#KazuoShinohara (1925–2006) is considered one of the most important Japanese architects from the latter half of the twentieth century, along with Kenzo Tange. His work subsequently influenced architects such as Toyo Ito and Kazuyo Sejima, but is still little known internationally. A masterpiece from Shinohara’s so-called First Style is the Umbrella House built in Tokyo in 1961, which has been reconstructed on the
#VitraCampus in Weil am Rhein.
As the Umbrella House was to be demolished to give way to a roadbuilding project at its previous location in Tokyo,
#Vitra decided to acquire the house and safeguard it for posterity. Built using a wooden post-and-beam construction method, the house was carefully dismantled in the summer of 2020 and separated into its individual parts. The wooden structure made of Japanese cypress, Japanese pine and Oregon pine was securely packed along with the other components and shipped to Weil am Rhein. Reconstruction on the Vitra Campus commenced in September 2021 in close coordination with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and was completed in summer 2022.
