Studio Details

Location
Tokyo, Japan

Date
14 July-25 July, 2025

Studio Directors in Tokyo
Oliver Lütjens (Co-Founder, Lütjens Padmanabhan)
Thomas Padmanabhan (Co-Founder, Lütjens Padmanabhan)

Studio Project
Building Extension

Field Trips and Site Visits
In Kyoto, we will be visiting Katsura Imperial Villa and Gardens and the old town. In Tokyo, we will be visiting buildings by Kazuo Shinohara

Studio Project

Fumihiko Maki and the Cousins from Abroad

The exchange of forms and ideas between Japan and the West has been a vital source for the rejuvenation of modern architecture. In an exchange that went in both directions, the new forms and ideas were often enthusiastically interpreted, willfully misunderstood, carefully adapted and boldly reframed.
The studio Fumihiko Maki and the Cousins from Abroad takes a light-hearted approach to the theme of cultural transformation by cross-breeding the architectural languages of the Japanese master’s Hillside Terrace with their architectural cousins from abroad.
Buildings designed by Fumihiko Maki will be paired with iconic projects designed by Lina Bo Bardi, James Stirling, Denise Scott Brown, and Gae Aulenti. The students will use the architectural language of the architectural cousins to design an extension to a building of the Hillside Terrace development. The extension will be roughly the same size as Maki’s cousin.
Using large models, the students will employ a wide range of design strategies ranging from the idea of a seamless continuity to a conflict-ridden take-over of the existing structure. While the design process will be fast and intuitive, driven by a serious investigation into architectural form and language, overarching questions of culture, meaning and time will be implicitly present in every project.

Oliver Lütjens (Zurich 1972) and Thomas Padmanabhan (Stuttgart 1970) established Lütjens Padmanabhan Architects in 2007 in Zurich. The Zurich-based practice has been recognized nationally and internationally for its innovation in the field of affordable housing and for its joyful embrace of the expressive challenges of contemporary construction.

The practice’s works are diverse in scale and type, spanning three continents. Recent projects include the award-winning Waldmeisterweg low-cost Apartment Building in Zurich, the Zwhatt Sufficiency Housing Project in Regensdorf, the Unterfeld Lake Power Plant, the residential development Göbli in Baar, as well as the Residences for the Swiss Ambassadors in Algiers and Bogotà.

Oliver and Thomas have taught as assistants at ETH Zurich, and as guest professors at TU Munich, EPF Lausanne and Harvard GSD. They are currently guest professors at ETH Zurich.

|| Zürich || Web link || Instagram link ||

Internships

Students accepted into the Lütjens Padmanabhan Studio at Venice Studio may be considered for available internship or job opportunities at Lütjens Padmanabhan. Selection of candidates is at the sole discretion of the studio directors and Lütjens Padmanabhan. Places are not guaranteed.

Program Information

Learn more about the program, inc., the application process and pricing here →