The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT)

If you’re curious about why city living looks like it does today, you’ll want to stop by the National Art Center by June 30. The Roppongi institution is hosting a landmark exhibition tracing the evolution of modern residential architecture and the visionary ideals that shaped the way we live in the 21st century.  Spanning over half a century of innovation, ‘Living Modernity’ presents 14 iconic homes from around the world, designed by luminaries such as Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto and Frank Gehry, each revealing aspects of how architects in the 1900s radically reimagined domestic life through form, function and comfort. Organised around seven themes, the show explores how modern housing responded to both global challenges and intimate, everyday needs. Visitors will encounter a rich assemblage of original drawings, models, photographs, furniture and household items. A highlight is the full-scale reconstruction of Mies van der Rohe’s unbuilt ‘Row House’ (1931), which offers an immersive experience into the German-born architect’s minimalist vision. Interactive displays and VR installations further deepen the engagement. ‘Living Modernity’ is a reflection on how architectural experimentation from a century ago continues to inform contemporary life. Through the groundbreaking homes on display, the exhibition invites us to reconsider what it really means to live well.

Classical elegance and Mediterranean heritage meet daring innovation in the artisanal jewellery of Bulgari, the Rome-based luxury house that’s become synonymous with exceptional craftsmanship over its 140-year history. This show, the brand’s largest in Japan and its first in a decade, offers an opulent journey through nearly 350 pieces of jewellery and contemporary art. Its name a portmanteau of the Greek words kalos (beautiful) and eidos (form), the show presents a kaleidoscopic narrative where colour is both the medium and the message. It showcases Bulgari’s use of hues as a hallmark of its innovation, from the postwar ‘chromatic revolution’ in gemstones to the vibrant combinations that define the brand’s legacy today. Divided into three thematic chapters, the exhibition explores colour through scientific, cultural and sensory lenses. Contemporary artists Mariko Mori, Lara Favaretto and Akiko Nakayama offer personal meditations on the theme, while scenography by architect Kazuyo Sejima and design studio Formafantasma unites Roman grandeur with Japanese minimalism.