Japan Travel Studio 2016: Continuous Urbanity
During the summer of 2016, thirteen Woodbury School of Architecture students and three faculty members travelled to Japan on a Fieldwork Studio. Each student produced a continuous drawing series developing ideas from the places they visited: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Naoshima and Teshima Island.
The continuous drawings documented the ephemeral and transcendental qualities of the urbane object in Japanese culture as they affected the perception of the built environment. Students explored the idea of transecting the urban[e] realm through isometric drawings, documenting urban objects from the ubiquitous teacup and interior architecture of the teahouse, to the architecture of idiosyncratic urban planning prejudices and influential Metabolist artifacts.
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The isometric framework allowed for both continuity and development in the series as the fieldwork travel through and between cities. Every three days new posts where added to the studio’s tumblr site. The drawings grew in length, time and space, evolving a cultural understanding through cultural production.
During the fieldwork, two students presented the progress drawings and insights into the development of the work at SuperDeluxe for PechaKucha // Tokyo.
Ten of the students received Dr. Ken Nielsen Study Away Scholarships (administered by Woodbury University), and two students also received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to help offset travel costs.
The work is currently featured on Sucker Punch Daily.
The students responsible for this great work are as follows:
Ahmad Abuzaid, Emily Adler, Jake Cattanach, Joann Chan, Dajshey Chatman, Conner Coleman, Olivia Duenas, Estefania Gigena, Natalia Pavlova, and Ximan Wu.
Faculty
Matthew Gillis (coordinator), Donatella Cusma, Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter
Watch the Woodbury students’ PechaKucha presentation in Tokyo.