Architectural Ethnography: Atelier Bow-Wow

Atelier Bow-Wow investigates the living condition of people through various fieldwork and design practices. They observe architecture and its environments from a behaviorological point of view and always invent unique visual representations specific to the subject and scope at hand, like the book Graphic Anatomy (Toto, 2007). Their interests range broadly from the relationship between house typologies and urban fabric to the relationship between public space and unlocked common resources. This approach has enabled Atelier Bow-Wow to rediscover architecture as a central means of practicing livelihood and to develop the concept of “architectural ethnography.” The show will guide you to experience their ecological thought on life and architecture.

Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima
2016 Dunlop Visiting Professors, and Yoichi Tamai

Sponsored by the John T. Dunlop Professorship for Housing and Urbanization

Public Drawing

A series of drawings depicting the public space where Atelier Bow-Wow has undertaken most of their work. The “public” in the title refers to the public nature of the space concerned and the openness of the creative process in which multiple people participate. Places depicted to date include the area in front of Kitamoto Station (Saitama), Shibuya’s Miyashita Park (Tokyo), the BMW Guggenheim Lab (installed temporarily in New York), Hiroshima Peace Center (Hiroshima), and Galata Bridge (Istanbul). To coincide with this exhibition, a new work has been created focusing on the area around the Harvard University campus with data provided by Harvard Planning.

Credits

Atelier Bow-Wow
Yoshiharu Tsukamoto
Momoyo Kaijima
Yoichi Tamai

Harvard Graduate School of Design
Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design, Pat Roberts, Executive Dean, Beth Kramer, Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, K. Michael Hays, Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory Interim Chair of Department of Architecture, Inaki Abalos, Former Chair of Department of Architecture and Professor in Residence, and Shantel Blakely, Public Programs Manager

Exhibitions Team
Dan Borelli, Director of Exhibitions
David Zimmerman Stuart, Exhibitions Coordinator
Tamotsu Ito (MArch ’16)

Installation Team
Ray Coffey, Sarah Lubin, Jesus Matheus, Matt Murphy, William Talbot Penniman IV, and Joanna Vouriotis

Exhibition Design
Momoyo Kaijima, Simona Ferrari

Public Drawing J-Term Workshop participants
Cynthia Deng (MArch ’20), Isa He (MArch ’20), Thomas Hill (PhD Candidate), Tamotsu Ito (MArch ’16), Jiabao Li (MDes ’18), Kaoru Lovett (MArch ’20), Yumiko Matsubara (MArch ’18), Juhee Park (MArch ’18), Christina Shivers (PhD Candidiate), and Adam Tanaka (PhD Candidate)

Special Thanks
YKK AP Window Research Institute, Yutian Wang, Harsha Sharma, Long Zuo, and Paul Mok