AIA Japan

Evening Lecture with Kengo Kuma: Back to Nature
2025-11-06 19:00 - 20:50 (Asia/Tokyo) | Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan, 2 Chome-31-3 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima City, 東京都, 171-0021, Japan
AIA Japan is honored to collaborate with Kengo Kuma & Associates to present a special lecture, “Back to Nature,” by Kengo Kuma, one of Japan’s most internationally acclaimed architects. Held at the historic Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan—a masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright and a fitting setting for this dialogue between architecture and nature—the event will explore Kuma’s philosophy of reconnecting design with the natural world.
Schedule
6:30pm – Doors open.
If you arrive early, feel free to visit the exhibition hall (to the right), but please refrain from wandering elsewhere as requested by the venue staff. No open containers or outside food a drink please.
7:00pm – Lecture begins promptly.
Please arrive at least 10 minutes early to get seated. This is an intimate venue, and late arrivals may disrupt the presentation.
8:00pm – Brief Q&A
8:15pm – Post-lecture reception in the Dining Hall.
Join us upstairs for a relaxed evening of wine, tea, and small sweets, surrounded by the warm architecture of Wright’s wooden interiors—a perfect chance to connect with fellow guests and continue the conversation.
8:50pm – Event concludes.
Register Via Peatix: here
FREE FOR AIA JAPAN MEMBERS!
3000JPY for non-members. Non-member tickets will be available for purchase starting at 9:00am Sunday 10/26.
STUDENTS! Use Discount Code: AIAJSTUDENT2025
No CES credits will be awarded at this lecture.
Online Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82723845751?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 827 2384 5751
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Biography:
Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He is currently a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a member of the Japan Art Academy after teaching at Keio University and the University of Tokyo. KKAA projects are currently underway in more than 50 countries. Kengo Kuma proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings. His major publications include Kengo Kuma Onomatopoeia Architecture Grounding (X-Knowledge), Nihon no Kenchiku (Architecture of Japan, Iwanami Shoten), Zen Shigoto (Kengo Kuma – the complete works, Daiwa Shobo), Ten Sen Men (Point Line Plane, Iwanami Shoten), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na Kenchiku (Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii-sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho) and many others.
1954年生。1990年、隈研吾建築都市設計事務所設立。慶應義塾大学教授、東京大学教授を経て、現在、東京大学特別教授・名誉教授、日本芸術院会員。50を超える国々でプロジェクトが進行中。自然と技術と人間の新しい関係を切り開く建築を提案。主な著書に『隈研吾 オノマトペ 建築 接地性』（エクスナレッジ）、『日本の建築』（岩波新書）、『全仕事』（大和書房）、『点・線・面』（岩波書店）、『負ける建築』（岩波書店）、『自然な建築』、『小さな建築』（岩波新書）、他多数。

2025 AIAJ Design Awards Submission Deadline
2025-11-14 17:00 (Asia/Tokyo) | 東京都
The AIA Japan Chapter invites AIA members assigned to the Japan Chapter, as well as AIA members working on projects in Japan, to submit their projects for the 2025 AIA Japan Design Award Program by November 14, 2025. The 2025 AIA Japan Design Award Ceremony is scheduled for December 13, 2025.
The mission of the AIA Japan Design Awards Program is to encourage excellence in architectural design and planning, and to provide a platform through which architects can gain recognition from both their peers and the public. The goal is to elevate the standards of architectural design excellence for the benefit of the architectural community and society at large.
With five distinct categories—Architecture (large-scale project), Architecture (small-scale project, single detached house), Interior Architecture, Urban Planning, and a Special Entry Category welcoming architects who have not yet joined the AIA—the AIA Japan Design Awards provide a comprehensive platform for architects to showcase their creativity and technical prowess.

JURORS
We are also honored to introduce this year’s distinguished jury:

Michel van Ackere, AIA, Professor-in-Practice, Meiji University I-AUD; Former Associate, Maki and Associates; Founding President, AIA Japan

Shirin Frangoul-Brückner, Managing Director and founding partner of ATELIER BRÜCKNER

Rita Topa, Partner, Kengo Kuma & Associates; Portuguese Architect/Urban Planner based in Tokyo

Together, they bring an exceptional range of expertise across architecture, interiors, and urban design. We look forward to recognizing outstanding design achievements that reflect innovation, craft, and cultural dialogue.
AWARDS: AIA Japan Award (優秀賞)、Honorable Mention (佳作賞)
The jury will determine the number of awards in each category. They may also decide not to award any submitted projects in a category. Awards are based on quality, not competition, and there is no limit on the number of awards.

ENTRY CATEGORIES

ARCHITECTURE SMALL PROJECT
(single-family detached home or less than 500 m² gross floor area)
Eligible entries may be either new construction or renovation/restoration.

ARCHITECTURE LARGE PROJECT
(more than 500 m² gross floor area)
Eligible entries may be either new construction or renovation/restoration.

INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
Eligible entries may be large or small in scope and may involve new construction, renovation, or preservation/restoration.

