SPIRITUAL HEIGHTS

摘要

The term 'Lost Generation' is widely associated with American writers after the First World War, such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald. But in Japan, it refers to a different generation: those who graduated during 'The Lost Decade' - the 10 years following Japan's economic meltdown. Those born between 1972 and 1982 were cast into the world during a national employment ice age, at a time when globalisation and neoliberalism were gaining momentum. This drastically affected the number of opportunities for architects, with the decline in public works and competitions. Kengo Kuma, born in 1954, had his debut in time to benefit from the full backing of the bubble economy, and his M2 project (1991) with its enormous Ionic column - a bold attempt at American Postmodernism - has become symbolic of the Japanese economic boom.