Junko Yamamoto, a founding principal of iVY based in Pawtucket, RI, is a licensed architect in Japan and the US. She holds an architecture diploma with honorary standing from Kyoto Architectural College, a BArch degree with distinction from the Boston Architectural College and an MArch II degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design.
She has been practicing since 2005, playing a key role in the design and construction of numerous projects, including those for MIT and Harvard University campuses and commercial buildings in New England, while undertaking independent commissions from custom furniture and exhibition design to residential projects in the US and Japan. Her architecture firm, iVY, was invited to the European Cultural Center Venice Architecture Biennale in 2020.
In parallel with her professional design practice, Yamamoto works as an artist. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally in various juried exhibitions, including the recent Nakanojo Biennale International Contemporary Art Exhibition Japan, and featured in publications, including ArchDaily, CICA Museum Yellow Book, architecturephoto.net, BAC Journal and BAC Practice Magazine. Expanding her practice in art and architecture, she served as a chair of the Global Practice Network at the Boston Society for Architecture and also teaches at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Roger Williams University and Boston Architectural College.
Courses
Fall 2023 Courses
ARCH 2196-03 - THESIS SEM: NAVIGATING THE CREATIVE PROCESS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitArchitecture
Subject Architecture
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ARCH 2196-03
THESIS SEM: NAVIGATING THE CREATIVE PROCESS
LevelUndergraduate
UnitArchitecture
Subject Architecture
PeriodFall 2023
Credits3
FormatSeminar
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: W | 1:10 PM - 4:10 PMInstructor(s): Junko YamamotoLocation(s): Bayard Ewing Building, Room 317Enrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
We begin work on your Thesis Projects from the outset of the semester: navigating arbitrary beginnings; setting boundaries like nets; developing a whole language of grunts, smudges and haiku; gathering the unique and unrepeatable content, forces, and conditions of your project; hunting an emerging and fleeting idea; recognizing discoveries; projecting forward with the imagination; and distilling glyphs, diagrams and insight plans.This course satisfies the prerequisite requirement for Thesis Project.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $50.00 - $200.00
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | BArch, MArch (3yr), MArch (2yr): Architecture
The population in Japan is decreasing, and the population is aging faster in cities. In Ukraine, 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster, the exclusion zone became a forest where wild animals thrive. Considering the foreseen scenarios of our future technologies, such as remote medical treatment, flying cars, driverless buses, and AI-operated white-collar jobs, the definition of convenience may no longer be based on location.
The concept of a Circular Economy puts pressure on all manufacturing companies to increase material efficiency. The extraction of raw materials will hopefully decrease, therefore, unpopulated areas can regain nature. The Japanese population currently occupies 50% of their land, which is predicted to fall to 40% due to depopulation in 2050 (*1). 70% of the land is currently forested, and Tokyo is only 0.6%.
What is the ideal life in the post-urban forest?
Instead of trying to increase the population, how can we happily accept depopulation? How do we seek the happiness of individuals? Students will envisage a new Actor Network (*2) connecting inhabited and uninhabited environments.
*1. National long-term outlook by National Land Council, Policy Subcommittee, Long-Term Outlook Committee, 2011
*2. We will discuss the concept of Actor-Network Theory developed by Bruno Latour and some examples by Atelier BowWow using the concept.
Registration is not available in Workday. Students must complete an application through RISD Global. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required and permission of instructor. Failure to remain in good academic standing can lead to removal from the course, either before or during the course. Most courses are open to first year students with approval from the Dean of Experimental and Foundation Studies.
Under the supervision of a faculty advisor, students are responsible for the preparation and completion of an independent thesis project.
Estimated Materials Cost: $50.00 - $200.00
Permission for this class is based on the student's overall academic record, as well as their performance in the Wintersession course ARCH 2197: Thesis Discursive Workshop. If the department recommends against a student undertaking ARCH-2198: Thesis Project, two advanced elective studios must be taken instead.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Architecture Students.
Major Requirement | BArch, MArch (3yr), MArch (2yr): Architecture
