On March 14, the first Institute lecture of the spring semester 2024 took place. As part of our «Positions on Urbanism» series, Mio Tsuneyama from Japan gave a lecture entitled «Urban Fungus – Architecture is a complex mesh».

Mio Tsuneyama shows how a new generation of architects is discovering the periphery of Tokyo. In contrast to the city centre, where expensive renovation projects are regularly invested in and building materials are immediately scrapped, the periphery of Tokyo is affected by vacancies and people moving away. However, the houses here are not immediately demolished and this new movement of architects, to which Mio Tsuneyama also belongs, sees this phenomenon as potential. They utilise the vacancies with new functions and recycle the waste generated in the city. The large amount of waste is a resource that, together with sunlight and rainwater, is fed back into the ecological cycle of production and decomposition.

Lecture series «Positions on Urbanism»

We are continuing our lecture series «Positions on Urbanism» in the spring semester 2024. The series focusses on urban design issues, seeking new, contemporary approaches to discuss and solve current challenges to the built environment. This involves topics such as the translation and application of architectural networks of relationships; the permanent negotiation processes that define the discipline – also in relation to urban development and, finally, dealing with history and its significance for future construction.