TOSHIKO KINOSHITA “The Work of Heritage Houses Trust”

Saturday, September 7, 11:00-13:00 at the Heritage Houses Trust
lecture followed by a tour of Sonoda House by Junzo Yoshimura.

Lecture Topic:
This event includes a lecture on the work of the non-profit organization Heritage Houses Trust and a tour of the Sonoda House, which the Trust was actually involved in preserving. The participants will exchange opinions on the current status of the preservation and utilization of historical buildings in Japan, including issues relating to inheritance,preservation and utilization and the role of architects in this field in the future.

Lecturer Bio:
Born in Kobe in 1969. Graduated from Japan Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1993, Shibaura Institute of Technology with a Master of Science degree in 1995 and University of London with a Master of Arts degree in 1996. Rotary Foundation scholar at the Mackintosh School of Architecture from 1996-97. Doctoral student at University of Tokyo from 2000-05. Lecturer in architectural history at Tokyo Science University from 2000-05 and at Tokyo Denki University from 2006-08. She founded Community Housing Ltd. in 2013 with her partner Juan Pablo Ordonez Q. Currently a board of directors of Heritage Houses Trust and NPO Tamagawa Machizukuri House. Publications include ‘Visions of the Real: Modern Houses in the 20th Century I & II’(a+u, 2000).

CES: 2.0 LUs Approved
The work of Heritage Trust, non-profit organization, for preserving historically and culturally important residences designed by famous Japanese architects, is contributing to sustainability that the post-war approach of scrap and built, resulting in generation of large amounts of waste, is clearly not suited to the present age. It is time for Japanese people to learn to live in 100-year-old vintage houses, rather than being obsessed with newness and that old houses can be re-vitalized for the health, safety and welfare of its future occupants as well.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the number of factors that account for difficulty of preserving historical residences in Japan contributing to demolition of many houses that are still livable for health, safety and welfare of its residents.

2. Analyze how the Japanese real estate market is largely unreceptive of “used housing” including Japan real estate tax depreciation systems that encourage building of new homes instead of preserving houses of cultural value for the welfare of its neighborhood and community.

3. Describe that even when a property has been officially recognized for its historical and cultural value, the situation is precarious because it is privately owned and public financial support is weak.  In many cases, the house is demolished at the time of generational change, to pay inheritance tax or/and inheritance division. Designation as a cultural property requires the agreement of the owner in practice and many owners hesitate their properties to be designated as cultural properties.

4. Explore the wonders of Sonoda House designed by Junzo Yoshimura and completed in 1955. Later in 1987, the addition was designed by Hiroshi Ogawa, former Yoshimura’s office staff. The house was successfully passed on to the present owner and now it is open to the public for music concerts and architectural visits.

Venue Schedule:
Doors open – 10:45
Lecture start time – 11:00
End time – 13:00

Venue info will be sent to registrants before the event.

REGISTER HERE