INSIGHTS

2023.07.13

R&D DISCUSSION Vol. 50

The world is full of possibilities
--Perceive playfully and take action! [Part 2]

Nobuyuki Ueda Professor Emeritus of Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Director of Neo Museum

R&D DISCUSSION TOP

Q: How are you approaching your workshops these days?

A: We are currently exploring the possibilities of workshops as a new design method for projects such as architecture, urban planning, and office design handled by Mitsubishi Jisho Design. In order to create "+ EMOTION" in the design process, we plan and implement them together with "Studio X," a team formed in the R&D Promotion Department in 2020. The name Studio X means to explore new things. Many words starting with X (ex) are creative, such as "explore," "express," "exchange," and "experiment." Studio X's workshops are characterized by a physical approach in which participants create a creative dialogue space and immerse themselves in it to think. It is called a generative workshop because it is a workshop to create new value and meaning, such as visualizing issues and fostering a sense of unity as a team.

In one urban redevelopment project, we held a workshop where about 20 landowners gathered to think together about what kind of area they wanted to develop. Three methods were used here.
1 "Circle Dialogue"-- When having a discussion with a large group of people, it is common for people to split into those who talk a lot and those who don't. So we use low technology, sketchbooks and magic markers. Everyone sits in a circle, each person writes a message or idea in a sketchbook, expresses it, and presents it all at once. Then, everyone's opinions can be "seen." We then prepare a "Low Floor" (a software development principle meaning "low threshold"), that is, an activity that is easy for anyone to get into. Here, we started by having people write their names and pronunciations and then say hello.
This "circle dialogue" is one of the characteristics of the "Jenaplan education" that is practiced in some elementary schools in the Netherlands. It is an open model of education that teaches self-discipline and coexistence while respecting each individual. By forming a circle, everyone can realize that they are on an equal footing. It is important to listen carefully to what the other person has to say and to respect each other [Photo 1].
2 "Joint Attention"- We printed out maps of the developed regions divided into five eras: the Enlightenment era, the postwar era, the high growth era, the bubble economy, and the present, and spread them out to look at together. Creating a three-way relationship between yourself, the other person, and the object stimulates communication [Photo 2]. We stuck color-coded post-it notes on the map and shared our opinions on what we liked about each region and what we would like to change.
3. "Telling about things"- We asked the landowners to draw a graph with the vertical axis representing their level of attachment to the development area and the passage of time on the horizontal axis. Even an abstract question like "What kind of attachment do you have to the area?" can be visualized and made easier to talk about by plotting it on a graph over time. This is similar to the "show and tell" game that is practiced in kindergartens and elementary schools in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries, where students give presentations in front of their classmates about their favorite things and recent events, and is done through objects.

We also incorporate "documentation," a feature of the Italian early childhood education method "Reggio Emilia Approach." In Reggio Emilia, children's conversations with each other and with caregivers, as well as their activities, are recorded as notes, audio, photographs, and videos, and are then displayed on panels where everyone can see them. We incorporate this visualization method into our workshops, and use it to examine the content of our activities and their results.

[Photo 1] By forming a circle,
[Photo 2] By using objects,

Q: From here on, I would like to ask the members of Studio X, what kind of records do you actually keep?

Ii Ikuya

We practice capturing non-verbal information, such as participants' facial expressions and thought processes, as visual information, or converting it into verbal information and recording it. One example of visual information is Real Time Video (RTV), which records the workshop on video and edits it on the spot [Photo 3]. All participants watch the resulting footage during and at the end of the workshop, reflecting on and reconstructing their experiences, while attaching meaning to them.
In order to maximize image quality within the constraints of real-time editing, RTV considers cuts, angle of view, and other composition in advance. However, in order not to get too caught up in that advance preparation, when recording, we try to capture the scene as it is happening.
Producing an RTV requires a great deal of concentration, but because it records the events that are being generated, I am immersed in the story and capture the highlight scenes.

Mai Tsuchiya

As an example of linguistic information, we create documentation using a method called scribing. Scribing is a method of compiling text and illustration information on a piece of paper or an iPad, and although the recording media is different, it shares essential elements with RTV.

Ueda

The RTV and Scribing created in this way have the effect of involving not only the participants but also those who view the material, generating wider communication.

[Photo 3] "RTV (Real Time Video)" records the workshop on video and edits it on the spot

Q: How do you think the ideas of workshops and co-designing will affect the way we work in the future?

Ueda

I feel that future designs will be woven together through relationships. Workshops bring out a sense of ownership in all participants, and can generate high goals (aspirations), a sense of excitement, and momentum. Rather than someone deciding the direction to move in, I think that urban redevelopment will also become something that is "co-designed," where everyone works together as a community to create something.

Kenichi Yasuda

Architectural Design involves people with various professions, such as design, Structural Engineering, and MEP Engineering. Studio X has members with different specialties, and we hope that by thinking together with clients and building users, something new will be born. We want to take co-designing one step further and challenge the unknown X with "Design by People." This is something I realized while studying with Professor Ueda, but until now, design has been "for People," and recently it has been "with People." I strongly feel that from now on it will be "by People." In order to realize "Design by People," we will be full of "playful spirit" and practice workshops that encourage mutual growth among clients, users, and designers with "reflective intelligence."

Yumika Sugiyama

When I do workshops, I come into contact with ideas from people outside of architecture, so I can keep a flexible mind that goes beyond my profession. It's like a gathering of various Xs. I had the image that pedagogy was aimed at young children, but it can also motivate adults, and the workshops are fun, like a party. I want to spread a playful spirit to the whole world.

Ueda

In this way, if everyone has a sense of ownership, pursues their dreams, and co-designs with a playful spirit, I believe that this will pave the way for the world of the future and our future. Let's all take action to create a world where many people use their five senses to challenge the unknown and continue to expand their own boundaries!

[Photo 1-3: Provided by Studio X]

Back to Part 2

PROFILE

Professor Emeritus of Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Director of Neo Museum

Nobuyuki Ueda

Nobuyuki Ueda

Born in Nara Prefecture in 1950. After graduating from Doshisha University, inspired by Sesame Street, he obtained an M.A. from Central Michigan University Graduate School and an Ed.M. and Ed.D. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. From 1996 to 1997, he was a visiting researcher at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. From 2010 to 2011, he was a visiting professor at the MIT Media Lab. His specialty is educational technology. With playful learning as his keyword, he is conducting cutting-edge research into learning environment design and media education. His publications include Playful Thinking: A way of thinking that makes work fun (Sendenkaigi) and Workshops of Collaboration and Expression: Designing an Environment for Learning (Toshin-do, co-authored and edited).

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R&D

Update : 2018.09.21

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