Almost, Not: The Architecture of Atelier Nishikata

Since the founding of Atelier Nishikata in 2000 in Tokyo, partners Reiko Nishio and Hirohito Ono have built just four residential works, three of them renovations, all of them publicly inaccessible. Until now, this remarkable collection of private spaces was little known outside Japan. Almost, Not: The Architecture of Atelier Nishikata belatedly presents this extraordinary, almost-ordinary architecture to an international audience.

Leslie Van Duzer, author of four monographs on 20th-century architecture and a former magician's assistant, draws parallels between the architects and magicians in this hybrid architectural monograph and magic instruction manual. The introductory essay, "Almost Not," outlines their shared aspirations and techniques, including delay by layered rules, déjà vu by repetition variation, and detour by category jumping.

Detailed project descriptions unpack Atelier Nishikata's methods step by step, demonstrating the possibility of bewildering effects achieved with minimal means. Each project is richly illustrated with design studies, new diagrams, detailed drawings, and photographs, including before and after views of renovated spaces, and intimate post-inhabitation scenes. A concluding conversation with the architects provides further insights into their approach.

Author: Leslie Van Duzer
Publisher: Oro Editions
Published: 07/20/2021
Pages: 112
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.60h x 9.40w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781951541774

About the Author
Van Duzer, Leslie: - Leslie Van Duzer, former magician's assistant and a professor of architecture at the University of British Columbia, has published five books on Rudolf Arnheim and the architecture of Adolf Loos, Mies van der Rohe, and Judah Shumiatcher.Nishio, Reiko: - Reiko Nishio, architect and co-founder of Atelier Nishikata, has a longstanding interest in the architecture of Mies van der Rohe. In 2017-2018, she spent one year in Canada and the US, studying his North American work, building on her University of Tokyo Masters dissertation.Ono, Hirohito: - Hirohito Ono, artist and co-founder of Atelier Nishikata, studied architecture at Bunka Gakuin. After working in firms for eight years, he emphasized art, studying at the B-semi School of Contemporary Art and joining Haizuka Earthwork as an Artist in Residence.