From Metabolism to Post Metabolism: Japanese Cities between Utopian Visions and Reality in Flux
Schedule
Thu, 29 Jan, 2026 at 06:00 pm
UTC+09:00Location
École française d'Extrême-Orient - EFEO Kyoto | Kyoto, KY
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KYOTO LECTURES 2026From Metabolism to Post Metabolism
Japanese Cities between Utopian Visions and Reality in Flux
Thursday, January 29th,18:00(JST)
Speaker: Raffaele Pernice
The lecture will critically outline the ideas and works of the Group Metabolism and their iconic projects in the context of the continuous transformation of the Japanese urban environment. Beyond the forms and the aesthetics of their propositions, the cultural relevance and the methodological approach proposed by Metabolism, rooted in the responsiveness of Japanese design and the adaptability of the traditional architectural construction systems, still retain some relevance. Its importance is in the latent capability to address the great criticalities of our time in Japan and globally.
Raffaele Pernice is Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Urbanism at UNSW Sydney, and a 2026 JSPS BRIDGE Fellow at Kyushu University. Recipient of a Monbukagakusho Scholarship and a JSPS Postdoc Research Fellowship, he holds a PhD in Architecture from Waseda University and a MA in Architecture from IUAV University, Italy. He is editor of the book The Urbanism of Metabolism (Routledge, 2022).
This hybrid lecture will be held on site (Registration required) and via Zoom.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86047783858
Meeting ID: 860 4778 3858
On site→Registration required https://forms.gle/AC6zPn25y6KYhNpB9
Venue: EFEO Kyoto, 29 Kitashirakawa Bettō-chō, Sakyō-ku, Kyoto 606-8276
(You can find the place on Google Maps with the words 'EFEO Kyoto')
Poster download:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v8xeM5PU6D3U_DYvsnUSFTTKSyjq-ySB/view?usp=sharing
École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO)
Italian School of East Asian Studies (ISEAS)
Co-hosted by Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University
© Kiyonori Kikutake, Marine City Project 1963. Image courtesy by Antxon Canovas
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Where is it happening?
École française d'Extrême-Orient - EFEO Kyoto, 京都府京都市左京区北白川別当町29,Kyoto, JapanEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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