GROUND is more than an exhibition of Roger Boltshauser’s work. From 24 October to 1 November 2026, SHIBAURA HOUSE in Tokyo becomes a setting for an architectural conversation about material, construction and the conditions from which architecture emerges. Conceived and curated by Roger Boltshauser together with Atelier Andrea Gassner, the exhibition is less concerned with presenting a completed body of work than with articulating an attitude towards building.
The term GROUND is deliberately ambiguous. It refers to the earth itself, but also to foundation, origin and what is already present. What exists before architecture begins? The exhibition starts from this question, shifting attention away from the finished object and towards material, context, process and the conditions that precede form.
Over the course of a week, the exhibition expands into a forum for exchange between European and Japanese architecture. Architects and designers from Japan enter into dialogue with Roger Boltshauser, bringing different cultural perspectives into conversation with shared questions about how we build today. In this way, GROUND moves beyond the format of a monographic exhibition and becomes a platform where distinct positions can meet.
Earth, surfaces and traces shape the poster series and give the visual identity an immediate material presence. The design remains deliberately restrained, allowing space for images, content and different voices. GROUND thus becomes more than a title: it becomes a shared plane on which material, architecture and discourse can meet.
