People:
- Shoei Yoh (creator)
- Shoei Yoh (archive creator)
Date:
1976-2014, predominant 1990-1996
Form:
archives
Level of archival description:
Fonds
Extent and medium:
- 1387 drawings, digital prints or reprographic copies, 72 digital files, 42 photographs, 20 slides, 16 transparencies, 13 panels, 13 collages, 8 models, 6 bound volumes, 4 ring binders, 4 maps, 2 montages and 0,1 l.m. of textual records
Scope and content:
The Shoei Yoh fonds (1976-2014, predominant 1990-1996) documents a selection of works by the Japanese architect and designer Shoei Yoh and the firm Shoei Yoh + Architects. The selection is comprised of two projects that were featured in the CCA exhibition Archaeology of the Digital (May 7-October 27, 2013)—the Galaxy Toyama Gymnasium and the unbuilt Odawara Municipal Sports Complex --and five other projects. The built projects present in the fonds were realized in Japan in the 1990s and are documented through drawings, models, photographs and textual records. The Odawara Municipal Sports Complex project is documented by design and presentation drawings, textual records and photographs of the site. A project for a tower in Taichung City, Taiwan, is documented only by a few presentation images. Drawings in the fonds include hand drawings, printouts and reproductions of architectural drawings. The Galaxy Toyama Gymnasium is also documented through CAD files. Other digital material in the fonds consists of still images in .jpg format related to the Galaxy Toyama Gymnasium and the Odawara Municipal Sports Complex. Series 2 of the fonds is composed mainly of published material by and about Shoei Yoh.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements:
Most of the documents in the fonds were received in clamshell-style drop-spine boxes. Some of the larger drawings occupied the entire width of an open box while smaller documents occupied one of the two trays. When the box was closed, the wider drawings were folded (but not creased) at the centre. Some of the boxes had an extra folding panel and consequently some of the drawings have two soft folds. One of the smaller clamshell boxes has been conserved in the fonds as an example (ARCH276927).
Arrangement:
The documents in the fonds were organized into two series:
Series 1: Architectural projects
Series 2: Writings and documentation
Biographical notes:
Shoei Yoh was born in Kumamoto, Japan, in 1940, of Chinese parents. He was naturalized as Shoei Hamura in 1975.
His first degree was in economics (Keio Gijuku University, Tokyo, 1962). He subsequently studied fine and applied arts at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio (1962-1963).
From 1964-1967, he worked as a project designer for International Design Associates in Tokyo. His work as a designer includes furniture, interiors and light fixtures and architecture.
In 1970, he established the firm Shoei Yoh + Architects in Fukuoka, Japan. He is also principal of Yoh Designs Inc.
Major works of the firm Shoei Yoh + Architects include a variety of architectural types. The firm has executed several domestic projects, including the Stainless Steel House with Light Lattice (1977). Projects for sports facilities include the Oguni Dome (1988), the Arashiyama Golf Club (1991), the Odawara Municipal Sports Complex (proposed), and the Galaxy Toyama Gymnasium (1992). The firm has also executed a number of projects for transportation buildings, including the Pyramid of Sea Ferry Terminal (1990) and the Glass Station (1993), a service station in Oguni (Kumamoto-ken). Museums designed by the firm include the Saibu Gas Museum (1989) and the Toyama Prospecta Observatory Tower (1992). Projects for clinics, schools and community centers include the Kinoshita Clinic (1979), the Naiju Community Center and Nursery School (1994), the Uchino Community Center for Seniors and Children (1995) and the Dental Office Ryu (1997).
Shoei Yoh and his office have received numerous awards, including the Japan Interior Designers Award (1980), the Architectural Institute of Japan Award (1989) and the IAKS Award, Gold Medal (1993). The firm's Glass Station design was a finalist for the Benedictus Award in 1994. Shoei Yoh was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Wittenberg University in 2007.
Shoei Yoh has served as a lecturer at the Architecture Department of Kyushu University (1992-2002) and as Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Keio University (1996-2005). He was Visiting Professor of Architecture at Columbia University in 1992. In 2007, he was Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Kumamoto Prefecture.
The work of Shoei Yoh has been exhibited in Japan, France, Canada and the United States. Two projects by Shoei Yoh--the Galaxy Toyama Gymnasium and the Proposal for the Odawara Municipal Sports Complex--were featured in the exhibition “Archaeology of the Digital”, presented at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal in 2013 and at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven in 2014.
Conditions governing access:
- Access by appointment only. Digital material can only be accessed on-site. Please contact Reference at ref@cca.qc.ca for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction:
- For copyright information or permission to reproduce material from the fonds, please contact the CCA (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer:
- Gift of Shoei Yoh in 2013.
Custodial history:
- The documents in the Shoei Yoh fonds were transferred by Shoei Yoh to the Canadian Centre for Architecture in 2012 in preparation for the exhibition "Archaeology of the Digital", presented at the CCA in 2013 and at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven in 2014.
Credit line:
Shoei Yoh fonds
Collection Centre Canadien d'Architecture/
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal;
Don de Shoei Yoh/
Gift of Shoei Yoh
Language of material:
- The documents in the fonds are chiefly in Japanese, but some material is in English or French.
Related units of description:
- The majority of the Shoei Yoh fonds is held by the University of Kyushu in Fukuoka, Japan.
In addition to the Shoei Yoh fonds at CCA and the University of Kyushu, researchers can find a repository of digitised assets from Shoei Yoh’s architectural office including drawings, digital model files, photographs, project notes, architectural magazines, physical models, and 3D walkthroughs by visiting the website shoeiyoh.com.
