Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki has gathered a throng of designers including Toyo Ito, Sou Fujimoto, Kengo Kuma and Riken Yamamoto to oppose the design of Zaha Hadid's 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Maki, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1993, has organised a symposium where Japanese architects will protest against the scale of the proposed 80,000-seat stadium, which is set to become the main sporting venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. — Dezeen

A giant purple structure believed to be the world's first inflatable concert hall is to open on Japan's disaster-hit north eastern coast.

British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozaki created the unusual Ark Nova, a balloon made of a coated polyester material that has been erected at a park in the town of Matsushima.

The structure, which organisers say is a world's first, measures about 18m and 35m wide when fully inflated with room for about 500 guests. — dailymail.co.uk

PIXY HALL by Moriyuki Ochiai Architects is an engaging multi-purpose space in Kanagawa, Japan for kindergarteners to play and learn. The project won the Japan Kids Design Award in 2010.

The playground's brightly colored shapes and tiny spaces to climb under and over look like plenty of fun for the little ones, while its overall clean and simple aesthetic would probably look cool to anyone at any age. — bustler.net

British architect David Chipperfield has been named as one of the five laureates in the Praemium Imperiale Awards for 2013. The announcement was made on Sept. 17 in Rome, New York, London, Berlin, Paris and Tokyo. — bustler.net

Japanese capital beats out rival bids from Istanbul and Madrid to win right to host 2020 summer sports extravaganza. — Al Jazeera

Our way of life is still based in twentieth-century ideas, specifically a modernist philosophy that assumes we can use science and technology to conquer nature. So we try to isolate ourselves from nature; our cities are completely segregated from the environment. [...] That kind of modernist thinking has reached its limit. — artforum.com

UNStudio is in the works of developing the Giant Observation Wheel (GOW) 'Nippon Moon' for a soon-to-be-disclosed location in Japan. Invited by Ferris Wheel Investment, the Dutch studio came up with a user-experience design strategy that balances reality and interactive technology--all while users ride in one of the wheel's 32 capsules. — bustler.net

Rather than using cranes to take the building apart from the outside, they start from the inside, taking the structure apart floor by floor from the top down. A crane inside the building lowers materials harvested from each floor to ground level, generating electricity to power other equipment in the process. So with Tecorep, higher buildings are actually an advantage, since the crane can generate more electricity lowering materials over longer distances. — popsci.com

In celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic building blocks being introduced into Japan, LEGO’s Japanese subsidiary sponsored a cross-country workshop in which over 5000 people in 6 different regions collaborated to create a gigantic map of Japan.The pieces that were assembled at each site then traveled to Tokyo, where they were put on display for one massive LEGO map. — spoon-tamago.com

Separated by about four centuries and the Pacific Ocean this pair of houses may seem on paper to have little in common. One was an imperial villa in Kyoto, the other a suburban villa in West Hollywood. One is built on Zen principles for the Japanese emperor, the other was built by a central European architect for himself. — ft.com

As cultural and architectural icons, sporting stadiums are extremely important to a city’s built of environment. As such, the structures maintain a high profile and promise acclaim to those who design and deliver them well. — DesignBuild Source

Japan’s Sport Council on Thursday awarded a contract to design and construct a centerpiece, billion-dollar national stadium that forms a key part of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games to lauded U.K. firm Zaha Hadid Architects. — blogs.wsj.com

what’s being called the world’s first 3D printing photo booth is set to open for a limited time at the exhibition space EYE OF GYRE in Harajuku. From November 24 to January 14, 2013, people with reservations can go and have their portraits taken. Except, instead of a photograph, you’ll receive miniature replicas of yourselves. — spoon-tamago.com

Eleven finalists have been announced today in the international design competition for the New National Stadium Japan, including design heavy hitters like Zaha Hadid Architects, SANAA, UNStudio, and Toyo Ito. The finalists, announced by the Japan Sport Council (JSC) and jury chair Tadao Ando, were selected from 46 entries to proceed to the second and final competition round. The final winner will be selected on November 7 and officially announced later that month. — bustler.net