VISIT KANAZAWA, JAPAN - Official Travel Guide

The term “Design Survey” refers to the field surveys conducted by architects who, beginning in the mid-1960s, felt a sense of urgency regarding the fading character of Japan’s townscapes and ventured into local communities to document them. This same concern was shared in Europe and the United States, leading to the introduction of the concept of “vernacular” (that which is unique to a particular place). Unlike investigations of individual buildings, such as those conducted for cultural property preservation, these surveys are characterized by comprehensive identification of entire towns, naturally bringing people’s daily lives to the surface. The first in this series of surveys was the 1965 study of Kanazawa’s Saiwai-machi district conducted by the University of Oregon, with architectural historian Teiji Ito serving as the project’s coordinator. Inspired by this initiative, teams from various universities formed to engage with local communities in places such as Ine and Magome. This exhibition features street plans and records created during that period. We hope you will feel the energy that architects and students poured into these projects.

Riichi Miyake, Director

Yoshiro and Yoshio Taniguchi Museum of Architecture, Kanazawa