On July 19, a dialogue on "Keio Architecture and its Trajectories" between architects Fumihiko Maki and Yoshio Taniguchi was hosted at the Fujiwara Hiroshi Hall, Kyoseikan Collaboration Complex, Hiyoshi Campus, as one of a number of events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Faculty of Science and Technology and the 150th anniversary of Ginjiro Fujiwara’s birth, and as part of a project focused on the architecture of Keio University. This dialogue was also the third in the Keio Science & Technology Distinguished Lecture Series, which kicked-off last year and involves distinguished experts from Japan and overseas being invited to deliver lectures by the Faculty and Graduate School of Science and Technology.
Both guests are architects with intimate ties to Keio University, with Fumihiko Maki responsible for the design of the New University Library, the Hiyoshi Library, and the Shonan Fujisawa campus; and Yoshio Taniguchi designing the New Yochisha Gymnasium and the buildings of the Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior and Senior High School, among others.
Following an address by Eiji Okada, dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, and an event overview by Professor Hiroto Kobayashi of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Mr. Maki spoke on his own background and chance encounter with modernism during his youth, as well as about meeting Yoshiro Taniguchi, Yoshio’s father. Mr. Taniguchi then offered accounts of his memories of his father’s architectural works and his relationship with the Maki household. Mr. Taniguchi’s father Yoshiro, who earned renown as the designer of the lobby of the former main building of the Hotel Okura, was responsible for the design of the Yochisha Elementary School and the Kishukusha residence at Hiyoshi before World War II in addition to taking charge of the post-war reconstruction following the devastation it wrought to the university. This included the design of many buildings such as the Student Hall and Shinbanraisha/Noguchi Room on Mita Campus, and the buildings of the university hospital at Shinanomachi.
The pair, whose interactions span two generations, shared anecdotes and episodes about their architectural creations and school days as well as their relationship with Keio University, interspersing their amiable exchanges with occasional jokes.
Many people, including architectural students and researchers, took advantage of this valuable opportunity to hear Mr. Maki and Mr. Taniguchi talk, and were seen listening intently at the event venue.
A transcript of this dialogue is set to be included in an upcoming edition of Mita-hyoron, the official monthly journal published by Keio University Press.