The Industrious City - Urban Industry in the digital age
The study group will continue its research on the same theme in its study group on the future of sustainable cities. For complex problems that cannot be solved by architecture alone, we will carefully analyze the existing context, the automobile society in rural areas, and the surrounding natural environment, and through the design of buildings and open spaces, make proposals that will lead to the revitalization of the entire community.
This study group will further research the theme of the book "The Industrious City - Urban Industry in the digital age" published in 2021.
“Cities have always been places where production and commerce, working and living are physically and functionally integrated. Only with the rise of modern industry have zoning regulations been introduced to separate these functions in space. However, what is the role of such regulations when industry is digitized increasingly emission-free, and based on innovation more than mass production? How should working and living be combined to make mobility and energy consumption become more sustainable? And what are the opportunities in creating urban areas based on social equity and resilience, in a volatile world characterized by digital disruption, migration and demographic shifts?” (The Industrious City, Edited by Hiromi Hosoya and Markus Schaefer, 2021, Lars Müller Publisher).
"The Industrious City" explored how new synergies can be found between production, services, leisure, and living, using the polycentric urban landscape of Switzerland as an example. In this study group, we will conduct similar research on the Japanese case, i.e., not in urban centers, but in rural towns and depopulated areas.