"'Island Hopping' is the term Japanese architect Itsuko Hasegawa uses to describe her architecture. Hasegawa is in constant dialogue with the different landscapes and environments that she encounters in the diverse regions in Japan. Indeed, it is her confrontation with Japan's huge variety of geographical and cultural environments that stimulates her to produce the experimental, innovative, and above all human architecture that has become her trademark. Her various architectural projects have encouraged a new generation of Japanese architects to focus more on the interaction between the private user and the community." "This publication features a selection of works that clearly document her approach to her profession. They include the Shiogama Lifelong Learning Center, the Yamanashi Fruit Garden, the Sumida Culture Factory, the Fukuroi Workshop Center and the Niigata Performing Arts Center, for which she was recently awarded the Japan Art Academy Award."--Jacket.