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Several stellar Japanese architects recently converged on Manhattan, New York, for a symposium at the Japan Society called "Technology and Tradition in Contemporary Japanese Architecture," co-organized by the periodical "Architectural Record." The conference was launched with a lecture by Fumihiko Maki, recently appointed architect for a new United Nations building and a tower at Ground Zero. The focus then passed to younger architects, including Ware Kishi , Kengo Kuma, and the ebullient Jun Aoki. Aoki, Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima are rising architects. Each has built or is about to build in Manhattan: Aoki's work for Vuitton on Fifth Avenue, Ban's Paper Arch at the Museum of Modern Art in 2000, and Sejima's New Museum envisaged for the Bowery.

Reports on release of a position paper by Japan's Ministry of Construction regarding the adoption of qualified open bidding for large-scale public works. Recommendation of the council; Contents of the ministry's position paper; Second report; Japanese contractors delegation for workshops on U.S.-style bidding.