#72 October 2, 2025
Self-Building Public
Japan Women's University launched the KKAA Endowed Lecture Series to coincide with the opening of its Faculty of Architecture and Design. The achievements from that year have been compiled by Taichi Kuma into a book titled Self-Building Public, which explores the emergence of new public spaces around the world. As the Lecture Series is conducted entirely in English, the book is also bilingual in Japanese and English.
The lecturers featured go far beyond the field of architecture and come from diverse backgrounds, but what they all have in common is that they are not mere academics—they are practitioners who engage directly with the real world.
Universities of the future should serve as places that cultivate such practitioners and maintain strong connections with society. Those who fail to do so would gradually lose their relevance. The Faculty of Architecture and Design at Japan Women's University, which began as a Department of Housing and Architecture within the Faculty of Human Sciences and Design, will increasingly assert its presence as such a place in this chaotic world.
NewsBook Launch / Special Event Self-Building Public
A book based on KKAA’s endowed lecture titled Self-Building Public by Taichi Kuma, held last year at Japan Women’s University, was released on August 30, 2025. This guidebook explores how to create public spaces individually, presenting twelve diverse examples of varying forms and scales in both Jap … Read MoreProjectsSaint Denis Pleyel Station
The Grand Paris Express project began in 2007 in an attempt to relieve overcrowding and environmental degradation in the center of Paris with a new ring-shaped subway network. We designed the station building that will serve as the northern hub of the project. The entire station was made into a park … Read MoreProjectsMabi Reconstruction Disaster Prevention Park – Bamboo Gate
The reconstruction and disaster prevention park in Mabi-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, which was severely damaged by the torrential rains of July, 2018. We worked together with the citizens of Kurashiki City and the national government to design a park that will serve as a base for reconst … Read More