News

We are excited to host "Onko-Chishin in Architectural Design" (Learning from the Past to Innovate the Future), a cross-disciplinary workshop. This event brings together domestic and international researchers, artisans, and cultural bearers to discuss the future of architecture in light of emerging technologies. We warmly welcome students and researchers who are passionate about architecture to join us!

(Presentations will be delivered in either Japanese or English, depending on the speaker; machine translation and simultaneous interpretation between Japanese and English provided by the organizers will be available.)

国内外の建築に関わる研究者・職人・文化の継承者が一堂に会し、新しい技術を見据えたこれからの建築のあり方を議論する、領域横断型ワークショップ「建築設計の温故知新」を開催します。建築に興味のある学生や研究者の皆様、ぜひご参加ください (学外の参加者も大歓迎です)。

(講演者に応じて日英の両言語で講演が行われますが、機械翻訳および主催者による日英同時通訳を行います。)

As a session moderator, Prof. Kazuki Hayashi will join the event "Shaping the Built Environment of Tomorrow" hosted by Swissnex in Osaka. 

Organised as part of Open House Osaka 2026 and the public programme of the Swiss Architecture Yearbook 2025/26 exhibition, this panel brings together experts and perspectives from Switzerland and Japan to explore how innovation is shaping architecture and the wider built environment.

https://swissnex.org/japan/event/shaping-the-built-environment-of-tomorrow/

Mr. Keiya Sago, Mr. Asahi Fujimoto, and Prof. Kazuki Hayashi presented papers at the IASS-IWSS 2026 conference in Turin, Italy.

• 26 – Stability-driven optimization of construction sequences for triangulated shells using reinforcement learning

Asahi Fujimoto and Kazuki Hayashi

AI-Informed Structural Engineering and Design (SG1) – A
Monday, September 14, 14:40-16:20, Room Sala Fucine, 14:40

• 101 – Design of joint system for free-form structure from planar materials based on circle packing meshes and their structural and environmental evaluation

Keiya Sago, Demi Fang and Kazuki Hayashi

From Architectural Geometry to Structural Geometry (WG22) – A
Tuesday, September 15, 14:20-16:00, Room 1i, 15:00

• 162 – Form-finding of funicular shapes with spectral geometry

Romain Mesnil and Kazuki Hayashi

From Architectural Geometry to Structural Geometry (WG22) – B
Wednesday, September 16, 16:20-18:00, Room 1i, 16:40

• 273 – Computational workflow for funicular analysis and quadrangulation of solar structures

Kazuki Hayashi, Kentaro Hayakawa and Jianhui Hu

Numerical methods for form finding and optimization (WG13) – B
Thursday, September 17, 14:20-16:20, Room 3i, 14:20

• 442 – A PINN model for response prediction of inflatable membrane structure

Zhi Zheng, Jianhui Hu, Zhen Yang, Xiang Li, Wujun Chen, Chengjun Gao, Kazuki Hayashi, Igor Ilin, Anastasia Levina and Hua Suo

Materials and Lifecycle Performance of Architectural/Structural Membranes (WG6) – A
Wednesday, September 16, 14:10-15:50, Room 2i, 14:50

Dr. Hiroki Tamai (Nikken Sekki Ltd.) will give us a presentation about his research and practical work. Please note that his presentation will be made in Japanese.

Kazuki Hayashi will give a presentation titled "Structural rationalization via geometric knowledge", at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.

Kazuki Hayashi will give a presentation about his research projects on machine learning at STA-CIMA 2026 : Conférence recherche en construction dans les ENS Architecture, held at ENSA Paris Malaquais - PSL, France.

About the conference: https://paris-malaquais.archi.fr/evenements/events/sta-cima-2026-conference-recherche-en-construction-en-ensa-p/

Kazuki Hayashi will give a presentation about his research projects on machine learning at AI E-SAFE 2026: International Conference on Advanced Earthquake Engineering for Mid- and High-Rise Buildings, hosted by Korea University and Architectural Institute of Korea.

About the conference: https://www.aik.or.kr/board/?_0000_method=view&ncode=a001&num=3238

Ms. Apolline Couret (project manager at schlaich bergermann partner) will give us a presentation about her projects. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Kazuki Hayashi.

Mr. Asahi Fujimo and Mr. Keiya Sago finished their diploma projects. They really went above and beyond on their research theme at the boundary between architectural design and structural engineering. Great job!

