co+labo radović     Milica Muminović+University of Canberra at co+labo   

Over the last two weeks of June, co+labo will be hosting the team from University of Canberra, and conducting joint urban investigation project – another dérive in Tokyo. 

This visit is very special for us, as Australian team is headed by co+labo's own Dr Milica Muminović, who has obtained her PhD at Keio in 2013. Milica’s students add value and another cultural layer to our ongoing, Debordean investigations of the urban. Together, will be exploring spaces and practices of everyday life of Tokyo which are, for some of the team members, ordinary, while for others - truly extraordinary, and enjoying the moments of various encounters with the Other. 

We hope that this project only opens another page in our collaboration with universities and schools of architecture and urban design from Darko's Land Down Under.

Milica's poster, below, is illustrated with images from an old Tokyo dérive, conducted with Davisi Bontharm's students from the National University of Singapore in 2010

co+labo radović   co+labo Anatomy of Islands design at exhibitions in Zagreb and Graz     

As regularly reported on this blog, since 2012 co+laboradović is participates in the top quality symposia and workshops Anatomy of Islands, which are regularly held at the Croatian island of Vis. The Anatomy, initiated by the well-known urbanist Boško Budisavljević who lives at the island, is co-organised and managed by a number of motivated individuals and enthusiasts, local groups and local government – all joined by strong desire to imagine and create better, place- and culture-specific futures at, and for their island.

Each September, through presentations and robust discussions between the locals, visiting academics, professionals and good-willing visitors, Anatomy of Islands symposia provide venue for sharing and advancing diverse knowledges about opportunities for alternative development and production of space at this and other, comparable islands.

Inspired by the symposia, the Anatomy workshops burst with creativity, driven by fine mix of international students and academics from both the near-by and far-away universities – from the Universities of Split, Zagreb and Ljubljana, via Graz and Paris, to Tokyo. Over the last three years, co+labo also contributed to that mix by inviting to Vis a number of our friends and close collaborators – Davisi Boontharm (Keio and Sophia University, Tokyo), Kengo Kuma and his laboratory from the University of Tokyo (which, along co+labo students, participated in all three Anatomy of Islands conducted so far), Kazuyo Sejima (Keio and SANAA), Jose Puppim de Oliveira (United Nations University, Tokyo), David Sim (Gehl Architects, Copenhagen), Luisa Bravo and Simone Garagnani (Universities of Bologna and Florence).

These workshops advance design-research practice by inviting brave, explorative and, at the same time, concrete, realistic thinking and action that can challenge development patterns which destroy environmentally and culturally precious, fragile environments worldwide.Three generations of co+labo have contributed to those efforts so far, and we stay committed to this valuable project. 

Fine design work produced within the Anatomy of Islands workshops in the period 2012-14 has generated an interesting exhibition. After the inaugural presentation in Zagreb, Croatia in February 2015, the Anatomy of the Island exhibition is now in Graz, Austria. We hope to host it in Tokyo, soon.

co+labo radović Sejima Design Studio-truly international teaching and learning experience   

At the Faculty of Science and Technology, Masters Design Studios are taught by distinguished visiting professors. This semester, Sejima Kazuyo teaches Studio A, supported by architects Suo (SANAA) and Kondo (Tetsuo Kondo Architects), and civil engineer Shibata (Arup Japan).

What is special for us is that more than half of the enrolled 19 students in semester 1 2015 are from co+laboradović. What is also new is that international students from Radović and Almázan Laboratories make this studio the most culturally diverse in the Faculty - ever. We see this as another important moment, a small but significant contribution to Keio’s Top Global University ambitions.

co+labo radović       co+labo in Rome - Biennale Spazio Publico 2015 and MaPS@MAXXI     

In late May, co+labo took part in two exciting events in Rome – BiennaleSpazio Publico, which was hosted by Universita Roma Tre, and an International Symposium and Exhibition MaPS@MAXXI, held at the Museum of Art of XXI Century. Keio University was represented by Darko Radović and Davisi Boontharm (Keio and Sophia University), co+labo research students Wakataro Ueno and Sotaro Miyatake, and Sunao Yamaguchi from Mitsukura Laboratory (with which, since Measuring the non-Measurable research project 2011-14, co+labo collaborates on development of ways to better understand complex relationships between the quality of urban and architectural space and human emotions).

At Biennale, Darko and Davisi contributed to lively discussions within the session Public Space, Places and Practices of Everyday Life - Conversazioni sullo spazio pubblico, while the team of students was exploring the performance of EEG (electro-encephalograph developed in Mitsukura Laboratory) in detecting emotional responses to both real and variously represented (in Biennale exhibitions) urban and architectural spaces.

