Project Japan: Metabolism Talks...

Going into this book I knew very little about the metabolist movement in architecture. I found that the format of quickly alternating interviews and history pieces kept me engaged and interested as a reader. Well-chosen photos and graphics illustrate the text tastefully. The interviews with metabolist architects were great, and managed to not only record the important history and facts about metabolist architecture, but also gave insight into the personal lives, career development, and group dynamic of these Japanese architects who all contributed to the movement in different ways. As a designer I can relate to the metabolist's desire for architecture to play a role in solving the many complex problems in a rapidly changing world. Only by working together to advance the architecture profession in Japan were they able to achieve some level of success. With the focus today so much on the individuality of each famous designer, it is refreshing to read about this not-so-distant movement that happened because of a group of individuals working toward a common way of thinking. I have not come across any other books that describe the process of a movement taking shape quite like this book does. It goes to great lengths to provide as many viewpoints as possible from the people who were there when it happened. It is an architecture book that is also about how these architects interacted with their world to promote their vision. It feels like a large amount of respect and care went into the making of this book. Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist clearly knew that the metabolist movement in architecture has tremendous historical importance and a serious lack of recorded historical documentation. They did a wonderful job compiling and presenting all the information in this book!

Project Japan: Metabolism Talks by Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist presents a vivid exploration of the Metabolism movement, reflecting on Japan’s postwar architectural avant-garde. This work dives into the Metabolists’ grand utopian vision—cities that grow, adapt, and transform—juxtaposed with the reality of modernism’s limitations. While Metabolism’s monumental structures may seem outdated, Koolhaas deftly examines their philosophical relevance in today’s urban sustainability challenges, spotlighting a fundamental tension: the dream of limitless growth versus nature’s boundaries. A remarkable documentation of a fleeting yet transformative era in architectural history

Un clásico de la arquitectura

If its a topic of minimalism, micro-living, or have a great interest to Japanese architecture, this is the perfect book! I personally used this book to help me study and find inspiration for my thesis. And believe me, this book gave lots of inspiration, precedent studies/analysis, and helpful information that progressed my studies. Architects student or not, this books holds lots of historic information that both benefit a better understanding of the what has been done and what is being improved or used today. The Nagakin Capsule Hotel is just one of the buildings that initiated the whole micro-living and providing a better understanding of "time" and "space" really means to human proportions. I highly recommended it!

A great collected history of a truly radical movement caught into, and trying to steer,a rapidly changing society. This book is neccessary for architects right now: The thorough archiving and indexing of an avant-garde movement reminds us that architects once fearlessly and courageously embraced the transformational qualities of architecture. It really makes you lament the absence of such a strong contemporary agenda to react to-I can't imagine all those pritzker prize winners actually consolidating their respective intelligence into a cohesive idea like the metabolists did. It's a massive and dense volume though-I havent been able to finish it yet. It is very well illustrated and is bound to provide inspiration, almost too dense to go through all at once.

This book is great to have. It offers information about metabolism that just wasn't known before. Also a more personal read because of the interview format. Since it is a product of AMO, always great graphics and such.

So educational and enriching to read. You don't have to be an architect, you don't have to have some ties to Japan - it's a great book if you are a curious open-minded person.

OMA has trash publications (especially those studies done by koolhaas and gsd), but this one is really of historical value and full of touching details

a la segunda va la vencida...por que la primera entrega me llego la caja vacia. menos mal que me reembolsaron el importe y lo volvi a pedir, el libro es genial hace años que lo estoy buscando a un precio razonable, de 50 no bajaba. lo compre en 19. el libro llego mejor de lo que me esperaba, llego plastificado y perfecto todo.

Amazing book with wonderful images.

Buon prodotto

Llegó un día antes de lo esperado - como ha sido con casi todas mis compras de Amazon. Además de que estaba en perfecto estado a pesar de que el embalaje no era muy sofisticado, lo cual habla de un buen trato por parte del personal.

Excellent book that covers articles, interviews, drawings and ambitions of Metabolists