Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living [Hardcover]

Michiko Rico Nose (Author), Michael Freeman (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Admired around the world for its ingenious use of space, proportion, and material, contemporary Japanese design and architecture is a brilliant combination of the traditional and modern styles. With gorgeous four-color photos and rich, descriptive text, Japan Modern takes readers into dozens of innovative Japanese homes to discover:

* New ways of managing space

* How to experiment with materials and how to re-interpret tradition AUTHOR BIOS: Michiko Rico Nosé has written extensively on design and lifestyle-related topics for Japanese magazines and for television.

Michael Freeman has photographed extensively in Asia, both for magazines such as the Smithsonian, GEO, and Conde Naste Traveler, and for numerous books, including In the Oriental Style: A Sourcebook of Decoration and Design and Strange Foods.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This insightful book, filled with mesmerizing images, presents a glimpse into the changing face of Japanese design and architecture." -- Phoenix Home and Garden

About the Author

Michiko Rico NosT has written extensively on design and lifestyle-related topics for both Japanese magazines and television.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Periplus Editions (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9625934952
• ISBN-13: 978-9625934952
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,435,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-candy -- but also brain-candy, January 30, 2006

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living (Hardcover)

I've long been interested in the Japanese approach to design of all sorts, but especially architecture. Coming from a much different tradition, the solutions to problems and needs for shelter are often very different than those arrived at by architects with Euro-American tastes and training. Some of the examples depicted so beautifully and discussed so shrewdly in this volume are rooted strongly in Japan's history, such as an old farmhouse relocated to Tokyo and fitted into an urban neighborhood. Others are playful, like the house with a lawn on the peaked roof, watered by a sprinkler system on the ridgepole, and with the courtyard floored in clay roof tiles. There's a two-story "miniature" house with a footprint not much larger than two parking spaces, but which still manages to be a very comfortable environment for actually living in. And, naturally, there are structures *so* experimental, you might not realize they were houses if you weren't told. There are homes in this collection I would love to live in, and others that would probably give me nightmares, but all of them are fascinating.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examples of Truly Innovative Design, April 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living (Hardcover)

This book provides total eye candy for design enthusiasts. Not your typical formulaic shoji screen stuff. Very original solutions to design problems from a Japanese perspective. I find it very inspiring and look at it all the time.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning spaces!, February 8, 2002

By 

Amy Gavin (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living (Hardcover)

This book is filled with page after page of stunning rooms and living spaces in Japan. A must for anyone who believes all Japanese live in cramped, dark, unattractive homes. An excellent conversation starter and coffee table book.