How Have People Given Meaning to Architecture?

Department of Environmental Design, Faculty of Design
Yuki Kato, Associate Professor

　My research focus is the history of architecture. Looking back, the research I have conducted so far can be broadly divided into two main approaches.
　One approach of research examines the nature of the interest that has been directed toward historic architecture. This is an issue that touches on the very foundation of the discipline of architectural history. When we shift our focus from the buildings themselves to the people surrounding them, we see that individuals from different eras and perspectives held a variety of views regarding architecture (even indifference is a form of value judgment). What did the builders think? What did the users think? What did those who demolished them think? What did those who protected them think? How did people engage with architecture, and what values did they ascribe to it? In particular, I am researching the nature of this interest in architecture through the restoration research and historical reconstruction efforts of Edo-period scholars, as well as their records of visits to historic buildings.
　Another approach of research explores the meaning of architectural forms. While architectural forms are determined by various factors such as function and cost, they can also carry meanings beyond these considerations, or be interpreted as having unintended meanings. In particular, when we focus on cases where architectural forms are consciously modeled after other buildings, the significance of form and the ability to interpret it become particularly evident.
　These two approaches lead to the question: If architecture has value beyond simple practicality, what exactly is that value? I continue my research in an effort to get closer to the answer.

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Department of Environmental Design, Faculty of Design
Yuki Kato, Associate Professor