The launch event of the short-films series “Japanese Architecture and Swiss Inspirations - 8 portraits from Tokyo” took place at the Museum of Kyoto on November 2, with the participation of over 80 guests including a special guest from Switzerland, Prof. Dr. Christophe Girot, dean-designate of the Architecture Department of ETH Zürich.

The project portrays eight interviews of prominent figures in Japan from the fields of architecture and building culture. Through the discussion, distinguished experts such as Kengo Kuma, Riken Yamamoto and Erwin Viray highlight the Swiss influence on their works. Each video interview is accompanied by two additional video tracks, one showing the conception of architecture in their offices and one showing realized projects in their urban settings. The viewer can switch back and forth between the three films while listening to the interview audio. The short films were created by Mr. Dario Lanfranconi, commissioned by the Science & Technology Office Tokyo, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan. The short films can be viewed here.

The launch event featured a commemorative interview with Prof. Girot, Chair of Landscape Architecture at the Architecture Department of ETH Zürich, who shared his insight on the similarities and differences between Swiss and Japanese architecture. Prof. Masahiro Kinoshita from the Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT) and Mr. Hiroyuki Kimura, both architects with an extensive knowledge and experience of Switzerland also participated in the discussion. Furthermore, the specialists exchanged their views on the future of architecture education in Switzerland and in Japan.

The launch event followed a public lecture given by Prof. Girot entitled “Design Topology in the Digital Age” organized by the KYOTO Design Lab, KIT. He showed several amazing works by his lab, some of which were made in collaboration with the Kyoto D-Lab.