Osamu Ishiyama was born in Tokyo in 1944 and graduated from Waseda University in 1968. He has been teaching at this same university since 1988. In 1985 he won the 10th "Isoya Yoshida" prize for his "Izu Choliachi Sakan" Museum, and in 1995 he received a prize from the Japanese Architectural Institute for his project "The Rias Ark--Museum of Art". Osamu Ishiyama's work is probably best characterized by his non-conformist approach and the unconventional materials he uses. In his early projects, he was already using unusual industrial materials such as gigantic corrugated iron tubes (Gen-an House) and riveted aluminium sheets (Rias Ark--Museum of Art) more usually used in aeronautical constructions, his intention being to make strange forms likely to get the general public to react as much as children. Architecture must catch the attention of the public and get away from ordinary procedures and techniques which often make it boring. The project he is building at Setagaya-Ku involves his own house, which he calls "Setagaya Village", because work and living are combined within it. It will take three years to build. A small wooden house stands on the land. Work started by digging areas earmarked for his architectural agency underneath the house. This work has been followed by the construction, above the existing house, of a structure supported by metal posts which will accommodate the residential floors. When the new building is finished, the original little house will be demolished to make way for an exhibition and experimentation space. The new construction will be equipped with apparatus enabling it to capture natural energy. In his view, this work should prompt thinking about building practices. By speaking out against the exorbitant costs of building in Japan, he thus hopes to offer an example of a solution which makes it possible to adjust prices, by heading in the direction of people building their own homes.	(J)
	Osamu Ishiyama Ishyama (Osamu) (1944)
	• Setagaya Village, Tokyo, en cours de réalisation