Using Computers to Realize Dreams

New challenges in architectural design

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The manufacturing environment is beginning to change dramatically. Take 3D printers, for example. Printers can create objects exactly as they are designed on a computer. Currently, they can only create objects from a limited range of materials such as resin, but it is said that in the future, if you can create digital data, you will be able to create objects from any material in the same way as printing, without spending a lot of time or money. Even clothes that perfectly fit each individual's body shape may become easy to make by scanning the body.

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Is architecture truly a one-of-a-kind production?

Incidentally, architecture should ideally be a one-off product, tailored to the specific requirements of each project. However, in reality, due to economic reasons, many parts such as sashes and screws are mass-produced in factories, which has been a hindrance, preventing the creation of completely free and optimally suited forms for each project. However, as technology advances to directly translate data from computers into tangible forms, individual parts can be easily produced one-off, and the day will surely come when we can create truly desired architecture without being constrained by mass-produced industrial goods. Nikken Sekkei, which aims to create architecture more freely and flexibly, and to meet the diverse needs of its clients, is now striving to expand the possibilities of architectural design by making maximum use of computers.

Can we create even more rational and innovative buildings that meet diverse needs?

For example, imagine you're planning a building that's visually innovative, structurally rational, low-cost, and environmentally friendly, while also meeting the diverse needs of its users. Previously, designers would spend enormous amounts of time creating models and conducting simulations, considering each aspect individually. Nikken Sekkei is working on developing a system that uses computers to consolidate many conditions while creating high-quality designs in less time. Using computers, it becomes possible to perform simulations far more times than humans could, consider numerous design options, and then select the optimal one. Furthermore, with the advancement of 3D printing technology, as mentioned earlier, it will be possible to use that data directly to create custom building parts at low cost, allowing for the realization of truly desired and ideal architecture.

Computers can make both humans and architecture more free.

When we think of computer-generated design proposals, we might imagine impersonal and cold architecture, but that's not necessarily the case. Because computers combine various conditions to derive what many people desire, they can propose forms that are more lovable to people and may even be more human-like than those designed by humans who organize and create simple shapes in their minds.
I believe that in the future, we will be able to create buildings that are optimally designed to meet a wide range of conditions and individual needs, more efficiently and at a lower cost than we can now. And by entrusting the difficult, tedious, and time-consuming tasks to computers, both humans and architecture will become more free and creative. At Nikken Sekkei, we are pursuing the realization of this vision by having designers and computers work together.

Tomohiko Yamanashi

Chief Design Officer
Senior Director

Tomohiko Yamanashi joined Nikken Sekkei in 1986 after completing his master’s degree at The University of Tokyo. He specializes in architectural design. His numerous accolades include MIPIM Asia's Special Jury Award (2009) for Mokuzai Kaikan, an AIJ Award and CTBUH Innovation Award for NBF Osaki Building (Sony City Osaki, 2014), an AIJ (Architectural Institute of Japan) award for Toho Gakuen School of Music Chofu Campus Building No. 1 (2019), a JIA (Japan Institute of Architects) Grand Prix award for HOKI Museum (2011), and others. Since 2024, he has served as AIJ vice president and as a jurist for awards bestowed by the Japan Society of Seismic Isolation (JSSI). His professional memberships include the AIJ, the JIA, and the Japan Society for Office Studies. His books include BIM Construction Revolution, The Book of Becoming a Professional Architect, and Conditions for Great Buildings, among others.

Tomohiko Yamanashi

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