21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

Haruka Aramaki + Tomohiro Tachi

Haruka Aramaki
Completed Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. Lecturer, Department of Integrated Design, Faculty of Art and Design, Tama Art University. Focuses on structure, mechanism and human cognition. Uses various materials, including kinetic elements. Participates in exhibitions, including "Design Anatomy: A method for seeing the world through familiar objects" (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 2016). Solo show "Haruka Aramaki 'This, Thus That' — phenomenal #02"（nomena gallery Asakusa, 2022).

Tomohiro Tachi
Tomohiro Tachi is a Professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo. He studied architecture and received his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2010. He has been designing origami since 2002 and has developed computational origami tools, including "Origamizer" and "Freeform Origami." He explores form, function, and fabrication in nature and art. His research interests include origami engineering, structural morphology, and computational fabrication. He is engaged in STEAM education at the University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences.

Inami JIZAI Body Project + Maiko Endo

Inami JIZAI Body Project
Research project with some one hundred members, including Masahiko Inami (the University of Tokyo). Established research domain "JIZAI (freedomization) body technology" to integrate humans with machines (robot and AI) into a single body within physical and virtual space. Aims to enable unlimited, free movement, while retaining self-agency. Analyses influences of technology on cognition, psychology and nervous systems. From October 2017 to March 2023, promoted by JST ERATO as a challenging basic research project crossing multiple fields. This project is on-going.

Maiko Endo
A filmmaker and artist, born in Helsinki and raised in Tokyo.
After pursuing filmmaking in New York during the 2000s, she launched her filmmaker's career in Tokyo. In 2011, she made her directorial debut with KUICHISAN, a U.S.-Japan co-production. Since then, she has completed a documentary and a mid-length film, both of which were screened at major festivals such as the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
In 2022, she directed an online film project called X, which was acquired by the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. In 2023, Endo completed a short film based on extensive research conducted in France and Japan.

A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE＋Nature Architects

A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE is a brand that sets out to weave the future by instigating dialogues on clothing between creators and wearers. A-POC, announced in 1998, has revolutionized the process of clothes-making, where it introduced a new form of design in which the wearers partake. With more dynamism, a team of engineers led by Yoshiyuki Miyamae set out to further develop what A-POC has created and evolved into over time. Within a piece of cloth bringing about different ideas and diverse relationships with the wearers, the brand creates a variety of "ABLE's" by engaging with different professions and industries.

Nature Architects
Nature Architects is an engineering service company with unique meta-material design technology used to realize functions beyond existing products. Provides clients with proposals for mass-production, within the limitations of existing manufacturing facilities. Engages in design and development of high added-value core products and parts, for a wide range of industries, such as automobiles, construction, home appliances and aerospace.

Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo), Chiba Institute of Technology + Shunji Yamanaka

Chiba Institute of Technology, fuRo
Three principles of fuRo (Future Robotics Technology Center) are research and development of future robots, creation of new industries by collaboration between commerce and academia, and product design enhancement. For the realization of those principles, fuRo was created with a team assembled from multiple academic fields under the aegis of the Chiba Institute of Technology. fuRo, an interdisciplinary research organization, aims at innovation in the robot industry.

Shunji Yamanaka
Graduated the University of Tokyo, 1982. Worked as designer at Nissan Motor before becoming independent in 1987. Established Leading Edge Design, 1994. Professor, Keio University, 2008 and at the University of Tokyo, 2013. University Professor at the University of Tokyo, 2023-date. Designs a wide range of industrial products contributing to various areas of science and technology through investigation and production of prototypes. Prizes include Good Design Gold Award. Pieces in permanent collection of MoMA, New York.

The University of Tokyo: DLX Design Lab + Yoshiho Ikeuchi Lab

DLX Design Lab, The University of Tokyo
DLX Design Lab at the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo, was founded in 2016 as an international team advocating 'creation of value through design.' A team of designers, researchers and engineers closely collaborates on the creation of innovative products and service prototypes, as well as the education of the next generation.

