ABSTRACT
Arata Isozaki identifies a performative-spatial method of describing the built environment that is specifically Japanese. His methodology grew out of a culture that had a singular relationship with materiality, in which form is traditionally defined by materials and the way they are manipulated. When Isozaki describes "direct exposure of materials, as well as overall simplicity and lightness," the reader could be excused for assuming that the "exposure" he references is primarily visual exposure with perhaps a secondary exposure of select materials to the hand. Materiality often influences decision-making engaged by designers: the type of material chosen drives the kinds of forms that can be made, the scale that is possible, and the emotive reaction to the designed space or object. Materials are approached as an aesthetic identity, or at best, a shared aesthetic/functional identity but occupants often do physically engage the materials.
