G30 Studio Resumes

While the university’s engineering department remains closed till May 6, Obuchi Lab G30 Studio met in a café to discuss the progress on their ongoing studio projects. Current studio topics, including alternative power plant, floating forest that generates fresh air by plankton in Tokyo bay, structure built with mussels which also functions as water purification system, will be developed further and will be presented at Princeton University joined by Columbia University and Tsingha University.

AA’s Tohoku Earthquake Action

As usual, the AA is quick in making actions. To support the victims of the earthquake in Japan, Shin Egashira of the AA organized a fundraising event at the AA’s terrace, provided with yakitori and grilled food.

Joint midterm review with Princeton, Columbia and Pratt

A few days after the mega earthquake shook Japan, Columbia students from New York led by Nanako Umemoto of Reiser+Umemoto have visited Tokyo to join midterm review organized by Princeton, Columbia and University of Tokyo. They were visiting Kyoto taking part in their Japan Trip Program when the earthquake hit. The review was planned 6 months in advance and all students from those schools in the US and also from Tsingha University in Beijing ware planning to participate.

Moments before the earthquake hit Uni Tokyo

Cecil Balmond+Roland Snooks Studio from University of Pennsylvania was presenting their projects at our school when the mega earthquake hit Japan last week. No one was hurt and no major damage to the building by the quake.

Cancelled - Digital Fabrication Lab Launch Event

LECTURE by PETRA BLAISSE

Joined by Rem Koolhaas and Kengo Kuma, a Dutch designer, Petra Blaisse, gave a lecture at University of Tokyo last weekend. Petra Blaisse presented her projects which covered a wide range of scales and design fields including landscape architecture, interior design and textile design. She is fonder of InsideOutside, a creative design office based in Amsterdam. www.insideoutside.nl

Matthias Kohler's visit

Matthias Kohler, Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication at ETH Zurich, stopped by at Uni Tokyo to meet with Kengo Kuma and Yusuke Obuchi last week. He was on his way to Singapore where he and his partner Fabio Gramazio are setting up a new program at the National University of Singapore.