Harvard Club of Japan Graduate School of Design Lecture Series

"Sharing Tokyo & Revitalizing Japan”

- A Talk by Mohsen Mostafavi PhD, Alexander and Victoria Wiley professor of design & Harvard University distinguished SERVICE PROFESSOR -

2025professor-mostafavi

The Harvard Club of Japan is pleased to announce our first Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) Lecture Series, presenting a talk by Professor Mohsen Mostafavi, former Dean of the Architecture School, GSD.

The event will be moderated by Professor Masami Kobayashi, President of Archi-Media Architects,  Professor Emeritus of Meiji University, GSD '88.

Talk overview:

  • Why is Tokyo creating more and more new large-scale urban developments such as Azabudai Hills? Who are the beneficiaries of these projects?
  • What is the relationship between large-scale developments and traditional neighborhoods?
  • Is there an alternative to scrap and build?
  • What are the ways in which Tokyo can be “shared” by a larger segment of the population than it is now?
  • How can Tokyo respond to demographic change— for example, degrowth?
  • How can regional cities respond to depopulation and the loss of their youth to metropolitan cities?
  • How can regional cities be revitalized? What is being done? What could be done?
  • What are the differences between the architecture of regional cities and that of Tokyo?

After his talk Professor Mostafavi will open the floor for a Q&A session.

 

Please register for the event using the reservation function below.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR COMPANY OR OTHER AFFILIATION IN THE "ORGANIZATION" FIELD.

Please note that the system DOES NOT SEND A CONFIRMATION EMAIL.

 

***Note that cancellations after noon on Thursday, February 20th and no-shows will be charged the full participation fee, as we are committing to the venue on a per-person basis. By registering for this event, you are agreeing to comply with this policy. Your understanding of and compliance with this policy are greatly appreciated!


 

Date: Wednesday, February 26th

Time: Door Open: 18:45 / Talk start: 19:00 / Reception 20:00 – 21:00

Venue: Deloitte Tohmatsu Innovation Park Room D Auditorium

Address:  Room D Auditorium, Shin Tokyo Building 8th Floor

                 3-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

AFTER ARRIVING AT THE 8TH FLOOR, PLEASE PROCEED DIRECTLY TO THE ROOM D AUDITORIUM.

CLICK HERE FOR A MAP TO THE VENUE AND A FLOORPLAN TO THE ROOM D AUDITORIUM.

 

Participation fee: 6,000 JPY per person, to be paid IN CASH at the door

(Covers event participation and standing buffet, with separate cash bar. Admission to the venue will be permitted only after the participation fee has been paid.)

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EVENT RECEPTION AND BAR WILL ONLY ACCEPT CASH:

CREDIT CARDS AND E-PAYMENTS ARE NOT ACCEPTED

Deloitte Tohmatsu Innovation Park is a members-only club made available to us

by special arrangement with a member.

Please do not contact Deloitte Tohmatsu Innovation Park or engage with

their staff directly for any reason.

Pre-event enquiries should be directed to Events Committee Member Tsuney Yanagihara at the email below, or to the HCJ staff present at the event. 

Dress code: Business casual - Collared shirts, no shorts or sandals.

Child policy: As alcohol will be served at this event, participation is limited to guests aged 20+.

Guests: Guests are welcome - please register in their name, and indicate "Friend of (your name)" in the "Title" field in the reservation. Please include YOUR email address so we can contact you as necessary regarding guests registered on your behalf. We appreciate your understanding that you will be responsible for your guests' compliance with the cancellation policy and the other terms and conditions of this event.

Enquiries: For any problems registering or other enquires please e-mail HCJ Events Committee member Tsuney Yanagihara: tsuney@allegiscapital.com


When:

7:00PM - 9:00PM Wed 26 Feb 2025, Asia/Tokyo timezone

Where:

Deloitte Tohmatsu Innovation Park
Shin Tokyo Building 8th Floor 3-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan

[ Get Directions ]

  RSVP Here...

Please enter your details below and click the RSVP button at the bottom.
Note: red fields are required.
First Name:
Last Name:
Email:
Tel:
Organization:
Title/Function:
Website:
Degree/Year if applicable:
  show my name on the "Who's Coming" list


Note: a confirmation email will not be sent.

Professor Mohsen Mostafavi Profile:

Mohsen Mostafavi, architect and educator, is the Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design and Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and served as Dean of the GSD from 2008-2019. His recent research and teaching at Harvard have focused on the intersection of architecture and demographic change in Japan. Some of the work is available @ Japanstory.org

His books include On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time, also available in Japanese, which received the American Institute of Architects prize for writing on architectural theory; Delayed SpaceApproximationsSurface ArchitectureLogique Visuelle, the outcome of a collaboration with LVMH on fashion and architecture in TokyoLandscape Urbanism: A Manual for the Machinic LandscapeStructure as Space; Ecological Urbanism, translated into Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish; Implicate & ExplicateLouis Vuitton: Architecture and InteriorsIn the Life of CitiesInstigations: Engaging Architecture, Landscape and the City ; Architecture is LifeNicholas Hawksmoor: The London ChurchesArchitecture and PluralityPortman’s America & Other Speculations; Ethics of the Urban: The City and the Spaces of the Political.

Recent publications include The Color Black; and two books with Kayoko Ota on Japan. Sharing Tokyo: Artifice and the Social World; & Revitalizing Japan: Architecture, Urbanization and Degrowth.


Professor Masami Kobayashi Profile:

Masami Kobayashi, is an active teaching scholar and practitioner in architecture and urban design. As Professor Emeritus Meiji University, he has actively executed architectural education and research internationally, and as Principal of Archi-Media Architects & Associates, he has designed diverse urban spaces and architectural buildings in Japan and overseas. He served as Vice President of Meiji University from 2016 to 2020.  He has taught at Harvard University (2001), and University of California at Berkey (2013).

After studying at the Graduate School of University of Tokyo, he worked at Kenzo Tange associates (URTEC) from 1977 to 1983. Through his work experiences under Tange, he learned professional skills about the strategic process of urban design in diverse countries such as Singapore, France, and Nigeria. After leaving URTEC, he went to the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University to carry out urban research and received a Master in Design Studies (1988). After returning to Japan, he set up his own architectural design firm and joined the Department of Architecture at Meiji University.

His major academic interests are the dynamic interrelationship between the changing modern urban landscape and people’s sustainable satisfaction based on their quality of life, and hence the prediction of Asian Urbanism with longer perspective. He has written many books such as Tokyo Urbanism (World Scientific), Public Space Design with Citizens’ Participation (X-knowledge, 2015),Tokyo Inner-City Project (Gakugei Shuppan, 2003), Boston by Design (Process Architecture, 1991), and he was awarded many prizes such as “Award of Architectural Institute of Japan (2018)” for “Contribution to architectural design education”, “Good Design Special Award (2015)” for “Himeji Station Front North Plaza Project”, “Highest prize of the Design Award (2008)” of “Japan Society of Civil Engineering” for “Kakamigahara Project”, and “Award of Architectural Institute of Japan (2007)” for “Preservation and Regeneration of International House of Japan”.