co+labo: Urban Architecture
Research & Design Laboratory
Keio University, Japan

About Keio Architecture
　
　


Keio Architecture was established in 2018 by Keio University's architectural professors including Darko Radović - the founder / advisor of co+labo, building upon IKI (International Keio Institute for Architecture and Urbanism) inaugurated in 2010, at the Architecture Biennale in Venice. As stated on the website of Keio Architecture, the aim and characteristics of Keio Architecture are;

"Conceived as a Collaborative Research and Education Hub, Keio Architecture unites all centers of architectural and urban research and studies at Keio University, along with their established links while, at the same time, celebrating the famed heterogeneity and diversity of a strong, deeply rooted research laboratory culture of Keio. Keio Architecture is founded on the strong belief in power of internationalism, multidisciplinary and multiculturalism in action, exercised within the laboratories which operate in the way similar to an eco-system."　Read more on Keio Architecture website

The strong characteristic of Keio Architecture is internationality. One of the subject s offered in English at the graduate school is the "Architectural Design Studio"; in FY 2019, the subject had a studio system with three faculty members, and the design assignment was to plan the reorganization of the university campus. Approx. 40% of the 15 students enrolled in the subject were international students. The students were divided into three studios so that there was a mix of Japanese and international students, and the number of students per studio was four to five. It is unfortunately common for students to end up in groups of Japanese and foreign students even when aiming for education in an international environment, and creating small mixed groups is one effective way to avoid this. The subject proceeded with a proposal for an architectural design that reorganized the campus after conducting research and analysis on an urban scale. Benefiting from the multinational nature of the students, the research points of view and graphic expressions of analysis varied widely. The educational environment in which Japanese and international students have become mixed is the result not only of the foreign faculty members, but also of the double degree program utilized in the master's program. Students who have earned a master's degree abroad and returned to Keio to pursue another master's degree have played an important role in the internationalization of the educational environment by acting as a bridge between Japanese and international students.

Link
　
co+labo (Sano Lab) @ Keio Architecture　　

慶應義塾大学 都市建築デザイン研究室（佐野研究室）
理工学部 システムデザイン工学科／理工学研究科 空間・環境デザイン工学専修