An extraordinarily timely exhibition has opened looking at the influence of windows on architecture. We are being asked to open windows a lot at the moment to reduce the infection of the corona virus.
Although the exhibition focuses on Japanese windows, the way they have come to form an integral part of Japanese architecture. From the popular sliding windows/doors of classic Japanese homes to modern design where buildings are designed to focus views through unusually placed windows.
In contrast to brick and mortar homes, Japanese architecture has traditionally made use of columns and beams to create structures that allow flexible and mobile spaces in which windows and openings can be created at will by sliding screen. In a day, the space inside a Japanese building could change dramatically; An opening may be created to reveal hidden gardens, or spaces may be separated to create new rooms. This makes the concept of windows in Japanese architecture fundamentally different from the concept of other cultural styles.
As an exhibit there are a lot of examples of how the places are used, some small scale architectural models, and in the middle a really large architectural model, that’s actually Yoswety The cafe was reconstructed in Kyoto from snitch (Japanese paper). Famous for its 13 windows despite its small size, each widow has been designed to enhance the tea party experience by controlling light and breeze. It’s big enough that you can go inside to have a look around, although there isn’t much to see when you’re there.
Most informative is the video that shows how homes can adapt to changing weather and occupants’ needs by moving walls to open new windows or closing spaces for privacy. Our fixed-wall European homes might look in envy, though I doubt we’d be too keen on the thinner walls that allow for the British weather.
It’s an interesting exhibit, but not a great one on a large scale, and rewarding to come and visit if you’re in the Kensington area, but might be disappointing if you’ve made a special trip to visit it. Unless you’re really in windows.
The exhibition is open at the Japan House until April 10, 2022 and admission is free, with a ticket booked from here.
Thought-provoking phrases are scattered on the walls:
“An increase in the size of windows indicates an increase in civilization.” Antonin Raymond
“A good western door creaks open wide; a good fusuma or good shoji slips silently at the touch of a finger.” Maki Fumihiko
“If our eyes are a window to souls, then windows are windows to the souls of buildings.” Fujimori Terunobu
“Architecture is making holes in enclosed spaces.” Hara Hiroshi