Tokyo Midtown DESIGN TOUCH

Wooden blocks, designed by Architect Kengo Kuma and more trees, all of the same shape but of various sizes, lie scattered in a grassy square in the middle of the city. Everyone from small children to adults can enjoy creations such as the pyramid built from blocks made of Japanese timber. There is also an exhibition of wooden block works created by the fresh imagination of three groups of young creators. Visitors can enjoy the various designs created from the identical blocks.

［ DATE ］ 10.16 fri - 11.3 tue
［ HOURS ］ 11:00 - 18:00
［ PLACE ］ Grass Square
［ ADMISSION ］ Free
［ ORGANIZER ］ Tokyo Midtown

This is the second project born out of interview on the online magazine “Roppongi Future Talks”. School in the forest will open in the Midtown Garden, where a refreshing autumn breeze blows. The open-air classes will feature special, unique lessons by leading creators of Japan. At the school's painting class, students can get in touch with nature as they draw and paint.

Did you know that a steadily increasing number of people are living life at their own pace by personally renovating a place that takes their fancy from among the 7 million old, unoccupied houses in Japan? Three designers working on the international stage come together to produce a small home that reflects this lifestyle, guided by the theme of "a rich life through minimalism".

The Tokyo Midtown Award, to be held for the eighth time this year, finds and supports new talents in Japan. The award ceremony will award prizes to and exhibit 14 winning entries from among the 1,566 designs and artworks submitted. Come and witness the talent of tomorrow.

Nine groups of creative talents working on the front lines in Japan will hold special lectures. Participants can choose from among three sessions. Please select a lesson in accordance with your design interests.

The Milano Salone (Salone del Mobile) is the world's largest international furniture trade fair. This event shines a spotlight on the Japanese designers and corporations taking part in this major event, which gives birth to new trends in design. Hiroshi Nakamura, one of Japan's young architects, uses his exhibits to showcase the unique style of OFFICINE PANERAI, one of Italy’s leading luxury watchmakers.

"Pursuing beauty that moves people." This is the guiding philosophy behind the products that Mazda puts on the international market. This exhibit will show the company’s entire product lineup, which is made by the company with an emphasis on creating art. As well as the cars, the exhibit will also feature various artworks that were displayed at the Milano Salone.

This event lets attendees experience writing in Eyefont, the font used to create the graphics on the front cover of this magazine. Using The Eye Writer, a device which inputs text by tracking the user’s eyes, anyone can write by looking. Waiting for you is the unusual experience of writing using only your brain and your eyes.

This popular collaborative project brings together traditional Japanese crafts and some of Japan's leading graphic designers. Along a path, where you can take a stroll and forget you are in the heart of the city, are numerous works incorporating Yasato Kawara, a style of ceramic tile said to date back to Japan's Nara Period, as well as Kasama-Yaki style traditional pottery from Ibaraki Prefecture, which has won official recognition from the Japanese government.

kokki (meaning national flag), a series of trays designed after four of the most recognized flags in the world, won the Tokyo Midtown Award 2014 Design Competition's award for excellence. This year, two of Tokyo Midtown's cafés and restaurants will use kokki to serve limited-time only menus inspired by the colors of various national flags. Don't miss out on enjoying this unique idea.

This building block city was created from 1,500 separate blocks. It's a place where various people can interact, meet and connect. The tallest object in the city is the 1/100 scale replica of the 248 meter Midtown Tower. We hope you'll come and see the remarkable scope of this project and enjoy the interaction between the city of blocks and the products on display.

“GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION” is the international event where visitors discover design trends through works of companies and designers. Over 1,000 works from different categories including the winners of the latest Good Design Award are displayed. This year, you can get free admission to “GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION 2015”, if you join the special website “MEETinG”. www.g-mark.org/meeting.

Frank Gehry, one of the most preeminent architects in America, has spent over half a century upending architectural norms and defying expectations. This exhibition focuses on Gehry's "ideas." It introduces the background behind formation of ideas, the process up to their completion with vast numbers of models. It also features projection mapping where one can visually experience Gehry's architectures, welcoming up-and-coming architect Tsuyoshi Tane as the Exhibition Director.

Graphic Trial began in 2006 as an attempt to capture new means of expression by examining in detail the relationship between graphic design and printing techniques. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the project, this exhibition will showcase a total of 210 posters created through collaborations between 42 groups pairing a creative artist with a printing director of Toppan Printing. The posters will be accompanied by various ‘printing experiments’, and will go on show in two terms.

Kusumi Morikage, a painter active during the early Edo Period, studied under Kano Tan’yu and was the most prominent of a group of four famous painters from the Tan’yu school. After leaving the school, he became noted for his expressive portrayals of life in rural areas, developing his own artistic style. Although he produced numerous masterpieces, little is known about half of Kusumi’s life. This exhibition looks at the life and works of this mysterious painter.