This paper is edited on the basis of intensive round-table discussions within a relatively small group of colleagues interested and involved in thinking, making and working towards quality of public space, to discuss, problematise and evaluate what is going on and to speculate on actions suitable for these times, and the times that follow. The title of the round table emphasises questions, deliberately pointing at the enigmas posed by current situation. We see it as an opportunity to get and think together in a structured brain-storming session that encourages brave and risky discussion. The “task” for all of the participants is to reflect upon practices/experiences that we are individually familiar with, those that we are witnessing these days, and - to suggest what would be the key questions /issues that need to be (re)thought and addressed in the weeks, months, perhaps years to come. The roundtable discussions were held online on 1st May 2020 – then recorded, transcribed, edited and published as a joint piece.

This paper aims to discuss an experience in teaching and learning urban design-research studio at The international Program in Architecture and Urban Design, Meiji University, Japan, in 2018. The studio attempted to address a specific context of the advanced aging and shrinking of the city in Japanese society through urban design thinking. By applying a research-led teaching method which requires students to search and respond to the resource approach to sustainable urban regeneration, the studio seeks creative and responsive ideas which could create an alternative to the decline of urban fringe in a specific context of an old new town suffering from the advanced aging demography. With our main interest in the research on requalification, the studio was seeking to explore this concept in urban design scale. This design-research studio tried to identify and later applied the keywords with prefix “RE-s” as statement and conceptual thinking in the production of space. The area of investigation is Tama New Town located in Tokyo’s western suburb. It is the largest new town ever developed in Japan during the period of rapid economic growth in the 1970’s. Its design, which adopted the modernist planning concept, has become problematic in today’s situation. Half a century has passed, the new town, which never achieved its goal, has aged and is facing several socio-economic challenges. The aim of this urban design-research studio is to reach beyond just technical problem solving by spatial design and instead exercise the responsive strategic thinking to address the current alarming issues of the aging and shrinking society which, we believe, important to the New Urban Agenda proposed by the UN-Habitat. Here we tried to address specific questions; how should urban design respond to the shrinking society? How can urban design thinking address the situation where there is no “growth” and oppressed with super-aging neighbourhoods? And how can we re-shape the environment that will be less and less inhabitable? Within this studio, students are encouraged to respond critically and creatively in overall strategic planning, urban and architectural design including the design of public space for a sustainable future.

Wooden-frame structures, with the capacity for continuous renewal, are key resources for urban regeneration and so comprise one of the most sustainable construction methods. This was true in the past for Japan, but following World War II, wooden-frame structures were demolished and replaced at a rapid pace. However, today, with Japan’s aging and dwindling population, the growing number of abandoned houses has become a socio-economic issue. In response to this crisis, local initiatives have been established to address this problem. Some novel design and management practices have arisen to restore the value of excess wooden-framed buildings. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current design and renovation practices of vacant wooden-frame buildings in Japan, as well as to evaluate these practices in light of a sustainable future, by approaching this issue from the perspective of architects and designers and investigating their roles in these processes. The paper starts with the evolution of this building type from the past to the present. Data from in-depth interviews with specialists in wooden-frame construction as well as architects who are involved in the renovation of postwar timber dwellings are gathered and discussed. The emphasis here is on the expertise these specialists and architects have in successful cases of design and space management, as well as the incorporation of those buildings into the local community. Our case studies are located in different urban contexts; a regional city, a peripheral area of Tokyo, and central Tokyo. The findings highlight the crucial role of architects who mediate between benefits and drawbacks of current rehabilitation efforts, which are nevertheless still outnumbered by abandoned houses. Nonetheless, these experiences are crucial and valuable for the long-term viability of this building type in Japan.

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