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Okuyama Lab
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An architecture lab that reads buildings and cities through architectural design theory, and also practices design.
AboutAbout the lab
Reading architecture and cities through architectural design theory.
Okuyama Lab focuses on research and design based on architectural design theory concerning architecture and the urban environment.
Its themes include discourse written by architects in magazines and elsewhere, the form of space itself, urban facades, and images of architecture and cities in the media.
Because design and research proceed in parallel, the lab looks for members who proactively propose their own ideas and have the insight to look ahead to the prospects of the project team.
Several design projects and research activities are always underway at once, and the conceptual ability of members, mainly graduate students and research students, supports the lab's activities.
Key terms
- Architectural design theory
- A standpoint that discusses the form and design of architecture as theory
- Discourse
- Writings and statements of ideas about design that architects have published in magazines and books
- Facade
- The exterior surface forming the front of a building; the part that serves as the building's face toward the street
ResearchResearch themes
Research and design based on architectural design theory concerning architecture and the urban environment are the core activities of Okuyama Lab. Several design projects and research activities always run side by side.
*Illustrative imageResearch on Architects' Discourse
The lab analyzes texts that contemporary Japanese architects have published in magazines and elsewhere, along themes such as housing design theory and analogical expression. Behind this is the idea that statements in words are as essential to architectural design as the design of actual space.
*Illustrative imageResearch on the Form of Space
This is an attempt to grasp, from the standpoint of architectural design theory, the form of space itself, meaning its three-dimensional extent, rather than the form of a building's elevations or plans. It aims to identify the character of partial spaces cut out from the whole building in their own right.
*Illustrative imageResearch on Urban Facades
In the centers of developed cities, the more the facade design differs from building to building, the harder it becomes to distinguish each building as a unit. The lab seeks to understand this phenomenon from the perspective of semiotics.
*Illustrative imageMedia and Images of Architecture
By analyzing the media around us, the lab seeks to grasp the frames of meaning that shape images of architecture and cities. Through media, it reads the social frameworks surrounding contemporary architecture and cities.
MembersFaculty
Okuyama Lab consists of faculty, researchers, technical support staff, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorOkuyama Shin'IchiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMasaru OtsukaPublications ↗
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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: “Spiral Staircase, Keck Center (U.S. National Academies)” Jorge Mendoza / CC0 (cropped)
- Research on Architects' Discourse: “BouwTijdschrift” Bouw / Public domain (cropped)
- Research on the Form of Space: “UCSD-JacobsSchool-20230406-Shake table-Tallwood-sunset-05308-DNG dxo-8MP” Jacobs School of Engineering / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Research on Urban Facades: “Illuminated street corner at blue hour - facade of the building Fujiya in Ginza Chuo-ku Tokyo Japan” Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Media and Images of Architecture: “Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo, Japan ( )” yeowatzup / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (大佛研究室): “Alphabet City aerial view” Felton Davis / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (能作文徳研究室): “Traditional Japanese style houses in Miyajidake-jinja 01” STA3816 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (藤田研究室): “Rabat church 2012” M. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (塩崎研究室): “Architectural Model ( )” THOR / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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