Tokyo exhibition presents a vision for the future of housing

Modern society is not short of complex social, economic and environmental problems to overcome. Curator and designer Kenya Hara believes “housing is one of the best mediums for exploring the most pressing challenges we face”.

That’s why he came up with House Vision, an exhibition in Tokyo this month that brings together some of the nation’s leading companies (Muji, Panasonic and Toto among them) and partners them with some of the country’s best-known young and established architects. Their brief? To seek solutions to issues the Japanese and others faced around the world, including economic stagnation, ageing and decreasing populations, rapid urbanisation and natural disasters.

Displayed in an empty lot in Tokyo’s Odaiba leisure and entertainment district, the second edition of House Vision presents an alluring landscape of 12 homes or installations under the theme of “CO-DIVIDUAL - Split and Connect/Separate and Come Together”.

“I wanted to look at how industries involved in housing such as energy, transport and communication can help us better prepare for the future,” says Hara. “And how housing can create new connections between individuals.”

Not surprisingly, many of the projects focus on maximising shared space. A large cascading rental tower by Daito Trust Construction and Sou Fujimoto transforms what are usually dull, unused corridors into outdoor gardens and terraces, and incorporates spacious dining and kitchen areas, shared bathrooms with large luxurious bathtubs (instead of tiny individual en-suites) and communal study and library rooms.

Another house showcases the deceptively simple idea of refrigerators and other cabinets that can be opened both from the inside and outside to allow for the safe delivery of food and essentials such as medicines and laundry when the residents are out or unable to go to the door. Devised by product designer Fumie Shibata and logistics and delivery service company Yamato Holdings, it provides an essential solution for “a population that increasingly moves around a lot as well as for seniors and people living alone”, says Hara.

Elsewhere, master of minimalism and pioneer of cardboard structures, Shigeru Ban teamed up with manufacturer of building materials Lixil to display several technologies under one roof. A highlight is an additional bedroom that can be pulled out of the main structure when needed. Another is something called the Life Core, which condenses water plumbing, waste-water facilities (stored overhead instead of under the floor, allowing for greater layout flexibility) and lighting in one unit that can be moved around.