The exhibition “Inujima: Architecture becomes Environment” presents a selection of student projects developed during the Advanced Architectural Design Studio, held by professors Kazuyo Sejima and Jonas Elding, from 2015 to 2019, at School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano.
Exhibition Design: Kazuyo Sejima, Giulia Setti, Francesca Singer
Exhibition Assistants: Enrico Armellin, Beatrice Balducci, Stefano Di Zazzo, Maria Mastella
Kazuyo Sejima has taught the Advanced Architectural Design Studio at Politecnico di Milano from 2015 to 2019, for a total of four years.
The studio focuses on studies, analysis and architectural solutions applied to the context of the isle of Inujima, a small island in a quiet inland sea called Seto Naikai, Japan.
The island is reachable in three hours by train from Tokyo. You can walk around the entire island in about 1 to 2 hours. Within the context of the course, the students are asked to study thoroughly Inujima’s landscape, history, resources and context, analyzing the island as a whole, within which interconnected items are spread.
Based on their analysis, the students then develop a proposal for a project that should establish a clear relationship between the artificial and the natural landscape, between architecture and environment.
The island as a whole is a place where architecture ultimately becomes the environment.
The students are therefore asked to describe how the island would change through their project: what are the new relationships that the project establishes between inhabitants and visitors, nature and man-made construction, art and local life?
How does the project trigger a transformation of the island? How does the project determine a new environment for the island? The proposal should be developed in a free and yet respectful and sensitive way.