URBAN PLANNING
Eligible entries may include urban design projects, planning projects, civic amenity improvements, campus plans, environmental programs, or redevelopment projects. Projects
should not be individual buildings.

SPECIAL ENTRY
Includes one-year AIA membership with free entry; follows the same rules as the four categories above and entrants must register with AIA Japan. Entrants are required to complete a membership application and purchase one membership for the current year via the AIA website.
Membership Application: https://www.aia.org/membership

For multiple-building projects, the submitting Architect (or portion thereof) must provide detailed evidence of authorship for the relevant portion.
Projects for architecture large project, small project, and interiors must be built work completed between January 1, 2020, and October 31, 2025. For the Urban Planning Category, incomplete or ongoing projects may be recognized if a significant portion has been completed or implemented by a local authority since January 1, 2015.
For “Special Entry” Category, you will be required to produce evidence that you have applied for AIA membership as part of the submission review process. If submitting multiple projects, only one accompanying membership application is required.

FEES AND ELIGIBILITY

APPLICANT CATEGORY
FEE

AIA Japan Chapter
10,000 JPY per entry

Other Chapters
100 USD per entry, includes international transaction and currency conversion charges.

Non-Member
Free with proof of membership application

Multiple entries by the same individual are allowed.
Entrants must be AIA members assigned to the Japan Chapter or AIA members with a project in Japan, in good standing, including Architect members, International Associate AIA (Int. Assoc. AIA) members, and AIA Honorary members. Membership must be valid and active as of November 15, 2025.
Entrants must also be able to claim authorship or significant authorship of the project being submitted.

APPLICATION
Accepting submissions until Friday, November 14, 2025 at 5:00pm Japan Standard Time (JST), UTC+9. Download application materials now for further detailed instructions on how to submit.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORMS

FOR INQUIRY

Please contact the Award Program Coordinator or a Committee Member for further information.
Email: aiaj.design.awards@gmail.com

AWARDS CEREMONY
Awards will be presented during the Year-End Event on Saturday, December 13, 2025. AIA Japan Chapter encourages all entrants to attend the AIA Japan Design Award Ceremony. Award winners are required to present their project for 5–10 minutes at the ceremony.
SAVE THE DATE MORE DETAILS TO COME!

Ebisu Beer & Sketch Nite!
2025-11-20 19:00 - 21:00 (Asia/Tokyo) | 東京都
Ebisu Beer & Sketch Nite November 20th!
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

AIA Japan’s Beer & Sketch Nite!
It’s another chance to meet fellow AIA Japan members (and friends) and connect! No formalities, no agenda—just architects, beer, and questionable doodles. Buy your own drinks and food. Show up when you want, leave when you want. See you at PUB TAP+ in Ebisu!

Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan Revisited: Traditional Japanese Culture as a Means to Modern American Architecture, an Evening Lecture by Kevin Nute
2025-11-27 18:30 - 20:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | Arper Japan, HT Jingu Gaien Building, 8th Floor, 2-7-22 Kita Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0061, Japan
Discover how Japanese culture shaped Frank Lloyd Wright’s work with this evening lecture by AIA Japan! Join Professor Kevin Nute for fresh insights on Wright’s organic design philosophy at Arper’s Showroom, November 27, 2025. The lecture will follow a brief Q&A followed by a small snacks and drinks.
Register via Peatix here!
Time: 11/27/2025, 6:30pm
Location: Arper Showroom, Tokyo (address below)
Zoom Online Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88581517905?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 885 8151 7905
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Lecture Description:
Although it has long been accepted that America’s most famous architect was influenced by Japanese culture, the nature of Frank Lloyd Wright’s debt to Japan has remained unclear. Kevin Nute argues that Japan had a more profound impact on Wright’s approach to design and in particular his notion of the organic than has previously been acknowledged. It suggests that the influence of Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), the leading American authority on Japanese art at the turn of the 20th century, who also happened to be the cousin of Wright’s first employer in Chicago, the Shingle Style architect Joseph Silsbee (1848–1913), was pivotal in bringing together what would become Wright’s twin passions of Japanese art and the organic whole.
Speaker Bio:

Kevin Nute is a professor of architecture at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa. He trained at the Universities of Nottingham and Cambridge and worked in practice in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore before beginning his research career at the University of Tokyo.
He is the author of Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan (1993) which won the 1994 AIA International Monograph Award, Place, Time and Being in Japanese Architecture (2004), Naturally Animated Architecture (2018), This Here Now (2020), The Constructed Other (2021) and Embodied Time (2024)
His work has been featured in The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine and PBS News. He is currently the 2025 scholar in residence at the Fallingwater Institute.

