Invisible Architecture

Invisible strings bind two countries as di- verse and as faraway as Italy and Japan. Those strings are made of creativity, innovation, respect and sometimes criticism of history and tradition. One of these invisible strings is represented by architecture. Both countries have been able to be at the center of great revolutions and at the same time decided to ignore this capacity to create and innovate. 150 years have passed since the two countries started their relationships and just more than 50 since they were among the leaders of what has been the last global avant-garde movement in architecture with the Japanese Metabolists and the Italian Radicals. 50 years ago the two countries were in full demographic, economic and cultural expansion, and those avant-gardes well-represented the vibrant seeds of their architectural proposals. In a curious parallel, 50 years after Italy and Japan live similar cultural and economic conditions and a new generation of architects deals with the timeless themes of living and design. This volume and the eponymous exhibition present a new and innovative parallel between the two countries, two generations, two ways of making architecture and to look into the future.