Tokyo Institute of Technology and Musashino Art University students, were welcomed and a workshop on expressing ideas in making things was held.
People have various strengths and weaknesses. Some may have good knowledge but be poor at communication. Some have good imagination but are poor and logical construction. Others may kow the technology but not know how to express themselves.
People who have 'design sense' in the broad meaning, are what society in companies will demand in the future. These are people who can develop ideas through discussion in a team, and make things which express a good balance between function and design, incorporating diverse aspects. Having the ability to make others share your thinking and ideas (concept), and knowing how to transform these into a form, are key points.
How can you enable society and the world to realize your own specific ideas, while cooperating with various people from different cultural backgrounds?

On the first day of our workshop, we started from the theme of 'the place that I would like to go'. In the Amu event space at Ebisu, we split the discussion into two teams who looked at what type of place, and what values we wanted to bring out; each of the teams gradually formed a concept from this starting point.

We used as a reference source the book by Mathew Fredrick "Ideas in architecture design 101" published by MIT Press; this allowed us to use common methods of converting our concepts into words and visualisation. Visitors from outside our department also came to watch.

On the second day, we moved to Tokyo Tech's Monodukuri Education Research Support Centre, and tried to express our concepts by really making something. The material was 2mx1mx50cm Styrofoam. It doesn't matter how big or what shape you make, as long as it manages to communicate your idea in a physical form.
The moulds were formed by cutting and shaving using a heat cutter or Ni/Cr wire. For most participants, this was the first time to have addressed this theme using such tools and materials. Everyone was guided by the detailed and patient advice of students at the centre.

While making the model, the debate was repeated over whether they were losing what the model was trying to aim for, or the concept it was trying to communicate. The concept was rolled over and transformed. Observers were able to see that, in order for one group to transform a solid shape into a sphere, various ideas had to be expressed on drawing paper and various tricks applied to the actual fabrication method.
Friday was an off day for the workshop but everyone continued working at the centre making one change after another.

The last (third) day was Saturday. We brought the completed items to AMU, and held some presentations and discussions. Within a presentation limited to 10 minutes, three aspects were covered- 'the three-dimensional work', 'the concise concept in words', and 'the concept expressed as a picture or diagram'. Again, we had many visitors and many significant questions and answers.

In our discussions, a number of issues were highlighted and discussed- such as the ease of adjusting concepts, the lack of clarity in the relationship between the concept and the mould. Then we mixed up the members of the two teams, and discussed how we might improve our work. That gave us a second chance through various five-minute presentations. In addition there were many comments, and the discussion continued. Finally, in the moulded works remain in the form of photographs. Finish.

Students who came from the cultural background of two different universities, worked together over three days, debating together and, through making things, were able to think about and create a concept and a design. After the workshop had finished, I was able to proudly launch it at Ebisu and help deepen the interchange between the students.

＜Schedule＞
February 2011
Wednesday 13.30-16.30　 Ebisu Creative Space amu
Thursday 13.30-16.30　 Tokyo Tech's Monodukuri Education Research Support Centre
Saturday 13.30-16.30　 Ebisu Creative Space amu

＜Participants＞
Tokyo Tech: 7 (including 2 teaching assistants)、Musashino Art University: 7 (including 5 teaching assistants)

＜Staff＞
Musashino Art University design information group: Professor Hiromi Inoguchi
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Associate Professor Kayoko Nohara
Film-Art, Chief Editor Hiroshi Tsuda