4. Endo Shuhei: Paramodern Architecture 25/25
Endo Shuhei
24 June—14 July
9am—5pm (closed weekends)
TOTO Gallery, 140–142 St. John Street, EC1V 4UA

This touring exhibition showcases 25 architectural models from a selection of the Japanese Architect Shuhei Endo’s work. So far, the exhibition has been shown in Stuttgart, Milan and Paris. Shuhei Endo (b.1960) established his studio, the Endo Shuhei Architect Institute, in 1988. His work ranges from small residential projects , cultural centres and educational buildings to large-scale sport stadia and infrastructure. Endo’s work is economical yet imbued with restless energy and deeper levels of meaning. The architectural models displayed in this touring exhibition operate like a Zen riddle, each one poised to become something else once the riddle is solved. In the introductory essay of Endo’s 2013 edition of a monograph published by Electa in 2002, Frédéric Migayrou, Professor of Architecture at UCL Bartlett, describes his work as follows: “A wall becomes a strip, a band that blends into the landscape, the roof is a single disk, suspended above a building.” Despite their playful qualities, Endo’s buildings have certain gravity. Having lived through the great Hanshin earthquake of 1997 himself, Endo is aware that buildings in Japan must be robust and serve to protect people from natural disasters rather than become further cause for casualties. The weightiness of his work is derived from his belief that social responsability is implicit in architecture. Endo’s work is compelling and deserves wider recognition outside Japan. This is Endo’s first major show in the UK.