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Opportunity for Students: AA Visiting School – Vernacular Craft to Digital Fabrication, Japan
I am writing on behalf of the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA), London, to share an opportunity that may be of interest to your students and recent graduates.
The AA Visiting School programme "Vernacular Craft to Digital Fabrication" will take place in Kanagawa and Noto, Japan, from 27 July to 7 August 2026. The workshop investigates how traditional Japanese timber craftsmanship can inform contemporary architectural design and digital fabrication practices.
A key feature of the programme is the opportunity for participants to learn directly from internationally recognised practitioners and educators from VUILD, Hooke Park, and Office Ten Architecture. Through lectures, workshops, site visits, and hands-on fabrication, students will gain insight into cutting-edge approaches to timber construction, computational design, material research, and digital manufacturing.
Participants will:
• Study vernacular Japanese timber architecture through fieldwork, documentation, and surveying.
• Learn advanced digital workflows including 3D scanning, parametric modelling, and computational design.
• Work with specialists from VUILD to explore how digital fabrication technologies can be integrated with traditional craft knowledge and contemporary timber construction.
• Engage with the research and experimental making culture developed at Hooke Park, the AA's renowned woodland campus dedicated to innovative timber design, fabrication, and construction.
• Collaborate with architects from Office Ten Architecture, whose work bridges heritage, sustainability, material innovation, and contemporary architectural practice.
• Develop and fabricate design proposals, culminating in the construction of a full-scale architectural installation in Japan.
The programme is open to undergraduate students, graduates, and young professionals in architecture, engineering, design, fabrication, and related disciplines. It offers a rare opportunity to combine cultural immersion, hands-on construction, computational design, and direct engagement with leading practitioners in the fields of timber architecture and digital fabrication.
We would be grateful if you could circulate this opportunity among your students, faculty members, and relevant networks.
Further information can be found here:
If you have any questions or would like promotional material for distribution, please feel free to contact me.
Many thanks for your time and support.
Kind regards,
Erika
Studio Master, Undergraduate School First Year
Architectural Association School of Architecture
Erika.Suzuki@aaschool.ac.uk