{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/17223"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/17223","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Sei'ichi Shirai and subjective method of synthesis","abstract":"If modernism in architecture is based on a rational, objective approach, Sei'ichi Shirai was a unique architect who created his own subjective value system, which resulted in isolating him from the modern movement. Educated both in Japan and in Europe, Shirai incorporated what he saw as the existential quality of western architecture into his own original designs. His subjective judgement guided the choice of trans-cultural and transhistorical architectural elements, and arranged them in a dialectic manner. This thesis examines Shirai's designs in the terms of their internal conflicts with tradition, such as those of Egypt and Greece, Shintoism and Buddhism, Jo-mon and Yayoi, and stone masonry and wood carpentry. The attitude was quite different from that of so-called modern architects, since Shirai did not deal with systematic spatial integration. Shirai's architecture emerged like an inevitable creation that was destined to exist. As a result, proponents of modernism who think of architecture in the context of the environment and who create space analytically in terms of functions and compositions, failed to appreciate his efforts. His work has the quality of so-called Post Modern architecture already in the 1950s, but his insights, being too early, failed to win him wide recognition.","abstract_html":"If modernism in architecture is based on a rational, objective approach, Sei'ichi Shirai was a unique architect who created his own subjective value system, which resulted in isolating him from the modern movement. Educated both in Japan and in Europe, Shirai incorporated what he saw as the existential quality of western architecture into his own original designs. His subjective judgement guided the choice of trans-cultural and transhistorical architectural elements, and arranged them in a dialectic manner. This thesis examines Shirai's designs in the terms of their internal conflicts with tradition, such as those of Egypt and Greece, Shintoism and Buddhism, Jo-mon and Yayoi, and stone masonry and wood carpentry. The attitude was quite different from that of so-called modern architects, since Shirai did not deal with systematic spatial integration. Shirai's architecture emerged like an inevitable creation that was destined to exist. As a result, proponents of modernism who think of architecture in the context of the environment and who create space analytically in terms of functions and compositions, failed to appreciate his efforts. His work has the quality of so-called Post Modern architecture already in the 1950s, but his insights, being too early, failed to win him wide recognition.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nagaya, Toshiaki"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["David Friedman."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1988,"date_issued":"1988","date_published":"1988","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:28Z","subjects":["Architecture."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17223","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["David Friedman."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nagaya, Toshiaki"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2005-06-02T13:47:38Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2005-06-02T13:47:38Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1988"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Architecture."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17223"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1988.","Bibliography: leaves 96-98."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["If modernism in architecture is based on a rational, objective approach, Sei'ichi Shirai was a unique architect who created his own subjective value system, which resulted in isolating him from the modern movement. Educated both in Japan and in Europe, Shirai incorporated what he saw as the existential quality of western architecture into his own original designs. His subjective judgement guided the choice of trans-cultural and transhistorical architectural elements, and arranged them in a dialectic manner. This thesis examines Shirai's designs in the terms of their internal conflicts with tradition, such as those of Egypt and Greece, Shintoism and Buddhism, Jo-mon and Yayoi, and stone masonry and wood carpentry. The attitude was quite different from that of so-called modern architects, since Shirai did not deal with systematic spatial integration. Shirai's architecture emerged like an inevitable creation that was destined to exist. As a result, proponents of modernism who think of architecture in the context of the environment and who create space analytically in terms of functions and compositions, failed to appreciate his efforts. His work has the quality of so-called Post Modern architecture already in the 1950s, but his insights, being too early, failed to win him wide recognition."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Sei'ichi Shirai and subjective method of synthesis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["David Friedman."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture."],"dc:creator":["Nagaya, Toshiaki"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2005-06-02T13:47:38Z"],"dc:date.available":["2005-06-02T13:47:38Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1988"],"dc:description":["Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1988.","Bibliography: leaves 96-98."],"dc:description.abstract":["If modernism in architecture is based on a rational, objective approach, Sei'ichi Shirai was a unique architect who created his own subjective value system, which resulted in isolating him from the modern movement. Educated both in Japan and in Europe, Shirai incorporated what he saw as the existential quality of western architecture into his own original designs. His subjective judgement guided the choice of trans-cultural and transhistorical architectural elements, and arranged them in a dialectic manner. This thesis examines Shirai's designs in the terms of their internal conflicts with tradition, such as those of Egypt and Greece, Shintoism and Buddhism, Jo-mon and Yayoi, and stone masonry and wood carpentry. The attitude was quite different from that of so-called modern architects, since Shirai did not deal with systematic spatial integration. Shirai's architecture emerged like an inevitable creation that was destined to exist. As a result, proponents of modernism who think of architecture in the context of the environment and who create space analytically in terms of functions and compositions, failed to appreciate his efforts. His work has the quality of so-called Post Modern architecture already in the 1950s, but his insights, being too early, failed to win him wide recognition."],"dc:description.degree":["M.S."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17223"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Architecture."],"dc:title":["Sei'ichi Shirai and subjective method of synthesis"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:28Z"}