Riddhima Duggal

Research & Method

3D 150BARCHI111

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

ABSTRACT

With the world advancing at such a fast pace, often culture and identity are lost
to the global trend. Through each pass of global iterations, a little more of the
base culture is lost, resulting in a design that is more and more part of the global
identity. This is occurring more often across the globe where countries are losing
their own rich cultural identity and submitting to the global trend. Specifically
looking at Japan and the modernist trend that swept the nation, there are some
elements of Japanese designs like the shoji screens that stood the test of time and
global trends. The study therefore explores the transition of these screens from
traditional to modern Japanese architecture.

INTRODUCTION

The shoji screen is a powerful design element in traditional Japanese architecture

that is capable of controlling the amount of light that could enter the space.
Though the use of shoji screens is not common anymore, it is reinterpreted
spiritually through the usage of diffused or indirect light that makes Japanese
modernist architecture unique when it comes to how light is used. Many different
Japanese modern architects were able to use light as a design element and create
powerful architectural pieces that would influence the world.

AIM

The aim of the research is to analyze and understand the evolution of Shoji
screens from traditional to modern Japanese architecture.

OBJECTIVES

The research aims at addressing the evolution in material, character, significance

and use of traditional Shoji screens as Japanese architecture is leaning towards
the path of modernism.
The relevance of these screens in todays modern architecture as well as how they
have been modified to suite the present trends will be the major focus in order to
understand how traditional architectural elements are helping bridge the
distance between the traditional and modern.

SCOPE

The scope of the research is limited only to residential buildings. Traditional

houses will be compared with the 20th and 21st century modern houses in order
to understand the change overtime.
The scope is also limited to use of these screens in houses built in Japan and not
anywhere else in the world, as that would create difference in socio cultural
backgrounds.
LIMITATIONS

It might be difficult to get access to these traditional or modern buildings if the

inhabitants are not supportive.
Difference of perspective might create an issue. To some, what might look like, as
an inspiration of Shoji screens might actually have a completely different
architectural inspiration. Hence it may get difficult to trace the inspiration behind
certain modern elements.
Also, it is not possible to study all the buildings that use these screens and hence
the study might not be able to provide a universal outcome or understanding;

LITERATURE STUDY
Book author Botond Bognar, in his new book documenting the work of
contemporary Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, as light, "ethereal" and
"evanescent" mentions that “One way in which the architect achieves this effect is
through his use of screens or slats - made of all manner of material, from paper,
plastic and glass to metal, bamboo and other woods - many of which mimic the
function of the traditional Japanese shoji screen.

Matthew T. Kubota in his paper expressed that Japanese modernism exhibits a

completely different use of light. Where Western modernism allows in copious
amounts of direct light, Japanese modernism lets in controlled amounts of light
and is often diffused, similar to how light entered spaces in classical Japanese
architecture. He believes this is drawn from the usage and design of the shoji
screen that separated the exterior of the house from the interior.

Junichiro Tanizaki on the role of these screens in his book states that “No words
can describe that sensation as one sits in the dim light, basking in the faint glow
reflected from the shoji, lost in meditation or gazing out at the garden.” 1
Today’s use of the shoji screen has altered the materials of the screen, though is
capable of paying homage to its origins and its rich effects on interior spaces.
Shoji screens today are instead manufactured with different types of glass many
times frosted and met with the contrast of a steel frame.

In the modern design, shoji screens still maintain their original purpose of
separating spaces, and though it may not be directly to the exterior, the shoji
screen may act as a door. Contrary to a regular door that doesn’t allow light
through, the modern shoji screen can enrich a space with its diffused light,
something that classic shoji screens were capable of accomplishing.

METHODOLOGY

A qualitative analysis will be conducted in order to analyze and understand the

evolution of the Shoji screens.

1 Junichiro Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows (New Haven, CT: Leete's Island Books)
1977), 13.
Background research will be conducted including site visits to traditional spaces
in Japan as well as interviews with temple monks, tea ceremony practitioners,
residents and other researchers. The interviews would include questions related
to the use and application of paper screens and boundaries in traditional
Japanese architecture, including its flexibility and ability to control views. This
would allow for the documentation of different types of paper screen systems.

Secondary data would be obtained through published material regarding

Japanese architecture, history and modern Japanese Architects. Special attention
could also be given to tea ceremony spaces, since they show the greatest
understanding of the creation of views. Among some of the literature was the
book, ‘Kobori Enshu, A Tea Masters Harmonic Brilliance’ [1]. The book, as well as
an interview with the author could provide a detailed understanding into the
importance of paper screens in traditional architecture.

Case studies by famous Japanese architects like Kengo Kuma and Tadao Ando will
be studied in order to understand the transition of shoji screens in modern
architecture. Analogies can be drawn by understanding the different uses of
screens in these modern buildings with those in traditional ones. Elements like
its characteristics, materials, scale and proportion will then be studied in great
detail in order to decode the changes that have taken place over the years.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

The expected outcomes are to analyze and understand the transition of Shoji
screens and get a clear understanding of their relevance and significance in the
modern architecture world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Almodovar-Melendo J. M., Cabeza-Lainez J. M, Jimeé nez-Verdejo J.R., Saiki T.,

“Lighting Features In Japanese Traditional Architecture” Paper presented at The
23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland,
September 6-8 2006.

E. Beita & A. Fujii, (2013) Harmonization between architecture and Nature

through Traditional Japanese Screen. In : Int. J. of Design & Nature and
Ecodynamics. Vol. 8, No. 1

Junichiro Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows (New Haven, CT: Leete's Island Books)
1977), 13.

Kanji, N., Kobori Enshu: A Tea Master’s Harmonic Brilliance, Kyoto Tsushinsha
Press: Kyoto, pp. 54–65, 2009.

Richard Smart.(2015) Kengo Kuma is reclaiming Japanese architecture. Available

from: https://qz.com/406712/kengo-kuma-is-reclaiming-japanese-
architecture/