications and structural-spatial diagrams to maps of urban hybrids and large-scale structures of rural farming and fishing villages in the aftermath of natural disasters. This collection of around 42 drawings from all over the world and the last 20 years reflects a search for a new approach to drawing - of, for, between and around - our society, an “architectural ethnography” that has emerged in university design studios, architectural offices or in artistic practice. On the first floor, various devices allow an in-depth examination of the exhibition objects and help to decipher them piece by piece. The open space in the basement with its street furniture and yatai carts, on the other hand, offers itself as a place for discussion, resting, learning and eating - or simply as a meeting place.

Architectural Ethnography is a collaboration between the Chair of Architectural Behaviorology of Momoyo Kaijima and the Chair of Architectural Theory of Laurent Stalder at the Department of Architecture of ETH Zurich. Commissioned by: The Japan Foundation. Curators: Momoyo Kaijima, with Laurent Stalder and Yu Iseki. Curatorial assistance: Simona Ferrari, Tamotsu Ito, Andreas Kalpakci. Landscape consulting: Christophe Girot. Graphics: neucitora.