“Za”: A Place for Shared Experience

In the post-COVID era, the importance of gathering in shared physical spaces has waned, and people have increasingly withdrawn into their own ideological bubbles. This trend is deepening divisions across the world. In this lecture, Abe will introduce several attempts he has made to rethink the role of spaces that bring people together, based on the Japanese spatial concept of za—a “place” or “seat” that embodies communal presence. 

This is the Genshitsu Sen Annual Tea Lecture and is part of the East Asian Garden Lecture Series.

Top image: Image created by Hsiao-Yun Chen, Wai Chi Julie Wong, and Mengru Zha. Courtesy of UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design.