Project Japan: Metabolism Talks... Paperback – Illustrated, September 15, 2011

Going into this book I knew very little about the metabolist movement in architecture. I found that the format of quickly alternating interviews and history pieces kept me engaged and interested as a reader. Well-chosen photos and graphics illustrate the text tastefully. The interviews with metabolist architects were great, and managed to not only record the important history and facts about metabolist architecture, but also gave insight into the personal lives, career development, and group dynamic of these Japanese architects who all contributed to the movement in different ways.As a designer I can relate to the metabolist's desire for architecture to play a role in solving the many complex problems in a rapidly changing world. Only by working together to advance the architecture profession in Japan were they able to achieve some level of success. With the focus today so much on the individuality of each famous designer, it is refreshing to read about this not-so-distant movement that happened because of a group of individuals working toward a common way of thinking. I have not come across any other books that describe the process of a movement taking shape quite like this book does. It goes to great lengths to provide as many viewpoints as possible from the people who were there when it happened. It is an architecture book that is also about how these architects interacted with their world to promote their vision.It feels like a large amount of respect and care went into the making of this book. Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist clearly knew that the metabolist movement in architecture has tremendous historical importance and a serious lack of recorded historical documentation. They did a wonderful job compiling and presenting all the information in this book!

OMA has trash publications (especially those studies done by koolhaas and gsd), but this one is really of historical value and full of touching details

So educational and enriching to read. You don't have to be an architect, you don't have to have some ties to Japan - it's a great book if you are a curious open-minded person.

If its a topic of minimalism, micro-living, or have a great interest to Japanese architecture, this is the perfect book! I personally used this book to help me study and find inspiration for my thesis. And believe me, this book gave lots of inspiration, precedent studies/analysis, and helpful information that progressed my studies. Architects student or not, this books holds lots of historic information that both benefit a better understanding of the what has been done and what is being improved or used today. The Nagakin Capsule Hotel is just one of the buildings that initiated the whole micro-living and providing a better understanding of "time" and "space" really means to human proportions. I highly recommended it!

A great collected history of a truly radical movement caught into, and trying to steer,a rapidly changing society.This book is neccessary for architects right now: The thorough archiving and indexing of an avant-garde movement reminds us that architects once fearlessly and courageously embraced the transformational qualities of architecture. It really makes you lament the absence of such a strong contemporary agenda to react to-I can't imagine all those pritzker prize winners actually consolidating their respective intelligence into a cohesive idea like the metabolists did.It's a massive and dense volume though-I havent been able to finish it yet. It is very well illustrated and is bound to provide inspiration, almost too dense to go through all at once.

Great book! Not the best quality, but very interesting and larger than I thought

Unos de los mejores libros wue he leido, muy buena informacion.

In this book we will found the rise of an entire city thru the designer's work.When the nuclear bombs dropped on the Japanese cities had to start building cities from scratch.This book describes the processes of designers to design solutions to this tragedy.

Facinating book about the evolution of Japanese architecture through the 20th century.

Shipped to Spain, faster than expected. The book is a bit too specific and literal (mostly interviews) but as always, Koolhaas texts are sharp and revealing. Anyway, the subject itself and the selected projects are interesting enough, although they're not really analyzed but shown as the architectural context of the designers who are interviewed.

amazing

Koolhas e equipe fazem um apanhado bastante detalhado e preciosista sobre um movimento arquitetônico que teve pouco alcance no Ocidente: o Metabolismo. Através de longas entrevistas e uma vasta documentação visual em desenhos, esquemas e plantas, o livro consegue traçar um panorama bastante esclarecedor sobre o movimento, indo além da mera descrição e apresentando até mesmo fraturas e dissonâncias ocorridas entre seus integrantes. Acima de tudo, Project Japan nos fala sobre uma realidade bastante contemporânea: podemos relacionar a falta de solo disponível no Japão nas décadas de 1960/70 com o crescimento urbano acelerado que nossas cidades enfrentam. Project Japan visita projetos de extrema importância (Nagakin Capsule Tower, Expo 70) enquanto apresenta discussões importantes sobre o modo de ver e produzir o habitat construído em nossas sociedades.

Llegó un día antes de lo esperado - como ha sido con casi todas mis compras de Amazon. Además de que estaba en perfecto estado a pesar de que el embalaje no era muy sofisticado, lo cual habla de un buen trato por parte del personal.