dot architects: Cut Trees on the Mountain, Make a Boat, Float It on the Sea

"Contemporary Architect's Concept Series" explores the direction architecture is headed, based on the architectural conceptions of young architects. Its 27th publication features the first sole authorship of Toshikatsu Ienari, co-founder of dot architects based in Kitakagaya, Osaka. dot architects goes beyond general architectural design by sometimes intervening in construction and develops a wide range of activities such as event planning, participation in art projects, performances, and management of cultural spaces.

This book is composed of 14 chapters of texts derived from Ienari's personal experiences, such as his hometown Rokko, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and events in Kitakagaya and the apartment house where he once lived. In his texts, Ienari often cites the concepts of "rokaku (multistoried building)" and "chimata (district)" by a critic Iwasaburo Koso. "Rokaku" is an infrastructure created by the nation and capital, and "chimata" is an order brought about by the bustle of people. dot architects continues to build architecture on "chimata," such as streets, hand tools, land sharing, parties, and temporary autonomy while raising the issues of static architecture under "rokaku," such as monetary systems, industrialist tools, complex systematic resources, and land ownership. This book vividly conveys the conception of dot architects, which is dynamic and sometimes has an anarchist atmosphere, along with photographs by Yusuke Nishimitsu, who captured the events at "chimata" impressively.