The Culture of Water is a joint research study between the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and the Kyoto Institute of Technology. The study is developed by MA architecture students of both institutions through a series of workshops, research analysis and design proposals.

The research intends to reflect upon the architecture, forms of living and landscape conditions of Lake Lucerne and Lake Biwa – located North-East from Kyoto and the largest freshwater lake in Japan.
By looking at different urban scales and typologies in relation to the lakes, from cities and industrial developments to small houses and fields, the project will produce a thorough understanding of the singularities of each contexts, ultimately aiming to generate building proposals taking into account the water’s multiple evaluations.

In 2019 a two-week workshop has been held at HSLU during the first two weeks of May. Groups of students from HSLU and KIT worked collaboratively to produce a comparative review and further analysis of a variety of topics in the area of study: history, culture, legal aspects, topographical conditions, aspects of urbanisation, construction tradition, contemporary design, questions of heritage, etc.