In one of the most famous scenes in Victor Hugo’s Gothic tale, Notre-Dame de Paris, the clergyman Claude Frollo looks at a printed book on his table and then at the towers of Notre Dame, and pronounces: “Ceci tuera cela”, or “This will kill that.” Meaning, the invention of the printing press will spell the end of the monumental cathedral, with its “sermons in stone”–its lessons in faith encoded in its built fabric.

The same sentiments can be expressed today concerning the impact of new technologies and the increasing digitization of everyday life. How might the relations between books, texts, and buildings be reconsidered? How can we create new urban environments that transcend the engorging of the city through the norms of typical private development? Is it possible to conceive of a vertical public domain–to imagine spaces of sharing–that truly belong to the inhabitants of the city? Should the tendencies towards craft-based, mechanical, or digital methods be recalibrated in architectural production?

Our studio site will be in Jimbochõ, a Tokyo neighborhood best known for its vast array of second-hand bookstores, cafes, and curry houses. People visit the area to browse through endless shelves of books and journals about Manga, literature, foreign languages, sports, science, architecture, and more. Browsing entangles the visitor with the past. But the act of reading brings that past into the present, even shaping a possible future.

How might Jimbochō and its bookshops help us reimagine the beguiling neighborhood as a new and contemporary urban realm?

The aim of the studio is to be cognizant of the repercussions of demographic change, including the degrowth that is increasingly becoming a long-term scenario for Japan. One approach could involve a process of densification, exploring greater opportunities for co-existence without sacrificing more land and resources. Another might focus on addressing the needs of Tokyoites, including children and the elderly, by creating new urban institutions, facilities, and spaces that can enhance the quality of life offered by the area.

The play or negotiations between architecture, landscape, and the urban will form an important part of our conversations. Equally important for the future of Jimbochō will be the investigations of interiors, both small and large, as well as the interconnections between the “horizontal” and the “vertical” lives of the city. This will be a sectional, three-dimensional urbanism.

As part of the process, we intend to construct a collaborative model of the area that will allow us to examine the impact of our interventions during the semester. Each participant will be expected to develop their own individual brief–scenario–and project through large-scale models and detailed drawings. These investigations will deal with both the inside and the outside and form an important part of the studio’s culture and practice.

We will visit Tokyo from 21-28 February 2026, and meet with various architects, scholars, engineers, and construction companies. These interactions, together with multiple visits to the site, will form the basis for our scenario planning. As in previous years, Mitsuhiro (Mits) Kanada will act as the structural engineer for the studio. To get a sense of Jimbochō, you might be interested to read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.