Barbican presents The Japanese House: Architecture and life after 1945

The show features over 40 architects, ranging from renowned 20th-century masters and internationally celebrated contemporary architects such as Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito, Kazuyo Sejima (SANAA) and Kenzo Tange; to exciting figures little known outside of Japan including Osamu Ishiyama, Kazunari Sakamoto and Kazuo Shinohara and young rising stars such as Hideyuki Nakayama and Chie Konno.

Presenting some of the most ground-breaking architectural projects of the last 70 years, many of which have never before been exhibited in the UK, the exhibition also incorporates film and photography in order to cast a new light on the role of the house in Japanese culture.

Jane Alison, Head of Visual Arts said: "The focus on the 'house' is always a particular joy, as we all relate to the way in which intimate, domestic architectural spaces are lived in. As such the exhibition is a follow up to The Surreal House of 2010 and builds on a now well-consolidated history of architecture exhibitions at the Barbican such as The World of Charles and Ray Eames(2015), Bauhaus: Art as Life (2012) and Le Corbusier: The Art of Architecture (2009).

"In building two 1:1 scale houses in the Gallery, I’m proud to say that with this exhibition we have achieved a new level of ambition. We invite the visitor to not just consider Japanese architecture, but to experience it."

The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945 opens at Barbican Art Gallery on 23 March, and runs until 25 June 2017.