We are pleased to present the second solo exhibition of Waro Kishi to be held at TOTO GALLERY·MA, 京都に還る_home away from home, 15 years after the architect showed his projects solely through drawings and models in PROJECTed Realities (Aug. 2–Sep. 30, 2000).

Some 30 years have passed since the Yokohama-born Kishi opened his office in Kyoto in 1981. During this time, he has continued to search for his position as an architect and to question the meaning of practicing in Kyoto, not without feeling the overwhelming weight of the city’s history and traditions. Although he has long been a self-professed Modernist focused on pursuing rationality and order, Kishi has established a reputation as a leading contemporary architect who carefully interprets the qualities of his sites while applying Japanese aesthetic sensibilities justified on sound historical grounds. He has since also expanded the realm of his activities beyond Kyoto to the greater Kansai region, Tokyo, and even overseas.

Kishi has also taught at three universities—the Kyoto College of Art (now the Kyoto University of Art and Design), the Kyoto Institute of Technology, and Kyoto University—and has sent many architects out into the world. He not only teaches architectural design but also conveys in his own words the meaning of practicing design by sharing his ideas about how an architect should engage architecture through various aspects such as place, history, culture, the city, nature, etc.

This exhibition presents a cross section through the parallel trajectories of Kishi’s activities as both an architect and educator as of 2016. In addition to featuring his many projects in Kyoto, the exhibition also offers a look at his activities at the three universities where he has taught, his projects in Tokyo, and his latest works from various angles through models, drawings, and movies.

A series of gallery talks (five in total) aimed to provide deeper insights into Kishi’s architectural philosophy through his conversations with leading figures in Kyoto’s cultures of tea, flower arrangement, and gardens will be held during the exhibition period (See “Related Program 2” for details).