Manfredo Tafuri’s Modern Architecture in Japan

Jean-Louis Cohen, Catherine Ingraham, Yukie Kamiya, and Mohsen Mostafavi led a discussion of the celebrated Italian architectural historian Manfredo Tafuri’s book Modern Architecture in Japan (Mack Books, 2022). Originally published in Italian in 1964, L’Architettura Moderna in Giappone explored the country’s post-war architecture, including its metabolist movement. Tafuri, who had never visited Japan before writing the book, used photographs, articles, and texts to explore the country’s modern architecture. This edition introduces English speakers to the influential book for the first time.

Edited and introduced by Mohsen Mostafavi, this volume presents the translated text alongside essays by Marco Biraghi, Catherine Ingraham, Ken Tadashi Oshima, Federico Scaroni, and Hajime Yatsuka, as well as a rich collection of images. Together, these materials situate the reader in relation to Tafuri’s scholarship, the histories of Japanese architecture and Italian criticism, and the idiosyncrasies of the text.

Speakers included:
Jean-Louis Cohen, Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture, the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Catherine Ingraham, Professor of Architecture, Pratt Institute
Yukie Kamiya, AICA, Art Critic, Independent Curator
Mohsen Mostafavi, Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design, Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University Graduate School of Architecture and Design

This event was ticketed.

Questions? Please contact [email protected].