At MAXXI, co+labo contributed to the Symposium with the paper entitled “On quality of public (or, not-so-public) spaces in Tokyo - making, living and exploring Kuhonbutsugawa Ryokudô” and two posters – “public, not-so-public, livable, lovable spaces and other peculiarities of Tokyo”. co+labo posters were part of the MaPS@MAXXI exhibition, which was curated by Luisa Bravo (Italy) and Manfredo Manfredini (New Zealand). The exhibition included presentations of the cities of Athens, Auckland, Bangkok, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Byblos, Changsha, Genova, Hong Kong, Jerusalem, Mostar, Moutallos, Nicosia and – Tokyo. Those exhibition provided physical setting for an exciting MaPS@MAXXI Symposium. co+labo radović and Mitsukura Lab students have also used the exhibition to further advance our understanding of various opportunities and constraints for using EEG for assessment of graphically represented quality of architectural and urban space. Inputs from the experiments from both Biennale and MaPS@MAXXI will help Radović and Mitsukura Laboratories in further joint research. 

La Biennale and MaPS provided the participants with opportunities to learn about the best and the latest in production and thinking about public space and facilitated development of new contacts and academic friendships, and co+labo radović stays open to further initiatives by City, Space, Architecture – an enthusiastic organisation whom we have first met at their excellent Past Present and Future of Public Space Conference in Bologna 2014.

co+labo radović   co+labo hanami  - another flowery start of another school year   花見 2015

co+labo radović       co+labo visit to Keio co-evolution Sustainable House at SFC Campus     

On 7 April, first day of the new school year, a group of co+labo radović students visited Keio experimental co-ecolution sustainable house at the Shonan Fujisawa Camous. The visit was guided and the project explained by co-authors and chief researchers of the co-evolution House, Professor Ikeda Yaushi and Ikaga  Toshiharu. 

The visit was organised for Professor Gabriele Masera, our guest from Politecnico di Milano, who is spending one semester as EM-EASED Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology and co+labo. During April 2015, besides conducting his own research, Professor Masera will be involved in our studio and lecture programmes, and work on furthering already strong collaborative links between Architecture and Urban Design programmes at PoliMi and Keio.  

co+labo radović          new co+labo graduates      

In February 2015, seven co+labo students have graduated - Tsuji Soyoka, Maruyama Hiroo, Miyagaki Tomotake, Onda Kazuhiro and Suzuki Akitaka completing undergraduate studies, and Kozono Saki and Sasamura Yoshihiro obtaining their Masters Degrees.  

photo: from SD Engineering Masters Graduation Ceremony 2014/15

co+labo radović    Gehl+co+labo+... a workshop in Tokyo  

In the second part of February, co+labo radović joined an urban quality workshop, which was initiated and conducted by David Sim, a Partner and Creative Director in Gehl Architects, Copenhagen and co-organised with Taisei Corporation, Kogakuin University and other local stakeholders. At the focus of the workshop were basic investigations of places and practices of urban life in West Shinjuku, and possibilities to help advance the quality of life between buildings in some of the least active spaces of central Tokyo.   

co+labo and Kogakuin University students joined forces to make a snapshot of pedestrian activities in less than favourable conditions, and provided the material for rich discussions about the present and alternative futures of the largely mono functional main CBD of Tokyo.

co+laboradović    Darko Radović receives the title of Honorary Alumnus of Keio University  

On 30 January 2015, the President of Keio University, Professor Seike Atsushi, acting on the recommendation of the Board of Councillors, conferred upon Darko Radović, the head of co+labo radović, the title of Honorary Alumnus of Keio University. That is a great honour for Darko and recognition of hard and excellent work of all laboratory members and associates, on a number of co+labo research and design-research projects conducted since the laboratory was established in 2009. 

co+laboradović    co+labo obikai party 2O15 

On 14 February, co+labo held its obikai party, with a number of current, former students, associates and friends present. 

The "surprise guests" at obikai 2015 were David Sim and Scott Przibella of Gehl Architects, Copenhagen, who are in Tokyo to further develop our collaboration and explore the potential for concrete joint urban quality projects.

co+laboradović    co+labo formula for semester 1 2O15 

co+labo=darko+sano+jessica+vedrana+paula+suzuki.m+amano+sato+ueno+tsuji+miyagaki+suzuki.a+roxane+blanka+
+silvia+urška+lovrenc+jure+salvatore+ito+kusano+narumi+magome+tajima+yamamori+friends&associates

co+laboradović     co+labo gathered in Harajuku, for bōnenkai, 忘年会 - end of the year party   

co+labo members, good friends, good nabe prepared by the new members of our laboratory, some good Radović vine from the Adriatic peninsula of Pelješac, Croatia, stories about our undertakings in 2014 and discussion of  the exciting plans for 2015 ... and, it was great!