Tokyo as a metropolis has experienced chaotic conditions perhaps greater than those of cities in other countries. The cause? It could be attributed to the all-too-sudden transition from the onrush of rapid economic growth to the stiller times of a mature economy. Most of the chaos―whether in urban life or in culture or politics―comes down to the issue of “mature society.”

Japan’s rapid economic growth peaked in the 1970s. Over the quarter century from that time onward, the industries involved with the city and architecture were consistently driven by the need to maintain and develop their business by supplying as many buildings as possible. The high density of the city of Tokyo is the resulting symbol of that drive. Tokyo’s residential areas, divided into increasingly smaller plots with each transfer of land or building ownership, have been taken over by housing developers, and in a very short span of time, traditional styles of dwelling have been all but lost. In the steady spread of urban sprawl, landowners have invariably given priority to their own immediate gain.

From the 1990s, Japan suddenly found itself with all the characteristics of a mature society. It became clear that its population would eventually decrease. Consumer values began to change, shifting from externally oriented, expansion-oriented to more concentrated, internally oriented demand. Demand was fueled less by the needs of society and groups and more by personal and private want. In other words, demand became something solely determined by private and individual needs.

Architecture, as part of the construction industry, has been until recently very closely linked to public works projects commissioned by the national government. I was previously associated with the design department of a very large corporation, but recognizing that major changes were in the making, I became interested in shifting from large-scale development to solutions that could be found for development on a much smaller scale. In 1998 I established an independent office called Milligram Architectural Studio. I took this step because I wanted to draw meaning from “architecture” not in the older sense but by encouraging and propagating small, individual value shifts throughout society.

Despite the countless stiff regulations and laws in force in Tokyo, the cityscape that has been built up is haphazard and unplanned. There may be no city so lacking in order in the whole world. Overcrowded as their city has become, Tokyoite’s efforts to change their ways of living are quite vigorous, and it is clear that the driving force behind such efforts is “individual needs.”

Ownership of land in Tokyo is fragmented and the power of the authorities to enforce laws and regulations has faded, so today such restrictions are largely ineffective. It is a reality that even intellectual and cultural regulations can become an object of consumption. Still, it is not advisable to leave everything up to the free market economy and individualized private demand. In other words, unless there is a change of values through some sort of revolutionary thinking that transcends institutions and the economy, individual dreams and hopes will not acquire the sustained momentum that will translate them into dreams and hopes for the whole society.

Our approach is two-faceted, focused on a short-term and a medium-to-long-term perspective, respectively. In the short-term, we adopt a positive interpretation of the distorted situation of social institutions as they have been up to now, and offer the possibilities for lifestyles within those constraints. For the middle term, to respond to changes in the dwellings of the constituent units of society we suggest ways of converting the use of buildings or subdividing interiors for multiple uses and thereby present proposals for new forms of development originating from the market. For the long term, individuals are encouraged to give more attention to their personal benefit and learn how to make full and effective use of their dwellings on their own initiative and responsibility. Ultimately, we work to achieve the kind of services and flexible legal arrangements that will back up such efforts. Toward these objectives, we have undertaken projects since 2000 aimed less at developing a theory in a specialized field than at creating specific examples in actual practice.