Japanese architects in Spain, Spanish architects in Japan, 1990-2020

Abstract

In Japan as in Spain there is still a look towards “the other” stained with a certain exotic varnish, probably favored by the distance that separates the two countries. For a Spanish artist is as stimulating to work in Japan as for a Japanese artist to do it in Spain. For both it is an enriching experience because of how far their respective social and cultural environments are, and, in the case of architecture, also because of technological and aesthetic differences.

In the 1960s, in both countries, some buildings were constructed that emulated classic forms "of the other." Based on these examples, this paper will try to discover if this type of look or interpretation as a tribute has been maintained or not in the last thirty years, when a few Japanese and Spanish architects began to build works in Spain and Japan respectively.

This paper will show not only the projects carried out by the most renowned Japanese and Spanish architects in the country of “the other", but also the winning proposals of competitions that have not been executed. For each of these works, it will be indicated the year of construction, or the date of the contest’s result, its location and the most relevant incidents during its execution. These data will be used to compare the footprint that Japanese and Spanish architects have left in the last thirty years in Spain and Japan, respectively.