Maier stands in front of Kenzo Tange's St. Mary's Cathedral. Unlike several of its modernist kin, the church isn't likely to be touched by the destructive effects of Olympic-related development.Courtesy Tetsuya Ito

Tomas Maier, creative director for Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta, is on a mission to save iconic works of Japanese modernist architecture from the wrecking ball. He recently launched an initiative to draw attention to a handful of these endangered architectural landmarks, which are under threat by the development ramp-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“I think it’s very important to maintain this. This is what makes up the face of a city. This is what makes the difference,” says Maier in a video (below) for the initiative he launched with Bottega Veneta and Japanese lifestyle magazine Casa Brutus. The son of an architect, Maier has had a deep appreciation for Japanese modernism since he first visited the country in the mid-1980s. His fascination with the works are evident in the footage, which finds Maier wistfully gazing at iconic buildings like Kenzo Tange’s Yoyogi National Stadium and the Yoshiro Taniguchi-designed Hotel Okura......Continue Reading

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