LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Tanaka Lab
Machine-translated · View original
An architectural design lab that renovates vacant houses and traditional farmhouses together with local communities.
AboutAbout the lab
Remaking architecture together with the community.
The Tanaka Lab is a project-based lab that renovates vacant houses and traditional farmhouses in local communities to create community hubs.
Working with local governments, local residents, and companies, the lab takes on the design and renovation of real buildings and spaces.
The lab also conducts research that investigates designers' works and compiles their methods.
Key terms
- Renovation
- A method of remodeling an old building so that it can be used in a new way
- Self-build
- A way of building a structure with one's own hands, without relying on professional construction contractors
- Workshop (WS)
- A gathering where people think and make things together with local residents
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Grand Prize at the 9th Kataoka Yasu Prize (Architectural Association of Japan essay competition)
A master's student received an Honorable Mention in the UIA International Student Ideas Competition
Prof. Tanaka received a commendation from the National Conference of Building Review Boards for FY2025
A master's student received an Excellence Award (National Selection) in the Architectural Institute of Japan Design Competition 2025
Prof. Tanaka received an Encouragement Award at the JSCE Design Award 2024 from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers
ResearchResearch themes
The Tanaka Lab is a design-oriented lab that creates real buildings and spaces in collaboration with communities and companies. In addition to projects on vacant house revitalization and community development, it also studies the works of designers.
*Illustrative imageRenovating a Vacant House
In this project, a vacant wooden house in Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture, is renovated through self-build and turned into a community hub facility.
*Illustrative imageCreating a Community Hub from a Traditional Farmhouse
A traditional farmhouse in Higashimurayama, Tokyo, is renovated, and a space for the community is created in collaboration with the local government and residents.
*Illustrative imageMaking Furniture from Local Timber
In cooperation with the villagers, the lab plans, builds, and installs a bench made from timber from Kamikitayama Village, Nara Prefecture.
*Illustrative imageEnvisioning Next-Generation Healthcare Spaces
In consultation with Taisei Corporation, the lab develops concepts and proposals for next-generation healthcare spaces and holds workshops in hospitals.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Tanaka Lab consist of faculty, assistants, contract researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and exchange students.
- ProfessorTomoyuki Tanaka
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
Who is this lab for?
What's great about this lab?
What did you learn after joining?
What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
Where do graduates go?
RelatedLabs similar to Tanaka Lab
Watanabe LabSchool of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of ArchitectureDesign, architectural design, and urban history
Yoshimura LabSchool of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of ArchitectureDesign, architectural design, urban design, and communicatio…
Kobayashi LabSchool of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of ArchitectureDesign, architectural design, urban studies, and architectur…
Miyamoto LabSchool of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of ArchitectureDesign, architectural design, and landscape theoryThe 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: “Kintsugi on broken Kyūsu lid-top oblique PNr°1258” D-Kuru / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Renovating a Vacant House: “Remain Nozaki Village 02” Indiana jo / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Creating a Community Hub from a Traditional Farmhouse: “Irori Hearth” JosephCoston / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Making Furniture from Local Timber: “Stacked logs, freshly logged trees” Silar / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Envisioning Next-Generation Healthcare Spaces: “Corridor on the second level - NÄL hospital 3” W.carter / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Watanabe Lab): “Mangrove roots in the Laguna de La Restinga” Wilfredor / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yoshimura Lab): “Tiny house, Portland” Tammy / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kobayashi Lab): “Empty seats” ProjectManhattan / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Miyamoto Lab): “Government Center Study models ( )” City of Boston Archives from West Roxbury, United States / CC BY-SA 2.0 (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.