Architectural Behaviorology: The Work of Atelier Bow-Wow

Atelier Bow-Wow’s philosophy of architectural behaviorology sees architectural design as the relationships among different considerations on various behaviors. It observes various behaviors brought by three main actors in and around architecture: nature (light, wind, heat, humidity, etc.), the human (custom, habit) and the building (typology, building elements). Design practices based on architectural behaviorology tackle barriers between people and local resources. Husband-and-wife team Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima founded the architecture firm Atelier Bow-Wow in 1992. The Tokyo-based practice is renowned for its domestic, commercial and cultural architecture and for its theories, especially its work surrounding the concept of behaviorology. The firm has also championed the fourth-generation house in Tokyo and the experimental project Micro-Public-Space, which has been exhibited across the globe. The pair has published 11 books, including “Made in Tokyo,” which documents hybrid buildings situated in Tokyo’s densely built urban environment. Tsukamoto is a professor in the Graduate School of Architecture and Building Engineering at Tokyo Institute of Technology. About the Series The Asian Art Museum and California College of the Arts present a series of lectures by leading figures shaping architecture today. Through this collaboration, the series hosts a combination of distinguished architects from Asia as well as North American practitioners active in Asia to provide a common framework for deepening knowledge of and interest in contemporary Asian architecture.