The path to becoming an architect in Japan is not dissimilar to that for a sushi chef - it requires years of craft and studying coupled with the patience of an angel. Under such conditions, most architects have to wait until they are forty-five or fifty years old before their efforts are recognized. However, the exhibition "45 Under 45 -Young Architecture" now showing at The Museum Of Modern Art, Saitama, introduces a hundred projects by forty-five Japanese architects of the younger generation, all under or about forty-five years old.

Public works projects open the exhibition, such as plans for various museums, an aquarium and a zoo. In Akiko Takahashi's designs for the outdoor playground and restbhouse areas of Nogeyama Zoo, she constructs a light canopy of round aluminum discs, some covered with mesh, others left open. Playful patterns of shadow fall on the floor of the rest area, creating a cool yet fun environment in which visitors can take some time out.

Particularly striking in this section are the curved, flowing walls and sloping roof of the Reihoku Community Hall, designed by Hitoshi Abe after "outwards-orientated" consultations and workshops with the local population, and Koichi Yasuda's design for the Pola Museum Of Art.

The exhibition then moves on to residential or office projects, one of the most ambitious being the International Conference and Exhibition Center in Guangzhou, Southern China. It is generally independent Japanese architects who are recognized for their creativity, while those working for larger architectural firms tend to be overlooked. This exhibition attempts to redress that balance. Hiroyuki Sekino works for the firm AXS Satow, and was responsible for the ideas behind the company's development of this vast complex on the banks of the Zhujiang. The strongest natural feature of the area is the wind coming off the river, and this gives the complex its dominant theme.

The walls of the building are curved to suggest gently rounded waves, symbolizing not only the winds from the Zhujiang but the symbolic winds of technological and industrial change blowing into China - the International Conference and Exhibition Center being the gateway.

Lastly, of the dozens of designs for modern Japanese living spaces, there is room here to introduce just two. The keyword in both designs is flexibilty, although Satoko Shinahara's main point of concern with her 'Rigato and Aperto' residential blocks is the exterior, while Sosuke Fujimoto re-evaluates the use of the interior with 'N House.'

Shinahara's apartments for single people sidestep glass windows or concrete walls, for they uses open-fronted facades which she covers with two types of sliding coverings - perforated protection screens and aluminum louvers (slatted screens that look somewhat like venetian blinds at a distance.)

The semi-transparent screens keep out the rain and wind, and when used alone without the louvers their thin, luminous skins lessen the psychological distance between inside and outside. They would probably be utilized on sunny, airy days to bring more of nature into the apartment. The louvers could be used when the weather is not as welcoming or when more privacy is required.

In contemporary architecture this flexibility in regards to the exterior may be rare, but it has antecedents in the use of screens, bamboo lattice and bamboo curtains in traditional Japanese buildings. Furthermore, this adaptability of materials helps the residents enjoy a more interactive relationship with their environment - something much needed in today's Japan.

Considering the Japanese tradition of using the floor of a living space for different aspects of domestic life - such as sleeping, eating and relaxing - Japanese should be comfortable with the idea of a flexible use of space. Therefore the concept behind Fujimoto's 'N House' in the Oita district of Tokyo should strike a chord. However, in this design instead of a series of open 'rooms', the whole of the house is structured as a network of horizontal slabs spaced 350mm apart from each other. 350mm is not a random size, but is regarded by the architect as the basic unit of measurement for various human activities - from the approximate height of chairs (350mm), to the height of desks (700mm or 2 x 350mm).

By re-constructing the living space in terms of such multi-purpose surfaces rather than defined, segregated spaces, Fujimoto (who is only thirty-three years old, by the way, and works for Sou Fujimoto Architects) gives the user the freedom to re-invent his domestic lifestyle and completely rethink his relationship to the space around him. By structuring the function of the rooms in a building, architecture usually rigidly controls our relationship to space. 'N House' reminds us how a well-conceived architectural plan can give us the freedom to define that relationship ourselves.

There is simply too much in this exhibition to discuss in-depth here, but the trip to Saitama (only 35 minutes from Shibuya) to find out more is thoroughly recommended.

For a full list of participating architects see www.saitama-j.or.jp/~momas