KYOTO Design Lab serves as a special cooperation partner for architect Riken Yamamoto’s section in the special exhibition “Nine Visions: Japanese Architects from Japan to the World” at the Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition 2025.

“Nine Visions: Japanese Architects from Japan to the World” is an exhibition introducing eight architectural practices comprising nine architects (as of 2025) who have won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often described as the Nobel Prize of architecture. The exhibition explores the talent and truth behind this phenomenon, asking why Japanese architects are so highly regarded around the world and how they have built their international reputation.

As part of Riken Yamamoto’s exhibition section, KYOTO Design Lab developed two installations, enabling visitors to explore the Local Area Republic Principles through an engaging hands-on experience.

The first, an introductory installation, presents the three fundamental spatial components of the Local Area Republic Principles—Mise (commerce/work), Nema (living/sleeping), and Shared Space—through a playful Mixed Reality (MR) experience. Visitors use magnetic cubes to build spatial arrangements representing these components, which the system then transforms into a vivid digital model in real time.

The second (main) installation invites visitors to explore the Local Area Republic model in greater depth. After entering resident information and customizing their living units via tablet devices, each participant’s input is merged into an ever-evolving community model. This collective simulation serves as a live demonstration of the Local Area Republic Principles, allowing visitors to gain a clearer understanding of how the theory functions in practice.

The exhibition is on view from October 4 to November 30, 2025, at the Onomichi City Museum of Art.

ⓒHiroshima Architecture Exhibition	ⓒHiroshima Architecture Exhibition