As underscored by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining health and hygiene in confronting infectious diseases has long been one of humanity's most critical challenges. Architects in the early part of the 20th century sought to maximize natural light and ventilation to combat tuberculosis in an age of rapid urbanization and increased population density. As a starting point for modern design, the bathroom and requisite fixtures became particularly important to promote hygiene and well-being through cleanliness of the body.

In the 20th century, steel, concrete and mass-produced glass transformed the house, affording a new sense of lightness and spatial freedom. Architects embraced these material changes and rediscovered the potential of traditional materials including wood, tiles, and textiles. This exhibition highlights the ways they domesticated these materials for modern living.

Advancements in reinforced concrete construction and production of glass brought on new possibilities to liberate the wall for window openings. Unprecedented large windows afforded natural light and ventilation, as well as panoramic views from inside the home. The transformation of the window fundamentally redefined the boundary between interior and exterior, creating seamless connections between indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Modern kitchens followed developments brought on by industrial revolution. The Frankfurt Kitchen (1926) emerged based on the ethos of maximizing efficiency of space and movement in cooking at a minimal cost for some 10,000 social housing units in Frankfurt and has had global influence in the development of built-in and systematized kitchens. Cooking spaces traditionally placed at the back of the house, such a s in European basements or Japanese doma (dirt floor), shifted to brighter, more central locations near dining and living a reas and reflected the increasing prominence of the nuclear family and liberation afforded by modern appliances.

A range of design movements emerged in the 19th century in reaction against the indiscriminate replication of past styles and the overwhelming presence of low-quality mass-produced items. In the 20th century, such modern movements could be found in the Bauhaus (1919-1933) to combine crafts and fine arts while seeking to unify individual artistic vision with industrial production. Designers at the Bauhaus realized these ideals through the creation of everyday items such as textiles, metalware, lighting, and furniture. Many of the architects who sought to harmonize furnishings together with their architectural designs also themselves designed furniture and other household items. This exhibition showcases various furnishings that enriched everyday life in the 20th century from the Bauhaus and beyond based on their new aesthetic sensitivities.

Advancements in photography and modern printing technology in the 20th century afforded the development of mass media platforms of newspapers and magazines that would circulate worldwide. Architects and designers from Le Corbusier to Koji Fujii, embraced these new media to present their design ideas to the broader public audience. Housing exhibitions such as the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition in 1927, Die Wohnung (The Dwelling). promoted the modern house through direct experience. This section examines the broad range of media from books and magazines to housing exhibitions to promote ideal lifestyles to the public at large.

How can one live in harmony with the natural environment and specificities of sight within manmade spaces for living? This became a vital challenge for modern houses in the 20th century. Expansive glass windows afford the primary experience of changes through the four seasons and natural flora and fauna. Beyond the physicality of the window, these connections to the elements of light and air extend to promoting hygiene and health to restore fundamental bonds with nature suppressed through rapid modernization to contribute to one's overall well-being. How do we situate living spaces in the natural environment in harmony with the site character of the land? This exhibition thereby considers such efforts to fundamentally sustain the home in harmony with natural forces.