Johnson Town Tour
Johnson Town Tour by Osamu Watanabe
Osamu Watanabe, the architect of the Johnson Town Renovation Project, provided guided tours to AIA Japan members, friends, and university students. The weather was sunny and perfect for a walking tour.
Johnson Town is an American family-style suburb in Japan created in 1950 for the U.S. Air Force higher-ranking officers and their families during the Korean War. Standardized wooden buildings, a porch in front with lawns outside. Now the village is leased to people who want to live in this area. The rent is 1.5 times higher than the nearby neighborhood, but it has become a very popular place.
Residents are free to convert their rental housing into commercial spaces. Housewives can have their dream shop while raising their children. Currently, the area is a mix of 50% occupants and 50% retail space. It is a community-oriented residential development.
The tour was organized by 2022 AIA Japan president Tomoaki Tanaka, Architecture Tour Committee Chair Akira Nakamura, and Event Committee Chair Yumiko Yamada. The photos are available at Johnson Town — AIA Japan.
The 2022 AIA Japan Design Awards
AIA Japan Chapter invites AIA members assigned to Japan Chapter or AIA members with the Japan project in good standing including Architect, Associate AIA, and International Associate AIA to submit their projects for the 2022 AIA Japan Design Award Program.
Entrants must be AIA members assigned to Japan chapter or AIA members with the project in Japan in good standing, including Architect, Associate and International Associate, and AIA honorary members. The membership must be valid and active as of November 15th, 2022. Entrants must be able to claim authorship or significant authorship of the project being considered. Submission & More Information: aiajapan.org
Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) 2022 Okinawa Architect Convention
The Naha Culture and Arts Theater (the winner of 2022 JIA Okinawa Design Awards)
It was a three-day convention that brought together hundreds of architects from Japan. This year, Okinawa celebrates the 50th anniversary of its reversion and the convention focused on conservation, heritage, and cultural identity.
The International President`s Forum. From left to right; Naomi Sato (President of JIA), Eui Young Chun (President of KIA), Chungyu Shin (President’s Representative of KIRA), Sumpalung Chana, (President of ASA), Jane Frederick (2020 President of AIA)
The first day of the convention, Dr. Abu Sayeed M. Ahmed (President of ARCASIA) talked about conservation in Bangladesh, Farhana Sharmin Emu (Chairperson of ARCASIA AHPG) talked about Heritage Preservation Group`s activities, Dr. In-Souk Cho (Former International Co-director, UIA WP Heritage Cultural Identity) talked about reconstruction of SungNyeMun in Korea, Yuzuru Tsukagawa and Shun Hori (Architects of Nihon Sekkei) showed a video explaining Kumamoto castle reconstruction observation path, and Haruhisa Uejima (Representative of JIA Heritage Architect School) talked about their activities.
Saxophone play by Naomi Sato, President of JIA
Shortly after the presentation, JIA President Naomi Sato hosted the panel discussion. The panelists were Jane Frederick, FAIA (2020 the American Institute of Architects National President), Sumpalung Chana, ASA (President of The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage), Chungyu Shin, KIRA (President’s Representative of Korea Institute of Registered Architects), Eui Young Chun, KIA (President of Korean Institute of Architects). They shared their ideas about how we can preserve modern architecture. There were only a few invited guests at the Yashio-sou Yara Hall, however, it was broadcasted on YouTube and recorded. The guests were Masaharu Rokushika (Immediate Past President of JIA), Jeyu Park, KIA (Vice President of KIA), Dr. Howon Kang, KIRA, George Kunihiro, FAIA (Past President of ARCASIA and AIA Japan), Segene Park, AIA (Immediate Past President of AIA Japan, 2023-2024 AIA International Secretary-elect), and other distinguished guests. Right after the President`s Forum, the opening party was held at the Sunset Cruise. During the party, JIA President Naomi Sato played saxophone to entertain the participants.
The second day began with a private tour of the reconstruction site of Shuri Castle. The castle was destroyed by fire in 2019. Based on the discovery of maintenance records in Tokyo, architects have produced drawings with the advice of many experts over the past two years. The construction will take place over the next four years, and for the construction, Japanese cypress timbers are still gathering from all over Japan and are slowly drying in the temporary building.
IPF Speakers, Panelists, Guests, and JIA International Relations Committee Members at Shuri Castle
After the visit to Shuri Castle, the guests were guided to the main symposium at the Naha Culture and Arts Theater, where the opening ceremony, awards ceremony, lectures, and panel discussions were held. In the evening, a reception party was held for JIA members and guests at the Okinawa Harborview Hotel, and the Japanese emperor came and stayed the next day. The reception started with the opening video taken the previous day and the Japanese traditional opening ceremony of a cask of sake. The Okinawa dance and Karate performance entertained the participants. Also, there was a greeting message from the JIA Okinawa Chapter, followed by the announcement of next year's convention venue by the Tokai Chapter. JIA has 9 chapters in Japan and a chapter in China.
The third day was an excursion and participants were able to participate in one of the five options: JIA Award Winning Architecture Tour, Okinawa Architect Archives Tour, Castle Ruins and Okinawan Houses and Villages (Chubu) Tour, Castle Ruins and Villages (Northern) Tour, and Okinawa building materials and Ryukyu glass workshop tour.
The convention photos can be found on the AIA Japan website here.
Segene Park, AIA
AIA Japan Immediate Past President and Chapter Representative, AIA International
