[photo credit: The Huntington]
Abe directs the Paul I. and Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies at UCLA and holds the Terasaki Chair for contemporary Japanese study. He earned his degree from Tohoku University and serves as principal of Atelier Hitoshi Abe, founded in Sendai, Japan in 1992. He previously chaired UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Design from 2007 to 2017 and now directs xLAB, an international think tank initiative.
In the post-COVID era, the importance of gathering in shared physical spaces has waned, and people have increasingly withdrawn into their own ideological bubbles. This trend is deepening divisions across the world, according to the lecture description.
At the lecture, Abe will introduce several attempts he has made to rethink the role of spaces that bring people together, based on the Japanese spatial concept of za. The Huntington’s Japanese Garden, which has existed for over one hundred years, has served as a bellwether for the West’s engagement with Asian culture.
The event is the annual Genshitsu Sen Tea Lecture, part of the Huntington’s East Asian Garden Lecture Series. Attendance is free with reservation and available both in-person and via livestream.
“Za”: A Place for Shared Experience will run on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 2:30-3:30 p.m. Rothenberg Hall at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California. For more information, call (626) 405-2114 or visit https://www.huntington.org/event/za-place-shared-experience. Ticket prices: Free with reservation.
