The zen of architecture

By LINDA HERRICK arts editor

Like so many aspects of the culture of its former "barbarian" enemies, Japan came late to modern architecture but appropriated it with a vengeance. But the birth of contemporary urban architecture in Japan was the stuff of nightmares - a Bladerunner kind of vision.

In the 1950s, as the war-ravaged nation moved on from its legacy of traditional urban buildings, much of which had been bombed out and burned, the rise of western-style structures were brutal, copycat homages to concrete and neon.

The architects of those ugly days applied inappropriate western principles to cities like Tokyo, Osaka or Yokohama - areas which had grown organically through the ages without structural clarity or conventional planning.

More a sprawling labyrinth than a city, Tokyo's mid-20th century emergence as a "megalopolis" was accompanied by desperate, temporary architecture described by one expert as "a kind of aesthetic Russian roulette".

That was then. As any visitor to Japan today can testify, Tokyo in particular, has metamorphosed over the past 20 years into one of the most stunning, often bizarre, skylines in the world. Tension still exists, in the sense that its architecture is an ephemeral commodity.

In a city that is home to eight million people - 30 million if you include its satellite towns - a section of land is vastly more expensive than any building erected on it.

After early mistakes, Japan's contemporary architecture is the undisputed leader in the aesthetics of style, and an internationally touring photographic exhibition proves how far ahead of the game is the land of Zen.

Contemporary Japanese Architecture 1985-1996, produced by the Japan Foundation and the Architectural Institute of Japan, is travelling the world for five years. Its 100 large-format photos with detailed explanatory captions show off the best - and in some cases, not so good - of what has come out of a decade of dramatic change.

"The first part of that period coincided with an era of economic prosperity in Japan, and the architectural world, too, was full of life," says the introduction to the exhibition catalogue. "However, a bubble economy fed by abnormal growth developed, and architecture followed suit with designs characterised by excess. Eventually, the bubble burst. Today, the banquet is over ... architects must choose a new direction, for there is no turning back."

The exhibition includes the works of some western architects, such as Philippe Starck, who designed Tokyo's landmark "Super Dry Hall", with its distinctive golden roof decoration, and British great Richard Rogers, who designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris with Italian Renzo Piano.

But it is the dozens of Japanese architects who dominate, including Toyo Ito (who visited here last year), godfather of the modern movement Kenzo Tange, as well as Riken Yamamoto, Takao Endo, Waro Kishi (see his ingenious 2.5m-wide Osaka house), Tadao Ando and Kengo Kuma.

Not all the architecture selected is urban. The show is divided into seven categories - metropolises, medium-sized cities, towns and villages, suburbs, reclaimed land, countryside and resort areas. The buildings encompass offices, schools, cinemas, restaurants, gymnasiums, stadiums, housing, libraries, museums and an outdoor monastery.

Brian Taggart, of Auckland University's Architecture School - housed, ironically, in one of the campus' ugliest 1970s structures - is intrigued by the metropolis architecture because in many cases it is the most extreme.

"The cost of the building itself is relatively small in investment terms because the land costs so much more, which means that often the building will be quickly demolished to make way for something else.

"In Tokyo the land prices are extremely high so the cost of the building is not that significant in the scheme of things - if they go over budget or take a risk in terms of design it doesn't really matter.

"Although the Japanese came late to modern architecture, they caught on quickly, to the extent they went beyond the limits envisaged by the American and British architects.

"They have been able to adopt it quickly and eagerly and were prepared to experiment a lot more - and they were given the facility to experiment more.

"Because of the advances in technology in Japan, people are willing to invest time and money in research and development to make something.

"We don't have that kind of manufacturing base in New Zealand. However, some of the designs have been self-indulgent, there's bad stuff along with the good."

Good or bad, it's the reverse situation of what we see in our own "metropolis". In a city like Tokyo, the stunning overwhelms the stinkers. Here in Auckland, says Taggart, "we do have lovely buildings but you have to look very hard to find them".

* Contemporary Japanese Architecture 1985-1996, Auckland University School of Architecture Exhibition Studio, 26 Symonds St, until August 18.