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NUS x UTokyo Memu Workshop

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NUS x UTokyo Memu Workshop

Obihiro, Hokkaido

26 July- 4 Aug 2025

In the summer of 2025, students from the Department, along with other NUS students pursuing a Minor in Cities, participated in the Memu Workshop at the Memu Open Research Campus in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan.

The workshop, themed “Re-reading Human and Nature Connections; Re-thinking Sustainable Urban-Rural Relations,” was led by Dr. Yu Morishita and co-taught by Dr. Toru Terada and Dr. Giles Sioen (The University of Tokyo), Dr. Rosita Samsudin (NUS Cities), and Dr. Victoria Jane Marshall (DOA). This marked the third collaboration between NUS and UTokyo.

Over the course of ten days, students explored Obihiro through a combination of curated and self-directed fieldwork, as well as creative design research. All student teams were interdisciplinary, with six UTokyo students from the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences joining seven NUS students from the Division of Industrial Design and Built Environment (with a Minor in Cities), and the DOA Master of Landscape Architecture and Architecture programmes.

We look forward to the possibility of participating again next year. Please watch for the application announcement in early 2026.

The workshop was structured in three steps:

Process 1: Read

Understand the site context via online sources, maps, readings. As a team, the students define a topic/theme while questioning; what makes Obihiro unique, what types of natural resources/elements have influenced the way people live their lives, and how has it changed over time? Note: This step was conducted prior to the team’s arrival at the Memu Open Research Campus.

Process 2: (Re)read / Sampling

Embrace Obihiro through five senses (seeing, tasting, hearing, touching, and smelling) and through interactions with place and dialogues with local residents/community groups. The students reflect and unfold the potentials/ challenges of the area by analysing the flow of resources, and interplay across humans and nature.

Process 3: Question-Raising / Responding

Convert the learnings and inspiration from the study area into questions; a series of constructive questions that bridge the students’ experience/encounters at Memu with their urban living environment/lifestyle. With an in-depth self-reflective process, the overall goal is to develop critical perspectives on how we live our lives.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the NUS students whose participation made this workshop truly memorable for everyone involved:

  • Tan Wayne Pei Wee, Department of Architecture (Master of Landscape Architecture)
  • Li Xiyuan, Department of Architecture (Master of Landscape Architecture)
  • Huang Zitao, Department of Architecture (Master of Architecture)
  • Xu Chenxiao, Department of Architecture (Master of Architecture)
  • Tan Aaliyaa Shu Qi Omar Marcus, Department of Architecture (Minor in Cities)
  • Ong Tian Gui Givson, Division of Industrial Design (Minor in Cities)
  • Pok Wei Yi Vicki, Department of Built Environment (Minor in Cities)