Asahi Fujimoto
Research Theme: "Construction sequence optimization of discrete surface structures using machine learning reflecting actual construction"
Design Project: "Stollen"

Keiya Sago
Research Theme: "Design and analysis of curved structures using circle packing meshes"
Design Project: "Editorial Surface"

Mr. Axel Larsson (PhD Student at Princeton University) will give us a presentation about his research projects. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Kazuki Hayashi.

Dr. Léo Dumont (Ecole des Ponts ParisTech) will give us a presentation about his research work. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Kazuki Hayashi.

Asst. Prof. Kentaro Hayakawa and I led a computational modeling workshop for students, researchers, and practitioners interested in the field of architectural design and engineering.

Workshop Theme: "Surface classes: Constructability, structural rationality, and design"

Architects can now freely design shapes using parametric surfaces like NURBs, which are standard in many 3D modeling software. However, there's a risk that detailed design considerations, such as constructability and structural performance, are put off until later, leading to an inefficient final product. In this workshop, you'll experience a new design method for surfaces that automatically satisfies the requirements for "building" by using specialized surfaces instead of NURBs.

This workshop is primarily aimed at practitioners in structural design, architectural design, and computational design, as well as students and young researchers in fields that study structural forms. However, it's also broadly open to anyone interested in optimization and form generation, even if they're not in a structural discipline. Prior programming experience with Python will allow for a deeper understanding of the surface generation process. Please bring a PC capable of running Rhino 8.

Mr. Jun Yanagimuro (Jun Yanagimuro Structural Design) will gave us a presentation about his recent structural design projects. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Kazuki Hayashi.

Please note that the presentation will be made in Japanese.
プレゼンテーションは日本語で行われます。

Dr. Nicolas Rogeau (Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Tokyo) gave us a presentation about his research projects. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Kazuki Hayashi.

Prof. Hayashi presented the recent research trend in computational morphogenesis and optimization of spatial structures in the event organized by Jun Yanagimuro Structural Design.

Prof. Makoto Ohsaki hosted the international conference to close the interdisciplinary project "Evolving Design and Discrete Differential Geometry - towards Mathematics Aided Geometric Design” (CREST ED3GE) supported by the JST CREST Program. This conference invites international leaders in the area relevant to the CREST ED3GE Project as keynote speakers, and the six research groups of this project will present their research achievements. Kazuki Hayashi also made a presentation titled "Deployable auxetic surface structures: From optimized shape to detail design implementation".

Olivier Baverel (Professor at Laboratoire Navier / GSA / ENSAG / Ecole des Ponts) and Robin Oval (Assistant Professor at TU Delft) gave us a special lecture about their structural design research.

Kazuki Hayashi joined a dialogue session and discussed how we can create ‘lovable places’ that resonate with and are cherished by their surrounding communities. This dialogue involved researchers from Kyoto University (L-INSIGHT fellows, a community of early career researchers) and The University of Melbourne.

Kazuki Hayashi joined the discussion on the challenging task of building a theoretical and practical framework for international cooperation to support the transition to a society where cyber-physical systems (CPS) are prevalent, based on the premise of the coexistence of autonomous communities. 

Dr. Russell Loveridge, a Managing Director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) in Digital Fabrication (https://www.dfab.ch), will give us a special lecture titled "Digital Fabrication for AEC – Research and Projects in Switzerland."

Society's expectations on our construction industries are at a turning point. The growing global population, rapid urbanization, and an aging workforce are all challenges against the increasing need for sustainable, safe, and cost-efficient buildings.

The NCCR DFAB undertakes research in advanced digital technologies and techniques towards a radical transformative shift for building solutions. Innovative construction research topics including AI-supported design and engineering, new material development, 3D Printing, and robotic assembly are at the forefront of this transformation, addressing the challenges of achieving relevant global UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In this talk, Russell Loveridge presented DFAB research and innovations from Switzerland that demonstrates the potentials of these digital fabrication technologies towards the goal of radically improved sustainability in construction.

Following the presentation Professor Kazuki Hayashi from Kyoto University joined the discussion. Together they examined how AI and computational structural design will play an intrinsic role in developing sustainable design and industrialized construction solutions for both Switzerland and Japan.

https://swissnex.org/japan/event/nexcafe-11-robots-ai-and-sustainable-construction/

Kazuki Hayashi discussed in a forum consisting of 3 dialogues among researchers from Kyoto University (L-INSIGHT fellows, a community of early career researchers), Heidelberg University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and Göttingen University. Each group comprises interdisciplinary members who study the same research subject using different approaches.  

Kazuki Hayashi gave an online presentation as a keynote speaker at SCAN'24, an academic conference on the use of AI in the construction industry, hosted by l'Université Ibn Khaldoun.