TOTO GALLERY · MA is a gallery dedicated to architecture, operated by TOTO as part of its social contribution activities. Since its opening in October 1985, it has adopted a unique approach in which exhibitions, entrusted to architects from Japan and abroad, turn the exhibition space itself into a “work.” The gallery consists of about 240 square meters in total, extending from GALLERY 1 through an outdoor courtyard to GALLERY 2, yet it consistently produces exhibitions with a strong message, distilling the ideas and values of the participants.

At its founding, the committee included Tadao Ando, Motomi Kawakami, Masayuki Kurokawa, the late Takashi Sugimoto, and the late Ikko Tanaka. Today, the gallery is overseen by Special Advisor Tadao Ando, with operations carried forward by committee members Momoyo Kaijima, Akihisa Hirata, Seng Kuan, and Tsuyoshi Tane.

For the solo exhibition CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND by Tezzo Nishizawa, held from September 14 to November 26, 2023, centre Inc. was responsible for the accompanying publication issued by TOTO. Working closely with Nishizawa and his office, we examined book design approaches that seamlessly connected to the exhibition itself while enhancing its archival character.

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND at TOTO GALLERY · MA, Nogizaka

The name “GALLERY · MA,” operated by TOTO, embodies the Japanese concept of ma — the intervals and relationships between people, time, and space. Since its establishment in October 1985 as a gallery dedicated to architecture, it has aimed to provide a platform where visitors can critically engage with the ideas and philosophies of architects, as well as the broader social functions surrounding architecture, through exhibitions, lectures, and other programs initiated by the architects themselves. In addition, publishing activities have been carried out in conjunction with exhibitions, presenting its significance as a cultural venue passed down through the hands of committee members from diverse backgrounds in architecture and design.

For the solo exhibition CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND by architect Tezzo Nishizawa, which opened on September 14, 2023, centre Inc. was responsible for both the publication issued by TOTO and the planning of a special accompanying presentation. Together with Nishizawa and his office, we developed book design strategies that seamlessly connected with the exhibition concept and explored layouts that emphasized archival value.

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND at TOTO GALLERY · MA, Nogizaka

Tezzo Nishizawa is known for his extensive involvement in the peripheral fields surrounding art, from designing cultural facilities such as the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art and the Hachinohe Art Museum, to curating spatial configurations for art exhibitions. At a time when architecture and architects are often discussed primarily in terms of design theory, Nishizawa has pursued spatial structures that function fundamentally, respecting the concepts of the artists while openly receiving the institutional framework of the museum and the diverse questions arising within it. His practice is underpinned by broad research, iterative experimentation, and carefully calculated logic. Furthermore, in his architectural projects for museums themselves, Nishizawa has led numerous collaborative efforts with other architects, revealing overlooked traces and engaging persistently with matters often abstracted away in architecture. From these accumulated encounters, he builds the overall coherence of his works, demonstrating a consistent approach.

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND – Catalogue / Standard Edition, Special Edition

The solo exhibition departed from the conventional model of presenting projects individually, instead interweaving two projects in a way that highlighted the essential polysemy of architecture through new relationships and connections. As reflected in the title — a quote from the microbiologist Louis Pasteur, “Chance favors the prepared mind” — the exhibition suggested that it is the vast processes planned as a mindset for capturing chance that emerge, in their time, as inevitabilities drawn forth. In the accompanying publication, we sought to generate similar experiences and principles, treating Nishizawa’s diverse and highly functional processes as objects of study and archiving them as a “reference compendium” for future use.

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND – Catalogue

Many of the publication’s pages, from beginning to end, are devoted to completion photographs. These are laid out within fixed formats and margins, forming sequences that appear to read as a single narrative despite differences in photographer, method, time, and place. Like the exhibition, this pagination intentionally dissolves and fragments the boundaries of individual projects, allowing small discoveries to connect into new relationships while revealing the singularity of architecture through accumulated traces embedded in space. For this reason, meticulous attention was paid to the selection and arrangement of photographs.

To reinforce this visual experience, information such as project names, building types, and uses was intentionally omitted from the page spreads. Instead, small project numbers and page references linked to planning drawings were placed alongside folio numbers, creating an index system connected to the detailed information compiled at the end of the book. Additionally, five types of paper were used, visible along the book’s edges, and by looking carefully one can see that the paper types correspond to building uses — public buildings, residences, spatial configurations, and so on. Printed index functions were also embedded in the footer margins, enabling instant access to images, plans, and text data, thus emphasizing the archival dimension throughout the book’s design.

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED – Catalogue

The cover design consists of five special editions and one standard edition. For the special editions, fabric was applied to the spine, with the corresponding colors reflected in the cover design. These fabrics were surplus stock that centre Inc. had purchased inexpensively and stored, and coincidentally, they had been used in buildings designed by Nishizawa. From among these remnants, colors frequently employed in Nishizawa’s architectural work were chosen as the basis for the bindings. This act — where individually functional materials informed the overall structure of the book — resonated deeply with Nishizawa’s architectural process itself, shaping the publication in parallel with his design philosophy. 

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND – Verification of Cloth, Exhibition at POST, Ebisu

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND at TOTO GALLERY · MA, Nogizaka

Addendum

—

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND

TOTO GALLERY · MA, Nogizaka

2023