LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Kato Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab reads the history of architecture, mainly in the West, to think about the architecture of the future.
AboutAbout the lab
Thinking about future architecture through architectural history
The Kato Lab studies the history of architecture, mainly in the West.
The lab believes that studying historical architecture in depth leads to architectural theory that explains present and future architecture.
It focuses on how buildings change over time, and also examines the history of renovation, in which old buildings continue to be used.
Students, focusing mainly on the West and the modern and contemporary periods, each freely choose their own topic and advance their research through discussion in the lab seminar.
Key terms
- Architectural history
- The study of when and how buildings and cities were formed and have changed
- Renovation
- Modifying an existing building so that it can continue to be used in new ways
- Building construction methods
- The methods by which a building is made, meaning what materials are used and how columns, walls, roofs, and other elements are assembled
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies historically captivating architecture and aims to build architectural theory that explains present and future architecture. Focusing mainly on the West, it studies architectural history from the following perspectives.
*Illustrative imageArchitectural history through materiality and construction
The lab focuses on architecture as a physical object: construction methods, materials, and structure. Rather than stopping at technical matters, it extends its research to ideas about space and to architectural theory.
*Illustrative imageRethinking the modern view of architecture
As the conventional wisdom of 20th-century architectural studies is losing its validity, the lab steps back from the modern way of seeing architecture and reexamines it within history.
*Illustrative imageArchitecture that changes over time
Rather than a "point-based architectural history" that classifies buildings by their year of completion, the lab pursues a "line-based architectural history" that traces how buildings have changed over time.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kato Lab consist of faculty, visiting researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, research students, and special auditing students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKoichi KatoPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Kato Lab
Unno LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of ArchitectureJapanese architectural history, cultural property conservati…
Okabe LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of ArchitectureArchitectural design / urban and regional design (architectu…
Kawazoe LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of ArchitectureArchitectural design and design studies; sustainable urban a…
Yasuhara LabFaculty of Engineering, Department of ArchitectureArchitectural design; architectural public space, contempora…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Amiens Cathedral Nave 2, Picardy, France - Diliff” Diliff / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Architectural history through materiality and construction: “Flying buttresses of the Notre Dame” Eutouring / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Rethinking the modern view of architecture: “Progress of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham MET DP109624 (cropped)” Philip Henry Delamotte / Henry Negretti / CC0 (cropped)
- Architecture that changes over time: “Theatre of Marcellus in 2018.01” CAPTAIN RAJU / CC BY-SA 4.0 (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)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.