AIA Japan

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
