Kotone Murai (2nd-year Master's student, Graduate School of Media and Governance), a member of Professor Akira Wakita's laboratory in the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, has won the Grand Prix at the Tokyo Architecture Collection 2026 [National Master's Thesis Exhibition].
The Tokyo Architecture Collection is a project and exhibition that began in 2007 as Japan's first national-scale exhibition for master's designs and theses. Marking its 20th year, Tokyo Architecture Collection 2026 consisted of three projects—the National Master's Design Exhibition, the National Master's Thesis Exhibition, and a Special Exhibition—and was held under the theme "Keijo Kairai" (Inheriting the past and opening up the future).
The National Master's Thesis Exhibition is a convention for presenting master's theses collected based on timely themes in architecture, as well as holding discussions based on them. This year, there were applications from 53 groups of students, and 10 groups that passed the first screening participated in the public review session on March 6, 2026. Following presentations by the exhibitors and Q&A sessions with the judges, Ms. Murai's presentation was highly evaluated for "its consistent approach to data collection, organization, evaluation, and the digital archiving of information lost over time" and "its efforts toward the logicalization and preservation of knowledge regarding the major issue of war without flinching." As a result, she was awarded the Grand Prix, the highest honor.
Award-winning Thesis
"Architectural Strategies as Civil Defense Against Drones: Categorization of Countermeasures Against Kamikaze Drones in Wartime Ukraine and Social Implementation via Web Platforms"
Kotone Murai (Keio University Graduate School)
Comment from Kotone Murai
This research focuses on "Architectural Strategies as Civil Defense Against Drones" in the Russia-Ukraine War.
Until now, architecture has often been discussed as an "object to be destroyed" or an "object to be reconstructed." However, during wartime, citizens are transforming their own homes for survival through window reinforcement, changes to indoor movement paths, and converting underground spaces into shelters. I redefined and categorized these acts of citizens protecting existing dwellings as "architectural acts as a response" to protect lives during war.
Furthermore, I integrated this with analysis of actual attack data and damage cases to implement it as a widely shareable digital archive.
By reframing architecture as a practice that supports survival during wartime, I presented a knowledge base that leads to future protective design and reconstruction. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my professor for his enthusiastic guidance, to everyone in the laboratory and my fellow students for their mutual encouragement, to my friends in Ukraine, and to my family who has continued to watch over me.
Source: Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office, General Affairs