co+labo radović    intense November: Gehl's+Bologna+Beirut@Keio+everything: snaps 4,5,6 

November and December co+labo pitch continues. On 12.11, an inspirational Luisa Bravo's lecture which brought forward often neglected political dimensions of the urban on which co+labo keenly insists,  was followed by research presentations of co+labo associates (Jessica Pineda, UNU), PhD (Paula Jaen, Vedrana Ikalović and Marco Capitanio) and Masters students Roxane Czarnobroda and Tomotake Miyagaki) and rich discussion.

On Wednesday, Simone Garagnani and Luisa Bravo have been taken to the sites of some of co+labo research projects - Kitajukken (Simone, Luisa, Sato, Vedrana, Ito, Yamaguchi-san/Mitsukura Lab) ..

... and Kikuzaka (Simone, Luisa, Davisi, Darko, Vedrana, Marco, Sato, Ito, Vitor, Yamaguchi-san) ...

co+labo radović intense November: Gehl's+Bologna+Beirut@Keio+all@izakaya: snaps 1,2,3       Traditionally, November and December at co+labo are the months of intensive research. Over those two months, various co+labo activities conducted over the calendar and academic year need to be wrapped up and presented, and new reserach and design-reserach projects conceptualised and initiated. These days, co+laboradović hosts simultanrously a number of regular co+labo accomplices, friends and associates from Tokyo and distinguished international visitors, who are helping us think and act better. Separate blog entries present some of those efforts, such as lectures by our Top Global University visiting academic Simone Garagnani (University of Bologna), Luisa Bravo (Lebanese American University), David Sim (Gehl Architects, Copenhagen) and his team. Their combined presence and contributions prove that we are trying to live what we preach and explore - intensity; urban, architectural, intellectual.

co+labo students with David Sim, Scott Przibella and Malin Nilsson (Gehl Architects, Copenhagen) during the fieldwork at several central locations in Tokyo, trying to feel the pulse of the city and to identify where our combined knowledges and experiences could make difference (with Roxane exploring the alternative ways to use public space)

Simone Garagnani's first lecture at Keio University's ... and the follow-up co+labo  izakaya discussion

guided visits to some of the sites in Tokyo at which co+labo students are doing their research and design-reserach investigations  

co+labo radović       co+labo intense November continues with a research seminar                   

On 12 November, co+labo activities continue with a research seminar, which focuses at our current PhD projects and Masters Theses which are due 2016, but which are pushing forward some of our key research challenges, such as dealing with coordination of measurable and non-measurable, numerical and textual expressions of spatial quality, and our underlining ethos of combined environmental and cultural sustainability.

As always, if you are close to Yagami Campus on Thursday, 13.11 at 14.00, feel free to join co+labo discussions. One of co+labo educational agendas is to advance critical thinking and polemological atmosphere.

co+labo radović  special guest lecture by CitySpaceArchitecture's Luisa Bravo@co+labo                                      

On 12 November co+labo is organising a special lecture by Luisa Bravo, an academic, Charter member and President of City Space Architecture, the non-profit cultural association from Bologna. As a multidisciplinary research platform, CSA involves more than one hundred affiliated members all over the world and - Darko is the Honorary Member.
Luisa also coordinates MaPS. Mastering Public Space, a collaborative research network on cities and urbanity, Pop-up City, a photography research project on instant urbanity and Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City, a cinematography competition for short films - all promoted and supported by City Space Architecture.

co+labo radović    co+labo organises Theories of Architetcure lecture by Simone Garagnani                                   

On Tuesday 10 November co+labo is organising a second the series of Theory of Architecture and Urban Design guest lectures in semester 2 2015. The guest will be Simone Garagnani, an academic from the University of Bologna who joins Keio and co+labo as one of the invited, Top Global University scholars. Professor Garagnani will spend two weeks at co+labo, working with Darko and co+labo research group at advancing current projects and designing opportunities for further research collaboration.

If you are not far from Yagami Campus on Tuesday, please join us in welcoming Simone and enjoy his first lecture at Keio.

co+labo radović     Asian Urban Ordinaries - Mn'M follow-up at Re-Do Conference in Århus   

In November 2013, Mn'M - Measuring the non-Measurable, the most ambitious research project hosted by co+labo so far, has ended with definition of several  follow-up research themes, to be followed and advanced by small groups of Mn'M members. One of those  Mn'M threads followed the theme of Asian Urban Ordinaries. Professor Davisi Boontharm, the coordinator of that group  and its core members (Darko Radović, Heide Imai, Milica Mimonović and Issarathumnoon Wimonrart) have presented the results of their work at Re-Do Conference On Sustainability and Culture’s Role in Sustainable Futures, organised (28.10 ‐ 31.10 2015) in Denmark by Århus University and Århus 2017.
The panel focused at urban places and practices of Tokyo and Bangkok, emphasising the importance of banal, everyday dimensions of urban life for definition multiple identities of those Asian urbanities. The presented papers, Requalification of urban bazar (Boontharm), Ordinary place identity (Muminović), Ordinary Spaces - taking back streets, alleys and other everyday niches (Imai), Ordinary spaces: reuse for creative activities (Issarathumnoon) and Places of/for stability in the times of flows and eddies (Radović) have attracted a sizeable audience and generated good discussion. The core team will work at the proposal for special issue of research magazine devoted to this interesting theme, to be edited by Davisi.

