Let's observe a "piece of the future" that is budding as a result of an encounter between science and design.
Exploring R&D material from the field of art/design (No.1)

The art/design field seems to be an extremely high hurdle if you don't have a connection with it. I have had the bitter experience of saying to someone I have just met, "My hobby is art appreciation," only to be met with a wallflower of a comment, "...you are very noble.

Although art/design may be difficult to grasp (or so it seems), it can be a stimulus for engineers/researchers to generate ideas, including business development. We will introduce art/design as a "tool for idea generation" from all angles, touching on actual works of art.

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Exhibition "Piece of the Future: Laboratory of Science and Design

This time, we visited to experience art/design is located in Roppongi, Tokyo, in a corner of Tokyo Midtown,21_21 DESIGN SIGHT (two-one-two-one design site)The building is located in the center of the city. From the building with a roof that looks like a single folded steel plate, exhibitions and other design-related information are disseminated.

In fact, I frequently check the event information here. I find it very stimulating to see exhibitions with unusual themes that often change my perspective. （The exhibition "The Art of the City" (2021) is one of them.Rules? Exhibition(It was fun, too!)

The "21_21 DESIGN SIGHT" will be held at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT from March 29, 2024 (Friday) to August 12, 2024 (Monday).Pieces of the Future: Science and Design Laboratory". This exhibition is directed by Mr. Shunji Yamanaka, a design engineer who has worked as a car designer for Nissan Motor Co. and became a special professor at the University of Tokyo in 2023.
In his director's message, Mr. Yamanaka states, "This exhibition explores the "sliver of the future" that is emerging from the encounter between science and design that is taking place right now. We believe that this is a "sliver of the future" that will stimulate engineers/researchers as well. We would like to introduce some of the works exhibited in this exhibition.

Thinking from the Concept: A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE + Nature Architects

This white clothing is made from a single piece of fabric with almost no sewing, thanks to technology that automatically designs the folds of the clothing and technology that shrinks the fabric when heat is applied. ISSEY MIYAKE is known for making clothes based on the concept of "one piece of cloth," and I was impressed by the fact that the company even conducts technological research based on this concept.

Thinking about the Future: Yamanaka Lab + Inami Jizaika Body Project "Jizaimu

The "free limb" is one of the projects of the Inami Jizaika Bodhi Project, a research project by about 100 researchers on the theme of extending human body functions. It is an attempt to see if it is possible to attach a third or fourth arm to a human being, and it looks just like the statue of Ashura from Kofukuji Temple in Nara. At this stage, it is technically difficult for the arms to act like real arms, so they are intended to dance and each arm needs a pilot. In the future, however, it may be able to move "at will" according to the wearer's will. On the other hand, if this future is realized, there is also the question of whether the arm is really the wearer's arm. On the other hand, if this future is realized, the question of whether the arm is really one's own arm is also involved. Evolving technology is always next to issues of philosophy and ethics. Incidentally, you can see a video of a dancer wearing a "free limb" dancing at the venue. A specially edited version of the short film "Jizai," directed by Maiko Endo, which depicts the world of the "Jizai limb," will also be shown at the exhibition.

Stimulate the right brain by seeing and touching

So far, I have looked at the work from a left-brain perspective. However, there are also some tricks scattered throughout the exhibition that will make your right brain say, "This is something interesting! and "This is something interesting!" There are also tricks to please the right brain scattered throughout the exhibition.

nomena + Meku Gunji

This is an exhibit of animal skeletal models that can be assembled by touching them with your own hands. When you actually try it, the bones fit together like a puzzle, and it is indescribably comfortable. Understanding the skeletal structure not only visually but also tactilely may lead to ideas for creating other things, such as robots.

Chiba Institute of Technology Research Center for Future Robot Technology (fuRo) + Shunji Yamanaka

Robots designed based on the concept of "creating a beautiful robot from its skeletal structure" are on display, and the robots themselves, as well as the way they are displayed, are unique. On a white table in the center of the venue are several sheets of blank paper with holes in them, on which images of the robots are projected by projection mapping. When a viewer touches a hole in the paper, the image switches. Recently, projection mapping has been used to project images on walls and tables and switch images interactively, but this is the first time I have experienced a pattern in which paper is placed on the wall. I felt that just by touching the analog medium of paper, the sense of immersion in the virtual world was heightened. This sensation is something you should definitely experience at the venue.

DLX Design Lab, The University of Tokyo + Yoshiho Ikeuchi Laboratory, The University of Tokyo

There is a video exhibit of an installation that remotely "talks" with neurons in the brain cultured outside the body, and there is also an exhibit of ideas on how the cultured neurons could be used and the prototypes that were created. The process of developing the prototype through trial and error by boiling down ideas with sticky notes is laid out on a large table, giving visitors a peek inside the brains of the people who came up with the idea.

After all, "seeing is believing."

I am not sure if I have conveyed all the advantages of this exhibition in my poor writing, so I recommend that you visit the exhibition in person. The beauty of an exhibition is that you can feel it with all your senses. Even if you don't have all five senses, your brain cells will be stimulated by the four senses (sight, hearing, touch, and smell) and more.

Event Name

Exhibition "Piece of the Future: Laboratory of Science and Design

session (of a legislature)

Friday, March 29, 2024 - Monday, August 12, 2024

venue

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 1 & 2
Midtown Garden, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan

closed day

Tuesday

Hours of Operation

10:00 - 19:00 (admission until 18:30)