The 681st Mita Public Speaking Event: Lecture by Architect Kengo Kuma
On Friday the 24th of June the bi-annual Mita Public Speaking Event was held at the North Building hall on the Mita Campus.
The guest speaker for this event was internationally renowned architect Kengo Kuma. Mr. Kuma currently holds the position of Guest Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology and was the architect in charge of the Banraisha relocation project on the Mita campus. Mr. Kuma began his lecture by showing a video outlining the Banraisha relocation project and expressed his hope that this would be an opportunity for everyone to consider ways to achieve balance between people and the environment. The lecture was entitled “Nature in Relation to Architecture” and Mr. Kuma presented a range of his designs emphasizing harmony between buildings, landscapes and the surrounding environment. These designs included the Kirōzan lookout in Yoshiumi-chō, Ehime prefecture and the Batō-machi Hiroshige Museum located in Tochigi prefecture. The lecture concluded with an overview of his collaborative work with landscape architect Mr. Michel Desvigne in the relocation of Banraisha and Mr. Kuma invited participants to see the recently completed project for themselves.
After the lecture, participants were given the opportunity to view the newly relocated Banraisha in the South Building and the Mita Public Speaking Hall, both of which were specially opened to the public as a part of this event.
