The Future of Work I: Awaji-Shima

This studio is the first of a series dedicated to the Future of Work in our rapidly changing eastern and western societies. The series as a whole will address societal developments in relation to the broader questions of employment, education, and work-life fulfilment. Specifically, it will address the many ways in which such societal developments challenge architecture, urbanism, the preservation of our environment, and the practice of sustainable growth.

The inaugural instalment of the series will focus on architectural design through the reprisal of our longstanding line of enquiry (2018-24) into the re-emergent phenomenon of OFFSITE MANUFACTURING or OSM, also known as Model as Building – Building as Model, whereby projects of any size or purpose are designed and built anywhere, anywhere (that is) except on site. This year, however, we will focus on the world of work and explore highly site-specific configurations located in a powerful geographic and cultural context.

This context is rural Japan.

With its stunning natural settings and steadily depopulating towns and fishing villages, Awaji-Shima, an island the size of Singapore located across the city of Kobe in the Seto Inland Sea, lies at the forefront of an ongoing effort to reverse the decline of communities living outside urban centers. This 15-year-long effort involves an original combination of social enterprise and business acumen centered on the provision of incentives for families to relocate in pursuit of a higher quality of life, and young, often underrepresented professionals to gain valuable employment and skills. Other key goals include the reintroduction of sustainable agricultural practices (the gradual recession of which has been threatening the food security of Japan). A combination of investment and patronage, this private effort is funded by strategic investments into cultural institutions and high-end hospitality.

The studio will explore this unique combination of social enterprise, hospitality, agriculture, and youth outreach on a beautiful terraced site located on the west coast of the island above the fishing village of Asano. We will look for ways in which off-site manufacturing in rural areas can contribute to the goal of sustainable development, while harnessing the power of this very unique context. Special attention will be lavished on the extensive use of timber, timeless building craft, effortless combination of tradition and modernity, and world-beating aesthetics of the Japanese.

OSM is not a technical theme, and this studio is not about construction. It is about reflecting on the nature of building, and the various ways in which the conceptual breakthroughs performed by unsuspecting actors of the design and manufacturing world enrich our disciplinary understanding of architecture and urbanity.