In the 1960s, architect Kazuo Shinohara made a famous comment in Shinkenchiku magazine: ¡°Residence is art. ... Residence should be outside of what is believed as architecture, it should rather be considered as a form of art, like paintings and sculptures.¡± A bold statement considering that unlike paintings or sculptures, function is usually of the priority of architecture, and that most buildings cannot be moved.

This makes curator Rui Asanuma¡¯s display design of Hachioji Yume Art Museum¡¯s current exhibition, ¡°Legendary Houses in Postwar Japan: Provocative/Introspective,¡± an important part of the visitor¡¯s experience. Giant white sheets, hung from ceiling to floor, screen videos and slide shows to accompany a wealth of other images, documents and architectural plans. It¡¯s an ideal way to show off the show¡¯s subject and offers visitors a virtual walk through the residences.

Sixteen buildings from the 1950s to ¡®70s are presented, with notes on construction methods, materials and the lifestyles of former and current residents. It starts with architect Kenzo Tange¡¯s minimalist personal residence 1953 ¡°House,¡± which reflects his famous motto, ¡°What is aesthetic is functional,¡± and represents the beginning of a movement that went on to reinterpret traditional Japanese wooden architecture.

Other featured residences built in the ¡®50s are similarly minimal, such as Makoto Masuzawa¡¯s 1953 ¡°Residence for Mr. H.Planned by Center Core System,¡± for which the owner told the architect that all he needed was a space where he could effortlessly ¡°eat, sleep and go to the bathroom.¡±

Kiyonori Kikutake¡¯s 1958 ¡°Sky House,¡± reveals a shift toward the metabolism movement, which by the ¡®70s was in full swing. The metabolists focused on organic architecture that had the ability to grow and change, and ¡°Sky House¡± featured a kitchen and bathroom that could be moved to match the needs of the resident¡¯s family.

More than half of the homes featured in the exhibition were built in the ¡®70s when architects saw an importance in interiors. Kazunari Sakamoto, for example, described his 1970 ¡°Machiya in Minase¡± as a ¡°closed box¡± from the urban jungle, its exterior covered in silver paint, but its interior featuring the a rustic use of concrete and wood. For those interested, the museum is offering free tours of the ¡°Machiya,¡± which is in Hachioji, and ¡°Hara House¡± by Hiroshi Hara in Machida.

¡°Legendary Houses in Postwar Japan: Provocative/Introspective¡± at Hachioji Yume Art Museum runs from June 14 to July 20; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. ?500. Closed Mon.