In rural Japan population decline and the concentration of people in major cities have led to a growing number of vacant houses. Rather than viewing such “vacancy” simply as absence this project reframes it as temporal and social space in which practices of inhabiting learning repairing and caring can emerge. Through cases of self-renovation undertaken by residents students craftspeople and local communities it examines how vacant houses can be reoccupied repaired and given new meaning. It also explores the potential of self-renovation as a form of “cultural infrastructure” that sustains local knowledge relationships and the capacity to care for places.

Dr Yusuke Yabutani, University of Toyama

Yusuke Yabutani is an architect and practice-based researcher based in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, specializing in renovation and community design. His work explores how architectural thinking—reading the specific qualities of context and reconstructing relationships among people, space, and time—can generate emergent forms of community and value through interaction. Moving between practice and research, he investigates ways to reinterpret existing buildings and local resources through participation, learning, and care. His own house, sansensoubunko, a partially self-renovated farmhouse, received the AIJ Young Architect Award for Selected Architectural Designs and other recognitions in Japan. Dr Yabutani will be in residency at the School of Design from 25th Setpember – 3rd October 2026. He will also bring a delegation of 11 Architecture students to offer an exchange programme at the School of Design, comprising of a practical workshop, public lecture and exhibition along with tailored activities for students taking part on the Bio-Based materials in global settings [Social Impact Focus Area] and Studio Japan 2 - Nikkei.

Contact the host of Public Talk – Self-Renovation as Cultural Infrastructure By Dr Yusuke Yabutani