Yoshiho Ikeuchi Lab, The University of Tokyo
Yoshiho Ikeuchi Lab focuses on research at the intersection of neuroscience and tissue engineering. It produces and engineers neural tissues and organoids from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to understand mechanisms underlying development and function of our brain and nervous system.

nomena + Megu Gunji

nomena
Established 2012, their unprecedented object making is fueled by knowledge and information gained through collaboration with other creators and clients, and through research experimentation. Recent projects include joint research with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and design of mechanism design for 2020 Tokyo Olympic cauldron.

Megu Gunji
Assistant Professor at Faculty of Life Sciences, Toyo University. She earned her Ph.D. degree from the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo in March 2017. Subsequently, she embarked on her professional journey, initially at the National Museum of Nature and Science (Tokyo) and later at Tsukuba University. As of April 2021, she has been in her current position. Her expertise primarily lies in anatomy and morphology, with a particular focus on the evolution of the body structure of large mammals, most notably giraffes. She was honored with the 7th IKUSHI Prize by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Mitsuru Muramatsu (Takram) + Dr. Muramatsu

Mitsuru Muramatsu (Takram)
Design Engineer. He has implemented projects based on cutting-edge technologies, such as robotics and devices for human augmentation, at Keio University and the University of Tokyo. Results presented at international exhibitions. Prizes include Grand Award, Interactive Art Category, Asia Digital Art Award 2015, Nomination for STARTS Prize 2016, Gold A' Design Award 2022. Joined design firm Takram in 2023.

Dr. Muramatsu
Researcher, Ph.D. in Media and Governance. Completed Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. Project Research Associate, Prototyping and Design Laboratory (Yamanaka Laboratory), Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo (to 2023). Research centers on designing robots with cognitive systems akin to those of living creatures. Engaged in various research envisaging future technologies, mainly in fields of prototyping and design engineering.

Yamanaka Laboratory + Researchers in various fields

Yamanaka Laboratory
Yamanaka Laboratory started when Yamanaka became a professor at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus, in 2008. It moved to the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo, in 2013 when Yamanaka himself changed his affiliation. The relocated laboratory became a center for "Design-Led X" of the University of Tokyo.

Imasen Engineering Corporation
Welfare equipment manufacturer founded in 1971, engaged in research, development, manufacture and sale of electric wheelchairs and prosthetic leg parts.

Fumio Usui
Prosthetist and orthotist, with 40-year engagement in development and manufacture of prosthetic legs for use in Japanese para-sport. Also involved in support of para-athletes.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Japanese National Research and Development Agency works towards radical enhancement of aviation and space technology, together with the promotion and creation of new fields in technology.

Toru Okabe
35 years of engagement with research into smelting and recycling of titanium and other rare metals. Vice President of the University of Tokyo from April 2024. Currently working on design uses of rare metals.

Noritaka Kawashima
Research & development in the field of rehabilitation specifically focused on the implementation of novel technologies and manufacturing process based on the background of neuroscience.

Kazuya Saito
Associate Professor, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University. Engaged in development of advanced structural materials based on origami mathematics and biomimicry.

SPLINE DESIGN HUB
This team consisting mainly of design engineers aims towards outputs with high-level integration between form and functionality. Uses seamless manufacturing processes, from planning and design to implementation.

Tetsudo Kousaikai Foundation Prosthetic and Orthotic Care Center
Established 1944, and now one of Japan's top prosthetic production centers, with attached medical rehabilitation facilities.

Toshiki Niino
Involved in research into powder bed fusion, which is among the most promising additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies for end parts production.

Manfred Hild
Director of Neurorobotics Research Laboratory, Berlin University of Applied Sciences. Engaged in research into humanoids functioning with distributed control systems.

Masahiro Yoshikawa
Research into digital fabrication of welfare equipment for people with impaired hand dexterity, or with prosthetic hands.