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WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S.-japan Research Institute (USJRI) is hosting a lecture and book signing event on February 29, 2024, at the Japan Information & Culture Center in Washington, D.C., featuring architectural experts Naomi Pollock and Yoko kawai. The event centers around pollock’s newly released book, Japanese Houses: Stories of Remarkable Homes and the Peopel Who Made Them (Princeton Architectural Press, 2023), offering a unique glimpse into the design philosophies and cultural contexts shaping contemporary Japanese residential architecture.
Naomi Pollock, a renowned journalist and critic specializing in Japanese design and architecture, is the author of Japanese Houses: Stories of Remarkable Homes and the People Who Made Them. Her work provides in-depth profiles of architects and homeowners, revealing the intricate relationship between space, lifestyle, and cultural values in Japanese homes.Pollock previously served as the architecture critic for The Japan Times for over a decade, from 2010 to 2020, and has contributed to publications including The New York Times, Architectural Record, and Wallpaper*. She was also the editor of NUNO: Visionary Japanese Textiles. Pollock holds Masters degrees in architecture from both the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering. In 2018, she was inducted into the College of Fellows of The American institute of Architects, recognizing her significant contributions to the field.
Joining pollock is Yoko Kawai, Ph.D., a Lecturer at the Yale School of Architecture and a principal at Penguin Environmental Design, a firm based in New Haven, Connecticut. Penguin Environmental Design, founded in 2008, specializes in “designing places from the outside in,” prioritizing the integration of the built surroundings with its natural surroundings. The firm’s projects include a residential project awarded a CTC&G award in 2015 and a Japanese garden created for Frost Valley YMCA in Claryville, New York, in 2014. Kawai’s research and design work focuses on applying Japanese spatial concepts to promote “space for well-being” in both residential and commercial settings. She also co-founded Mirai Work Space, a venture dedicated to incorporating these principles into contemporary workplace design. Dr. Kawai earned her Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007, focusing her dissertation on the relationship between Japanese gardens and the concept of “Ma” (間) – negative space.
The event is being held in collaboration with Penguin Environmental Design and co-organized with the Embassy of Japan in the United States. The Japan Information & Culture Center is located at 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. Registration for the event is available through Eventbrite, with a limited number of seats available.
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