Image Credit: Kevin Nute
Image Credit: Kevin Nute
Image Credit: Kevin Nute
Image Credit: Kevin Nute

Screening of Lewerentz Divine Darkness + Q&A with Director Sven Blume
2025-12-02 19:00 - 21:00 (Asia/Tokyo) | Theatre Image Forum, Shibuya, 2 Chome-10-2, Shibuya, 東京都, 150-0002, Japan
AIA Japan is proud to support a special Tokyo screening of Lewerentz: Divine Darkness, a 2024 feature documentary revealing the life and impact of Swedish architect Sigurd Lewerentz.
About the Film:
Sigurd Lewerentz (1885–1975) is internationally renowned as one of Sweden’s greatest architects, but due to his aversion to being interviewed and recorded, he has long been shrouded in mystery. Recently, however, a treasure trove of film and sound recordings of the ageing Lewerentz was found in a cellar in Lund, and it’s these recordings that form the basis of this captivating documentary. Lewerentz: Divine Darkness is a unique portrait of this enigmatic figure of 20th century architecture, whose work still resonates and inspires today.

A post-screening greeting and Q&A with director Sven Blume will follow.Approved for 2 AIA CES Learning Units.

Date: December 2, 2025
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: Image Forum Cinema, Shibuya
Film Length/Language: 70 min, Swedish and English with Japanese subtitles
How to Sign up / Tickets:
Tickets are purchased directly from Image Forum Cinema on their website or at the theater box office.
Ticket Prices:
Adults: ¥1,900 / University/College Students: ¥1,400 (Student ID required) / Seniors (60 and over): ¥1,400 / Members: ¥1,300 (Membership card required, same discount for up to one accompanying person) / Disability Discount: ¥1,300 (Disability card required, same discount for up to one accompanying person)

Sven Blume – Director Biography

Sven Blume is a Stockholm-based documentary ﬁlmmaker. He graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Documentary Film.
Since then, he has directed numerous documentary projects and collaborated across disciplines including ﬁne art, architecture, music videos, dance, and exhibitions.
His latest feature-length documentary, Lewerentz Divine Darkness (2024), explores the work of architect Sigurd Lewerentz and is his second ﬁlm on architecture. Since its world premiere, the ﬁlm has toured internationally with over 200 screenings at leading festivals, museums, universities, and cultural venues in 30 countries, alongside a national cinema and broadcast release in Sweden.
Blume’s previous ﬁlms include the award-winning Crooked Lines of Beauty – My Grandfather, the Architect Carl Nyrén (2021) and For Somebody Else (2020), a documentary on surrogate motherhood in the United States, as well as several short ﬁlms.
His work has received critical acclaim, winning awards and being screened worldwide in festivals, museums, galleries, cinemas, and on public broadcasters. In recognition of his contributions to ﬁlm, he became a member of the Swedish Film Academy in 2023.

AIA Japan Book Talk — Waterfront Regeneration in a Time of Climate Change
2025-12-05 18:30 - 20:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | Lutron Asuka Co., Ltd., 1 Chome−1−1 Shin-Aoyama Bldg. West 14F, Minamiaoyama, 東京都, 107-0062, Japan
Please follow the link for in-person and online registration, as well as venue details.
https://aiaj-251205.peatix.com/view

When: Friday, December 5, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Venue: Hosted by Lutron at their showroom near Aoyama-Itchome Station
Joining Online via zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89176946951?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 891 7694 6951
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Attendees will earn CES Credits
Join AIA Japan for an engaging book talk featuring Raffaele Pernice (The University of New South Wales), George Kurumado (Takenaka Corporation), and Heide Imai (Senshu University) — chapter authors of Waterfront Regeneration in a Time of Climate Change: Recent Japanese and International Experiences (Routledge, 2025).
Moderated by Professor Tetsuya Yaguchi (Waseda University), this session will explore the resilience of the Tokyo waterfront and how global cities are reimagining their waterfronts in response to climate change. Through Japanese and international case studies, the speakers will highlight strategies that balance ecological restoration, disaster risk reduction, and urban livability.
This hybrid evening event will offer CES Learning Units (HSW) and a valuable opportunity to hear directly from leading voices in sustainable urban design and waterfront planning.

2025 AIA JAPAN YEAR END PARTY+DESIGN AWARDS CELEBRATION
2025-12-13 18:30 - 21:30 UTC | Hotel Indigo, Gallery 11, 2 Chome-25-12 Dogenzaka, Shibuya, Tokyo, 150-0043, Japan
Dear Members, Friends, and Sponsors,
We’re excited to announce the 2025 AIA Japan Year-End Party + Design Awards Celebration will be held on the evening of Saturday, December 13th, 2025, at Gallery 11 and Terrace, Hotel Indigo Shibuya. Join us high above the city as we celebrate design excellence, community, and collaboration with panoramic views of Shibuya, accompanied by a seasonal dinner buffet or canapé service with free-flow wine, beer, and soft drinks.
REGISTER VIA PEATIX HERE!
Event Details:
Date: December 13 (Sat), 2025
Time: Doors open (and drinks start!) at 6:30pm, Presentation starts at 7:00pm
Venue: Gallery 11, Hotel Indigo Shibuya (11th floor)
Attire: Smart Casual
FREE for all attendees
This Event is Open to:
– AIA Japan Members / Member’s Guest
– AIA Japan Design Awards Winners & Jury Members
– AIAJ’s Sponsors/ Invited Guests
