The aim of the architects and designers presented in Wa-Kukan is to create stunning designs in harmony with their natural surroundings without denying background or culture; in essence, to create a new form while honoring the old.
Of the 100 works collected here, seventy were chosen from entries submitted by the public, thirty are from invited architects. Each project succeeds in synthesizing traditional Japanese building with the surrounding natural environment and infusing it with a modern sensibility.
The results are magnificent. The Chingasaki Theatre in Japan incorporates reflecting aluminum panels in its traditional performing arts center; a contemporary mobile tea house is home to the ancient tea ceremony in a room composed of thin plastic strips, creating a strangely tranquil environment, and a sushi bar set in a thriving urban metropolis feels as if it were in the placid countryside.