For the past two decades, media coverage of Japanese architecture has been dominated by the work of SANAA, Sou Fujimoto, Jun’ya Ishigami and their contemporaries. Communal Ecologies instead highlights a younger generation pursuing a rougher, more socially and ecologically engaged architecture. In response to economic decline, shrinking opportunities in housing, and increasing environmental challenges, these architects are developing new approaches to reuse, sustainability and community. Through interviews, photographs by Marc Goodwin, and essays by emerging Japanese scholars, the book presents a fresh perspective on contemporary Japanese architecture and the changing role of the architect.
Samuel Michaëlsson works at the intersection of architecture, art, and public space, with a particular interest in modes of representation across digital and physical media. Drawing on many years of experience in spatial and visual practices, his work moves between digital and analogue processes, as well as between the practical and theoretical dimensions of artistic production. Often centred on public space, his projects are frequently developed in collaboration with other artists and creatives. Since co-founding the magazine PAPER in 2011, Michaëlsson has written for architectural publications, including Swedish Review of Architecture and NORA: Nordic Review of Architecture, alongside an ongoing engagement with research-based practice. His research project Hiroba – Learning from Japanese Public Space, developed with Yosuke Tsuga and Anna Kawai, explores public space in Japan and Sweden. His engagement with contemporary Japanese architecture and spatial culture also led to the publication of Communal Ecologies: Conversations with Young Japanese Architects (Arvinius+Orfeus, 2025).
Yosuke Tsuga is a Tokyo-based architect and founder of TGA Architects & Partners. His work combines architectural practice with research into public space. Since 2019, he has co-led Hiroba – Learning from Japanese Public Space, investigating public space in Japan and Sweden, and has been a guest critic at KTH.
Time and place: The lecture begins at 18:00 in Stora Hörsalen. Join us in the cafeteria from 17:00for informal drinks before the event.
A discussion and Q&A session, moderated by Onkar Kular, will follow the lecture. Onkar Kular is Professor of Design at HDK Valand. His practice has been disseminated internationally through commissions, exhibitions, education and publications.
Note that the lecture and conversation will be in English.
The seminar is
