"Architecture Project" by the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Department of Architecture, Nihon University
Mitsubishi Jisho Design cooperates in creating and running the class curriculum

We would like to discuss how to evaluate and renovate "architecture from the postwar and economic growth period" in the future.
Thinking about industry-academia collaboration

The "Architecture Project" ^*, which was offered for the first time this year, is a PBL (Project Based Learning) seminar course in which students set their own tasks for topics related to practice, research, and investigation, and then plan and carry out the objectives, investigation, design, and experimental methods, and then consider the results. In response to the growing need for the preservation and utilization of modern architecture, the "Yamanaka-Tadokoro Unit," led by Professor​ ​Shintaro Yamanaka (Regional Design) and Professor Tatsunosuke Tadokoro (Architectural History and Theory), is conducting practical training, research, and presentations under the title "Inheritance and Dialogue," with the aim of examining preservation and inheritance based on the historical evaluation of buildings and exploring renovation design methods that will put this into practice.
In order to combine academic analysis with practical design methods, this class involves designers from multiple departments, including Architectural Heritage Design Office at Mitsubishi Jisho Design, which has renovated numerous modern buildings, and they cooperate in creating the curriculum and guiding students.

*The Architecture Project is divided into several units, and in addition to the one covered here, "Inheritance and Dialogue," Professor Mitsuhiko Sato, Associate Professor Daisuke Furusawa, Associate Professor Rui Izumiyama, and Part-time Lecturer Masaki Imamura have each set their own theme and are conducting exercises.

About the theme "Inheritance and Dialogue"

In recent years, interest in preserving and utilizing modern architecture has been growing, and there are an increasing number of cases where facilities utilizing such architecture are making a significant contribution to improving the attractiveness of towns. To achieve this, it is important to (1) determine which parts of the original architecture are valuable and what should be preserved and passed on, and (2) develop a design method to materialize proposals based on this.
In the inaugural "Architecture Project" class taught by the Yamanaka/Tadokoro unit, "Inheritance and Dialogue," students will be assisted by professors Yamanaka and Tadokoro, along with designers from multiple departments, including Architectural Heritage Design Office at Mitsubishi Jisho Design, in creating record assessment reports for existing buildings, drafting preservation and utilization plans, and critiquing renovation designs. Through this class, students will discover historical value through research and analysis of existing buildings and engage in a series of processes that involve creating specific renovation proposals.

In this regard, Professors Yamanaka and Tadokoro selected the Palace Side Building (completed in 1966, designed by Nikken Sekkei), located near the campus of the Department of Architecture, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, as the subject of their research and proposals as a representative building from the period of high economic growth.

How to approach classes (curriculum)

Through the second semester of 2024 (September 2024 to March 2025), students will (1) conduct detailed interpretations of buildings through on-site visits and investigations, and create their own evaluation reports based on the architectural evaluations of DOCOMOMO Japan.* Based on this, (2) they will propose and refine concept design for the renovation, preservation, and utilization of buildings, consisting of concept texts, diagrams, and various drawings, in accordance with the evaluations, and (3) they will present the results of their work, from analysis to detailed design proposals.

*DOCOMOMO (International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement) is an international academic organization established in 1988. In Japan, DOCOMOMO Japan is responsible for selecting and registering surviving historically valuable modern architecture.

In the practical field of Architectural Design, there has been an increase in design work for renovations as well as new construction. In this climate, Nihon University's College of Science and Technology and Mitsubishi Jisho Design are aiming to foster awareness among young people who will be involved in cities and architecture in the future by teaching university courses on the themes of "analyzing and judging the value of buildings" and "thinking about renovations and how to approach them."
At the same time, we will develop methods for applying basic research to practice and accumulating practical activities as research, thereby contributing to society.