In response to some of the discussions at Re-Do, Darko focused and the necessity to define  and contextualise "new ordinary" and core issues of cultural sustainability - authenticity and identity. In order to set polemological atmosphere and, ala de Certeau, help "force theory to recognise its limits", he presented the perennial co+labo theme, the importance of ethics in work with/about/as the Other. This post brings several slides from that impromptu presentation.

co+labo radović            Anatomy of Islands exhibition, with co+labo works, in Paris              

Anatomy of Islands exhibition, which summarises the work produced for and during the first three Symposia and design-reserach Workshops (2012-14) at the Adriatic island of Vis , opens on 17 November in Paris, at the University Paris - Val de Seine. co+labo participated in this fascinating event since its beginning, advancing our research in quality of spatial experiences; alternative, culturally sustainable (tourism) development patterns and, most recently, Smart Islands, and contributing to thinking about the future of Vis, and other beautiful, endangered environments.

Over the years, co+labo was joined in Vis by Kengo Kuma Laboratory (University of Tokyo, which took part in all Anatomy Symposia and workshops conducted so far), Keio academics (Professors Mitsukura, Mita, Kobayashi), colleagues (Kazuyo Sejima, David Sim, Jose Puppim de Oliveira, Tetsuo Kondo) and others.

co+labo friends, f you happen to be in Paris anytime 17-27.11.2015 - visit our exhibition and let us know how was it.

co+labo radović                    co+labo's Pavilion bubbles at HAPP 2015                                                                                       

On 26 October, a bubbly co+labo's experimental Pavilion has been opened at the Keio Hiyoshi Campus Autumn Festival. The Festival lasts until the next week. Come along and enjoy co+labo's award winning "cloud" while the weather in Tokyo is still fine.

co+labo team, just before the opening

co+labo radović      co+labo organises a Meijo-Sano lecture in Theories of Architecture                                           

Following our tradition of collaboration with excellent Japanese architects of younger generation, on Tuesday 27 October co+labo  is organising first in the series of Theory of Architecture and Urban Design guest lectures in semester 2 2015. In their, by now regular, appearance in System Design, Sano Satoshi (EUREKA) and Meijo Toshiki (Kengo Kuma Architecture Associates) speak about their own work and comment on a number of broader architectural and urban themes.

co+labo radović          invitation to HAPP 2015 and opening of co+labo's cloud Pavilion                                                    

On 26 October, playful co+labo's Pavilion will be innaugurated and offered for fun to the visitors of Hiyoshi Autumn Festival. If you happen to be near Hiyoshi, please, come along and join co+labo's team, the winner at the Keio University HAPP Competition 2015 in this modest celebration. All co+labo projects are 100% designed by students.

co+labo radović  co+labo in top 3% at the International Competition for Miyajimaguchi Area 

co+labo team having been shortlisted to the top eight at the International Urban Planning Competition for Miyajimaguchi Area, co+labo has achieved one of its biggest successes. The competition, which focused at the future of Miyamiguchi, the community which connects the UNESCO Heritage Site of Itsukushima Shrine with the rest of Japan and the World, attracted more than 1,000 applicants, 230 of which have submitted their projects and managed to satisfy the competition requirements. The panel of experts, including Kakayuki Kishii, Tadao Ando and Mikako Ishikawa, has shortlisted eight projects, one of which was our proposal. As always, co+labo work was completed entirely by students. That is important to remember because this was not a student competition, but an international professional contest, in which young co+labo competed with some of the top expert teams.

co+labo Miyajimaguchi Team+Darko, and the certificate of their success

On 17 October, the public Jury session was held at the Hatsukaichi Town Hall. The three winning schemes are Anetos, Kansai University and Nosigner and Pacific Consultants. Our selection to the top 3% is truly remarkable, especially in educational terms. co+labo, future architects and urbanists, firmly and uncompromisingly presented the potential of radical realism, praxis of eco-urbanity which is rooted in the principles of environmental and cultural responsibility and our strong belief in ethical urbanism, bottom-up approach to thinking, making and living the urban.

                  Parts of the co+labo proposal for the future of Miyajimaguchi

The members of co+labo Miyajimaguchi Urban design Team were (in alphabetic order): Roxane Czarnobroda, Ryoto Amano, Yuta Sato, Moe Suzuki, Tomotake Miyagaki, Vedrana Ikalović and Wakataro Ueno (guided by Darko Radović, advised by Davisi Boontharm, Vuk Radović and Sano Satoshi). At the final-eight session, co+labo team was represented by Ryoto Amano, Moe Suzuki, Tomotake Miyagaki and Darko Radović.

                  From presentation and ceremony at the Hatsukaichi Town Hall

co+labo radović      final tests of co+labo's HAPP cloud Pavilion                                               

co+labo team is making final adjustments of the HAPP, Hiyoshi Art and Performance Project pavilion, which will be erected on 26 October, as part of the Hiyoshi Autumn Festival, regular event organised by Keio Research Center for the Liberal-Arts. The core team members, Ueno Wakataro, Tsuji Soyoka and Magome Ayumu, assisted and visited by other co+labo students and friends, are exploring the best position for their bubbly "cloud", so that it can contribute to the main aim of the Festival, help facilitate communication between the University and its broader community.

co+labo's scheme was the winner at the Keio University  - HAPP Competition 2015.