This is a companion exhibition to the book Parallel Nippon, which focuses on 110 representative architectural specimens selected from among buildings constructed primarily in Japan in the 10 years from 1996 to 2006, presenting them against the backdrop of Japan’s sociocultural environment. Through photographs, video and models, the exhibition retraces how Japan’s architectural scene has answered with fine-tuned designs to the demands of the age amid the transition from the period of the Japanese speculative bubble to the post-bubble period. The exhibit is built around the idea of contrast: expanding metropolises versus local communities plagued by declining birth rates, grand cultural facilities with an international focus versus small but sensitive community facilities for local children and the elderly.