Tokyo 25

Location
Tokyo, Japan

Year
2025

Program
Urban regeneration and mix-use development

Team Leaders
Kengo Kuma (Founder, Kengo Kuma and Associates)
Rita Topa (Partner, Kengo Kuma and Associates)
Andrea Toccolini (Chief Project Director, Kengo Kuma and Associates)
Hirotaka Mashiko (Chief Project Director, Kengo Kuma and Associates)
Mohammad Eimar (Chief Project Director, Kengo Kuma and Associates)

Team
Sienna Loh (Swinburne University, Australia)
Danly Ako Agboraw (De Montfort University, UK)
Danielle Lee (University of Melbourne, Australia)
Leonardo Grohmann (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
Hila Fleischer (Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel)
Geraldy Chandradinata (University of Melbourne, Australia)
Thais Lupo (National University of La Plata, Argentina)
Suhani Shah (Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, India)
Jasmine Wright (University of Michigan, USA)
Khairunnisa Rahmaditia Adita (RMIT University, Australia)
Joong Hoon (Jaden) Park (RMIT University, Australia)
Sophie Leckie (University of Queensland, Australia)
Yinzhen Liang (University of Melbourne, Australia)
Miraj Desai (Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, India)
Sruthika Kasetty (BMS School of Architecture, India)
Onurcan Kusken (SCI-Arc – Southern California Institute Of Architecture, USA)

Project
Soft City
We explore how the idea of the “village” can be reinterpreted within Tokyo’s evolving urban landscape to support new forms of collective life. We will investigate how architecture can foster meaningful connections between elderly residents, younger generations, and new foreign residents through the design of spaces that extend the role of housing into the public realm.
The project type is open, ranging from housing and mixed-use development to urban regeneration and public space strategies. Proposals may take the form of vertical neighborhoods, horizontal systems, or hybrid typologies—but all will be grounded in principles of biophilic design, soft boundaries, and the thoughtful use of natural materials.
We will explore how everyday social spaces—such as izakaya, sentō, neighborhood shops, and new typologies yet to emerge—can evolve into meaningful community anchors for the next century. We encourage thinking beyond conventional program, imagining architectures that act as connective tissue between people, cultures, and generations. Inspired by Kengo Kuma’s sensitivity to materiality and context, the studio promotes porous, nature-infused design as a catalyst for social resilience and urban wellbeing.

Soft City asks: How can architecture foster belonging, mutual care, and shared experience in everyday life? How can buildings soften the transitions between home and street, public and private, digital and physical, solitude and encounter?