The success of any architectural project depends on the architect’s ability to depict it. Conveying architectural ideas as drawings, pictures, or models is both a critical part of the process and one that can tell us much about the design itself in a particular time or place. Over the past two decades, major new trends in architectural representation have emerged in Japan, which have gained widespread attention in the Western world.

Pictures of the Floating Microcosm considers these trends and takes readers through their development to the present day. Olivier Meystre undertakes a critique of the design tools and mediation techniques that have been employed and reveals the very special ways of conceiving an architectural project, drawing on a wealth of new research and interviews with contemporary Japanese architects. His book is a fascinating testimony of an entire generation of architects’ complex approaches, where all attributes of space are questioned and redefined while a strong undercurrent of tradition continues to have pivotal influence.