'The role of abstraction in the age of modern art and architecture is a legacy of the modern age which must be resolved. However, as the world moves towards diversity, architectural research also takes on new directions, such as complexity and immunity. The greatest concerns of our age are those of universality and place and the friction between abstraction and local identity. These problems can be solved by changing the prevalent thinking model from the 'Machine Principle' to the 'Principle of Life', and by aiming for a symbiosis between abstraction and local identity'. Kisho Kurokawa first made an impact on the architectural scene as one of the leaders of the Metabolist Group who envisioned the city and its architecture as organisms capable of growth and change. Kurokawa has continued to promote this view and in this lecture discusses his conception of architectural symbiosis. NB: Lecture cuts out.