Coexistence: Japanese architecture through the aesthetics of ma

Abstract

“coexistence” is a pathway. This essay is based on the work carried out during undergraduate that sought to understand Japanese culture and its architectural characteristics, both in the content and in the way of reading a book. Through analysis of projects in three different stages — traditional, modern, and contemporary — this work presents a narrative of diagrams and sketches, a journey throughout projects, approaching and characterizing concepts of Japanese architecture. When someone flips the pages of a regular book, its entire content is revealed. The passage of time is unique: sometimes slower, so that one can pay more attention and can better understand the book content; occasionally, even more, slower, with moments to breathe and take essential pauses to better transit from one moment to another; and there is even an extension of the time that unfolds into new paths of pages and branches; hence one can further understand a particular subject or get close to specific detail. However, from the aesthetics of ma, this passage of time takes another form. The essence and coexistence of Japanese architecture are presented through a void, a gap, a connection, and a sense.