7. May 2009

“Roof House”, “Wall-less House” and “”Sky House” are the programmatic names of the projects of Tokyo-based Tezuka Architects.  In their small-scale houses as much as in their large public buildings Takaharu and Yui Tezuka explore architecture as an elementary discipline that defines and removes physical boundaries. Boundaries such as roof, floor and wall become the basic media of an architecture that negotiates the relationship between the users and their environment. The Tezuka couple aim for a new definition of architecture: “Since any kind of form is possible in these days, futuristic appearance is not an issue anymore ... We are seeking a future beyond shape or form.  The roof is the most basic element of architecture. Anything with a roof can be called architecture.“

The projects of Tezuka Architects include the Museum of Natural Science in Matsunoyama, the pavilion for the Hakone Open-Air Museum, Visionary Arts in Tokyo, Thin Wall Office HQ#01, and the Open Houses 1 to 11. Since 2003 Takaharu Tezuka is an Associate Professor at Musashi Institute of Technology. In 2005 and 2006 he has taught at Salzburg Summer Academy and in 2006 he was a Visiting Professor at University of California, Berkeley. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions such as at Archilab held in Orléans (2002) and currently at the German Architecture Museum (DAM) in Frankfurt.