Press release
25.07.2022

Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

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A collaborative program of Aichi Triennale 2022
July 30 to October 10, 2022
At the Tokoname City Pottery Footpath(Sakae-cho 7-chome, Tokoname-shi, Aichi)

Designed to withstand earthquakes andstorms, the towering structure activates its
surrounding neighbourhood and landscape,while the wooden terrace or Japanese engawa
serves as a meeting point for the community.
© MONTAGE Inc.

Switzerland and Japan explore the future of architecture at Aichi Triennale 2022! Kizuki-au
築き合う—Collaborative Constructions consists of two installations by Gramazio Kohler
Research from ETH Zurich and T_ADS Obuchi Lab from the University of Tokyo. The project
sheds light on digital processes in architecture, human-robot interactions and cross-pollination between technology and culture.
Our globalised societies have entered into a new phase. The pandemic hasrevealed how our communities are intricately linked beyond national borders, in a worldthat has become more fragile. At the same time, the widespread popularization of online
communication demonstrates how technology allows for reconnection in times of forced
isolation; we can talk to anyone, anywhere, almost anytime. In this emerging order, we ask
how architecture can reimagine its own tradition and role in society.
Collaborative Constructions investigates a new practice of architecture basedon the creative, innovative and personal use of technology. The two projects by ETH Zurich
and the University of Tokyo engage in a global collaboration looking at architectural strategies to relate nature and humanity through technology; they are results of human-robots
collaborations and exemplify how we can engage with the past while looking ahead.

Kizuki-au 築き合う
Collaborative Constructions

Press release25.07.2022

Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

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The wooden modular towering structure has been
designed and robotically pre-fabricated inSwitzerland, at the Robotic Fabrication
Laboratory of ETH Zurich.
© Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich

The project by Gramazio Kohler Research from ETH Zurich in Switzerland is a three-storey
tall timber-frame structure, which revives the long history of expert timber construction in
Japan through Swiss design and technology. It revisits carpentry for the age of robotics,
making metal parts, nails, screws or fasteners obsolete. The five constituting timber frame
modules consist of more than a thousand bespoke timber elements and were prefabricatedin the world-renowned Robotic Fabrication Laboratory at ETH Zurich. Designed towithstand earthquakes and storms, the towering structure activates its surrounding
neighbourhood and landscape, while the wooden terrace or Japanese engawa serves as ameeting point for the community. Age-old knowledge has been revived through digitaltechnologies, allowing for a highly material efficient and performative approach to building
with timber. A new strategy for building multi-storey timber buildings is thus suggested
as a sustainable alternative to conventional concrete and steel constructions.

While the pattern appears to be random at firstglance, its generation requires an intricate algorithm, an algorithm that brings human and machine together. The pottery chains are created bya series of feedback processes between a person
and a robot© T_ADS Obuchi Lab

The project by T_ADS Obuchi Lab from the University of Tokyo is a gate-like structure madeof wooden posts and beams, serving as an entrance to the courtyard surrounded by anold pottery factory. A series of pottery chains hanging from the gate’s beams form a large
screen and resemble a traditional noren. It is a visual sign to welcome the visitors as well as
an evaporative cooler, a natural climate control, in which mist dampens the surfaces of thepottery. On a hot day, the evaporative cooling effect of the pottery is expected to cool thegate area by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius.

Kizuki-au 築き合う
Collaborative Constructions

Press release
25.07.2022

Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

3/6© T_ADS Obuchi LabAt the heart of the project is the fabrication of the hanging pottery chains. While the pattern
appears to be random at first glance, its generation requires an intricate algorithm, an algorithm that brings human and machine together. The pottery chains are created by a seriesof feedback processes between a person and a robot. Each person makes a uniquely defined shape of pottery chain by holding it so that it hangs from their arms without touching
the ground. The robot then finds a location on the beam for its installation within the given
dimension of the beam and structural requirements. The final design of the overall patterns,
made of forty-five of the hanging chains, are generated by children and adults with different
physiques and strength reflecting their individuality into the whole.

Surrounded by an old pottery factory. View of thesite in early July 2022 before construction

Kizuki-au 築き合う
Collaborative Constructions

Press release
25.07.2022

Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

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Rendering. Visitors are welcomed with mist, lighting and sound effects that create a synergy with
the natural environment in Tokoname.
© MONTAGE Inc.

