The latest 20th century architecture map by Blue Crow Media is dedicated to the concrete construction of Tokyo, featuring influential buildings and structures from noted architects​ ​like​ ​Tadao​ ​Ando;​ ​Le​ ​Corbusier;​ ​Toyo Ito;​ ​Kenzo​ ​Tange;​ ​Kunio​ ​Maekawa; and Antonin​ ​Raymond.

The​ ​bilingual,​ ​Japanese​ ​and​ ​English,​ ​map​ features an introduction by​ ​Tokyo-based​ ​architecture​ ​and​ ​design​ ​writer​ ​Naomi​ ​Pollock, and images by the photographer Jimmy​ ​Cohrssen. Focussing on architecture from the 1930s​ ​through​ ​the​ ​post-World​ ​War​ ​II​ ​period​ ​to​ ​present day Tokyo, the city’s susceptibility to earthquakes and oft oddly shaped topology relies on the plasticity that concrete provides.

Concrete Tokyo Map lists fifty of the stark beauties shaped by the material, Komazawa Olympic Park, built for the 1964 Summer Olympics; the National Art Center Tokyo; and Urbanprem Minami Aoyama, with its slightly curved façade, among the picks; their locations plotted on a detailed map overleaf.

The signature of many a Japanese architect, concrete (used in the right hands) is an expressive and highly mouldable material, available now from the trusty folk at Blue Crow Media, this excellent document of Tokyo’s finest uncompromising gems is testament to that expressiveness and capacity for experimentation.

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Harajuku Protestant Church by Ciel Rouge Creation
© Jimmy Cohrssen for Blue Crow Media

Tama Art University Library by Toyo Ito & Associates
© Jimmy Cohrssen for Blue Crow Media

Yoyogi National Gymnasium by Kenzo Tange
© Jimmy Cohrssen for Blue Crow Media

Reversible Destiny Lofts MITAKA by Shusaku Arakawa + Madeline Gins
© Jimmy Cohrssen for Blue Crow Media