“Renovation” means doing major repairs on an existing building and giving the structure a new purpose to improve its overall performance—and, as a result, enhance its value. In recent years, people in Japan have been gradually breaking with tradition and taking up the relatively new idea of buying used houses and condominium units, renovating the properties, and making them their homes. Still, the “scrap and build” approach of tearing down a building and then erecting a new building on the same site is still the norm. With construction costs skyrocketing and people paying more attention to the environmental issues that demolition and new construction projects can create, however, we think the best strategy for handling buildings that still function is to renovate, revitalize, and reuse.
The AKITEN art project, which transforms vacancies around JR Hachioji Station into art galleries and farmers’ markets to rejuvenate the local community, runs the AKITEN ACADEMY: a seminar project that focuses on renovation. From looking at the specific techniques of renovating single floors and buildings to exploring how regenerating buildings plays into revitalizing the community, the AKITEN ACADEMY covers a broad scope of topics.

Phase1
Renovation roundtable: Guests Daisuke Furusawa (REWRITE Development Co., Ltd.) and Takeshi Yamazaki (Global Agents Co., Ltd.) talk about the projects that they have worked on, the meaning of renovation, and the future of local regeneration and community building.

Phase2
Workshop: Participants break into groups and work with their group leaders to develop proposals for renovating the various AKITEN 2014 venues. To make the workshop complete, each group presents their plans.