Mendrisio Exhibition Explores Post-2011 Japanese Architecture

The Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio (TAM) at USI presents 'Make Do With Now. Nuovi orientamenti dell’architettura giapponese', a survey of Japanese architects and urbanists born between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s who emerged after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima disaster. Curated by Yuma Shinohara, the show is divided into two sections and accompanied by a talk series on the Accademia di architettura’s Vimeo channel. Shinohara emphasizes a 'remarkable continuity' between this generation and predecessors like SANAA, Kengo Kuma & Associates, Sou Fujimoto, and Junya Ishigami, noting that younger architects revisit methods from the 1990s economic crisis while maintaining an experimental spirit with new tools. The exhibition highlights adaptation to limited resources, existing materials, and building stock, embracing 'imperfection' as a concept. Shinohara calls for greater information exchange between Japan and Europe, citing language barriers and the weak yen as obstacles for young Japanese architects. The accompanying catalog notes that vacant houses in Japan could reach 30% by 2038, a phenomenon termed 'spongification' by Japanese urban theorists, where empty homes create random voids in the urban fabric, requiring decentralized planning. Shinohara suggests architecture can repair weakened neighborhood structures through surgical insertion of individual buildings.