Faced with the post-industrial legacy of Tokoname, the collaboration between ETH Zurich
and the University of Tokyo reimagines the place through an extended notion of empathy:
its people, traditions, history, environment and culture are all intertwined and made tangible
through digital processes in fabrication and construction. Architecture becomes a form ofliving knowledge, an expression of being alive.
Collaborative Constructions is an initiative of the Embassy of Switzerland inJapan, ETH Zurich and the University of Tokyo, in collaboration with Shimizu Corporation. The
project is part of Vitality.Swiss, Switzerland’s program on the road to Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai.
Gramazio Kohler ResearchSince 2005, the research group at ETH Zurich led by Prof. Matthias Kohler, Prof. Fabio Gramaziohas been at the forefront of robotics and digital fabrication in architecture. With their robotic
laboratories and work that ranges from fundamental research to prototypes and buildings,
they have inspired architects and researchers alike to explore the capacities of robots asa universal tool of the digital age. Their work has been exhibited at Mori Museum, Centre
Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, Royal Academy London, the Venice Biennale, Storefront gallery
New York, V&A Dundee, and the Guggenheim Bilbao.
T_ADS Obuchi LabT_ADS Obuchi Lab is the Advanced Design Studio at the University of Tokyo led by Prof.
Yusuke Obuchi. Focusing on the relationship between human capacities and technologies,
it investigates innovative, integrative and collaborative building methods. The series ofresulting pavilions, each developed in collaboration with a construction corporation havebeen recognized globally for their creative approach to technology. Their projects have been
published widely and were exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, the architecture biennials in Beijing, Rotterdam and Venice, Zurich Design Museum, Tokyo Designers
Week, Barcelona Design Museum and the Centre Pompidou.
Kizuki-au 築き合う—Collaborative Constructions
PeriodJuly 30 to October 10, 2022
Open time
11:00 – 19:00
Venue
79, 80, 83, 84, Sakae-cho 7-chome, Tokoname-shi, Aichi, JapanFree of charge
More infowww.vitality.swiss
Organizers
Embassy of Switzerland in Japan / Vitality.Swiss
Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich
T_ADS Yusuke Obuchi Laboratory, Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of TokyoKizuki-au 築き合う
Collaborative Constructions

Press release
25.07.2022

Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

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Project Collaborator
Shimizu CorporationPartners
IWC Schaffhausen
BMW Japan
Panasonic Holdings Corporation
LIXIL Corporation
ERNE AG Bauunternehmung
Cypress Sunadaya Co., Ltd.
Vitra Co., Ltd.
Jun Sato Laboratory, Department of
Socio-Cultural Environmental Studies,
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The
University of Tokyo
Kalt Maschinenbau AG
SJB Kempter Fitze AG

Knapp AG
Raimund BECK KGMONTAGE Inc.
Tokoname CityThe University of Tokyo, Strategic Partnerships ProjectState Secretariat for Education, Researchand Innovation SERI
FDFA, Presence Switzerland

Project teams
Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich: Prof. Fabio Gramazio, Prof. Matthias Kohler,Hannes Mayer (project lead), Matthias Helmreich (fabrication and computational designlead), Matteo Pacher.
T_ADS Obuchi Lab, University of Tokyo: Prof. Yusuke Obuchi, Yusuke Komata, Shuta Takagi.
Shimizu Corporation: Tadahiro Nakajima, Kazutomo Ohashi, Mitsuhiro Kuroki.
SJB Kempter Fitze: Franz Tschümperlin, Lukas Ehrle.
ERNE AG:Thomas Wehrle, Steffen Hermann.

Press materials:
Download
Contact:Ms. Alessandra Gabaglio, Gramazio Kohler Research,
ETH Zurich+41 44 633 39 96
gabaglio@arch.ethz.ch
Ms. Yuko Takahashi, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan+81 3 5449 8437yuko.takahashi@eda.admin.chKizuki-au 築き合う
Collaborative Constructions

Press Events
22.07.2022

Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

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Press viewing – Registration required
Monday August 1st, 16:00–17:00
The design team will be present on the site on August 1st between 16:00 and 17:00 to welcome journalists and offer a press viewing.
In addition, interested journalists can attend our Open House on August 4th between 19:30–
20:30 to meet with project representatives and experience both installations.

Opening event – Registration required
Monday August 1st / Swiss National Day at
18:30 (doors open at 18:15*)
In presence of the Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan, Dr. Andreas Baum, the project
leader of ETH Zurich, Hannes Mayer, and Professor Yusuke Obuchi from the Universityof Tokyo as well as project partners. The program includes a special performanceby contemporary dancer Kenta Kojiri (Prix de Lausanne laureate 1999).
Interview request / press contact: Yuko Takahashi, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

Open House – Registration required
Thursday August 4th, 19:30–20:30
Reserve date in case of rain: August 5th, 19:30–20:30
Joint open house by Panasonic Holdings Corporation, the University of Tokyo and the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan.
Participants:
Yusuke Obuchi (University of Tokyo) and Hannes Mayer (ETH Zurich) and the Embassyof Switzerland will guide you through the venue on August 4th. (On August 5th, Professor
Obuchi and a member of the Swiss Embassy will be present).
Interview request / press contact: Yuko Takahashi, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan

Press materials:
Download
Contact:
Ms. Yuko Takahashi, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan+81 3 5449 8437
yuko.takahashi@eda.admin.ch