MaCT and MAA Digital Matter Intelligent Constructions‘ students, accompanied by Faculty Areti Markopoulou, Alexandre Dubor and Angelos Chronis, are back from their trip to Japan.

The first day started with a spectacular rooftop view of Tokyo from the Metropolitan Government Building by Kenzo Tange followed by a visit of the Architecture Department of the University of Tokyo and a tour of the Roppongi and Omotesando areas.

With its landmark architecture such as the Midtown Tokyo by SOM, the Suntory Museum of Art by Kengo Kuma, the 2121 Design Sight by Tadao Ando and the National Art Center by Kisho Kurokawa, the Roppongi area is famous for its wealth of foreign organisations and businesses.

The Omotesando area is home to some of the flagship stores and shopping malls which are Tokyo’s most interesting architectures, such as the Omotesando Hills by Tadao Ando, Tod’s by Toyo Ito, Dior by SANAA, Gyre by MVRDV, Louis Vuitton by Jun Aoki and Prada by Herzog & Meuron.

On the following day the group met at the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower by Kenzo Tange, to start a visit of the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, one of Tokyo’s largest parks, popular destination for the sakura during the spring season in Japan. After the tour, the architects of Kengo Kuma and Associates welcomed the group for a visit of the firm, which is playing a prominent role in shaping the architectural debate in Japan.

The afternoon was the turn for a tour of the Odaiba and Ginza area. Ginza is a predominantly commercial zone, home to the flagship locations of a number of Japanese and international luxury brands: the Maison Hermes by Renzo Piano, Armani by Massimiliano Fuksas, Dior by Ricardo Bofill and Kumiko Inui, Gucci by James Carpenter, Chanel by Peter Marino and many more.

The Odaiba area is one of Tokyo’s newest neighbourhoods, a large artificial island and used mainly as a seaport and a leisure area. There the students could visit the Rainbow Bridge by Motoko Ishii, the TV Fuji Headquarter by Kenzo Tange and the Panasonic Center among other buildings.

On the closing days of the trip, students visited Yamaguchi and its Centre for Arts and Media (YCAM), Osaka and its Namba Parks, and the Church of the Light by Tadao Ando, in the city of Ibaraki. In Kyoto they could make a tour of the Traditional area with its Golden Pavilion Kinkakuji, the Zen Rock Garden Ryoanji and the Arashiyama Bamboo Groove.