IMAGINED ALTERNATIVES OF THE IDEAL BOX : THE CONSTANT GAP BETWEEN IMAGINED IDEAL AND LIVED REALITY IN JAPAN �S MASS HOUSING

Abstract

The nLDK, a typical modern (ideal) Box, was designed for a modern (ideal) middle-class family and the 3LDK, in particular, is said to be the best model for the good katei – nuclear family with one or two children. It expressed a spatial and familial division of labour, emphasised on privacy and most importantly the epitome of the way of life of a modern middle-class family which are the ideological basis of post-war society. After the demise of the modern family in 1980s, this typology remained as a formula for organising space and family life in both public and private housing. The unchanging spatially of the ideal Box, forces the internal modification of space through the habitus of user and at the same time results the symbolical disintegration of the box exemplified by the externalization of spaces out of the box. The ideal, as a physical manifestation of the dwelling space, transforms into spatial materialisation of a Box, an opus operatum, presents a ‘snapshot’ image based on a fixed set of parameters that requires certainty and consistency which in turn limits possibilities. The lived reality of a contemporary society, a modus operandi as habitus constituted in practice, spells diversity and uncertainty, which is filled with surprising and bizarre phenomenon of endless possibilities. The study of the relationship of the physical manifestation of the box and the realities of the family (or pseudo family) highlights the presence of the constant gap between the imagined ideal and the lived reality. Through the analysis of the change in nature of the box in the context of mass housing in Japan, and study of the change in family where the individuals are subjected to diverse experiences within the field of evolving contexts and cultures, this dissertation sets out to identify and understand the gap and its value. The ideal is repeatedly challenged by the reality and reality forming new ideals, creating a cyclical repetition. How will these repetitions then support or suggest improvisation or creation of alternative inventions in the volatile environment of uncertainty?