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Hayashi Lab
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An architectural history lab that interprets the relationship between architecture and a region's nature and history, and works to document and pass it on.
AboutAbout the lab
Turning the regional ecosphere from a constraint into a resource.
The Hayashi Lab studies the history of architecture and cities, focusing mainly on Asian cities.
It examines how cities and architecture relate to the nature, culture, and history of each place (the regional ecosphere), and works to document, pass on, and renew that relationship.
It carries out projects in Japan and abroad, including documenting modern and contemporary architecture in Southeast Asia and restoring and reusing old buildings in Oman and Miyagi Prefecture.
Key terms
- Regional ecosphere
- The set of conditions unique to a place, including its nature, culture, and history. Architecture and cities of the past were strongly bound by these conditions.
- Inventory
- A list that records surveyed items one by one. It serves as a foundation when considering how to conserve buildings.
- Kampung
- A residential area in an Indonesian city that arose spontaneously. Many date back to the colonial era.
NewsLab news
A student's master's thesis won the Kaoru Iwamoto Prize at Tokyo Architecture Collection 2026
Held the exhibition "The Universe of Preservation" (Hozon no Uchu) at the Komaba Research Campus Open House
Held a lab information session for prospective graduate students
A master's student won the Excellent Presentation Award for Young Researchers at the Architectural Institute of Japan Annual Meeting
A translated paper was published in Japan Architectural Review
ResearchResearch themes
Critically reexamining the course of modernity, the lab aims to build a "regional-ecosphere-based society" that treats the regional ecosphere as a resource rather than a constraint. To that end, it carries out projects that interpret the relationship between the regional ecosphere and cities and architecture, and that document, pass on, and renew it.
*Illustrative imageDocumenting Modern and Contemporary Architecture in Southeast Asia
Together with experts from countries across Southeast Asia, the lab compiles inventories of surviving modern and contemporary buildings, and works on their documentation and conservation. The project is carried out jointly with Docomomo Japan and the Japan Foundation.
*Illustrative imageJakarta's Century-Old Kampungs
Among the kampungs of Jakarta, the lab calls those that date back to the colonial era "century-old kampungs" and studies the systems and community characteristics that have sustained them.
*Illustrative imageRestoring Stone Houses in Oman
In Oman, where timber is scarce, the lab investigates the stone and earthen construction methods of the past while restoring stone houses damaged by cyclones, bringing them back to life for the present day.
*Illustrative imageTurning Nagaya-mon Gatehouses into Guesthouses
Led mainly by students, the lab is converting nagaya-mon (traditional gatehouses with attached rooms), many of which remain in Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, into guesthouses. The project seeks to pass nagaya-mon on as buildings for the next generation and put them to use.
MembersFaculty
The Hayashi Lab's members consist of faculty, doctoral and master's students, secretaries, and research fellows and collaborating researchers.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKengo HayashiPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorYu TakaharaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Tongkonan, Toraja houses” RianHS / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Documenting Modern and Contemporary Architecture in Southeast Asia: “Olympic Stadium Phnom Penh 1” Myrmux / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Jakarta's Century-Old Kampungs: “Ciliwung, stroomt door een woonwijk bij Kampung Melayu te Jakarta, KITLV 160400” Steijlen, Fridus. / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Restoring Stone Houses in Oman: “Misfat Al Abriyeen Village, Oman” Broc / CC0 (cropped)
- Turning Nagaya-mon Gatehouses into Guesthouses: “Nagayamoan” fitm / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Unno Lab): “Horyu-ji Kondo and Five-story Pagoda 2022” ONO Masanobu / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Okabe Lab): “Kawasaki Nihon Minkaen-3” Fg2 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Kawazoe Lab): “Taketa townscape ac (4)” Asturio Cantabrio / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yasuhara Lab): “Marquise do Ibirapuera 01” Dornicke / Public domain (cropped)
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