T—ADS (Advanced Design Studies, the University of Tokyo) was established to contribute to and enhance state-of-the-art architectural design education while cultivating architectural culture in Japan. Going beyond the legacy of Japanese pedagogy, in which individual laboratories conduct their respective research, T—ADS is composed of multiple interdisciplinary lab-based platforms. Each platform concentrates on a specific theme arising within societies where globalism and regionalism coexist. Currently, there are four main platforms: Digital Fabrication Lab (DFL), with research centering on how digital fabrication technology can be applied to architecture; Sustainable Prototyping Lab (SPL), which emphasizes architectural prototypes for sustainable urbanity; Design Think Tank (DTT), which looks at combinatorial hardware design and the software of cities; and Media Initiative Lab (MIL), which analyzes architecture through exhibitions, symposiums, lectures, and publications. 

The course is dedicated to interdisciplinary design research connecting architecture, engineering, and computations to explore the emerging discourses on architecture and urbanism. It seeks to develop and speculate upon new knowledge for architecture where the practice of design engages in both social constructs and material performances. It aims to explore the potential of architecture as the essential element to generate new ideas of and for the ever-evolving building build environment.

This course is a master’s course conducted in English, and the course provides a platform for collaborations between various research laboratories within the Department of Architecture and also within the School of Engineering linking design practices with scientific research projects. Students in the course develop comprehensive design proposals exploring the interconnectivity of building systems, examining issues of structures, materials, environments, spatial logic, and socio-cultural parameters.