Almost, Not

On Wednesday, October 13th from 5 to 7pm, we are welcoming a small group of attendees into our showroom for a special event, the launch of Almost, Not by Leslie Van Duzer. There is very limited seating to allow for adequate social distancing. All attendees and staff must be masked and provide proof of full vaccination upon entry. We will be live-streaming the event as well.

Since the founding of Atelier Nishikata in 2000 in Tokyo, partners Reiko Nishio and Hirohito Ono have built just four residential works, three of them renovations, all of them publicly inaccessible. Until now, this remarkable collection of private spaces was little known outside Japan. Almost, Not: The Architecture of Atelier Nishikata belatedly presents this extraordinary, almost-ordinary architecture to an international audience.

Leslie Van Duzer, a former magician’s assistant, draws parallels between the architects and magicians in this hybrid architectural monograph and magic instruction manual. The introductory essay, “Almost, Not,” outlines their shared aspirations and techniques, including delay by layered rules, déjà vu by repetition variation, and detour by category jumping.

The book unpacks Atelier Nishikata’s methods step by step, demonstrating the possibility of bewildering effects achieved with minimal means. Each project is richly illustrated with design studies, new diagrams, detailed drawings, and photographs, including before and after views of renovated spaces, and intimate post-inhabitation scenes. A concluding conversation with the architects provides further insights into their unique approach.

Leslie Van Duzer, professor in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, has previously published five books: Villa Müller: A Work of Adolf Loos; Adolf Loos: Works in the Czech Lands; Rudolf Arnheim: Revealing Vision; Mies van der Rohe: The Krefeld Villas; and House Shumiatcher, the first in the West Coast Modern House series.