The first phase of the project started in September when Loughborough University students travelled to Japan and were put into teams with students from the partnering institution.  

They were tasked with designing a ‘Mobile Teahouse’ as a reinterpretation of the tea ceremony tradition on behalf of a live client – the Ueada Sogo Ryu School. The school dates its tradition of tea ceremonies to 1619.  

The designs were judged by a panel including Lecturer in Architecture and Construction Technology Dr Matyas Gutai, and Associate Professor in Computational Design and Digital Fabrication So Sugita. 

After the visit, the students at Hiroshima Institute of Technology brought the design to life in the spring by constructing a 1:1 scale model. This was then exhibited at this year’s G7 Summit, where many Japanese officials and international diplomats had the opportunity to attend an intimate tea ceremony within the tea house as part of a reception.  

Candis said: "We’re so grateful to have participated in the Summer School workshop. It was an action-packed two weeks, but I learnt a lot. It was lovely getting to know the students at Hiroshima Institute of Technology, they were all open-minded and easy to work with, it was fun to experiment with different origami techniques that formed our final model." 

Kuldip commented: “The Summer School workshop and the process of creating the Origami Tea House was an enjoyable and learning endeavour. I learnt the importance of materiality and concept design through working with the students at Hiroshima Institute of Technology. As a young architecture student who has always dreamed of visiting Japan and having my own work displayed, seeing our winning design showcased at the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023 reception was an absolute dream come true." 

Yarden added: “I had an amazing time during our international workshop in Japan. I learnt so much, not only about the country’s traditions and culture through amazing experiences such as a private tea ceremony in Hiroshima, but also about the profession itself. The Japanese students showed us their own unique design processes and skills which gave us new perspectives on how architecture can be taught. I also really enjoyed exploring a mix of traditional and modern design within our project through traditional Japanese materials and modern construction techniques.”  

The annual workshop forms part of a series which began in 2018 and 2023 marks the fourth one. The workshops were supported by Kyushu University, Kyoto University, the University of Tokyo as well as the Daiwa Foundation and Sasakawa Foundation. 

The initiative supports the Loughborough Architecture degree programme by giving students the opportunity to collaborate with peers from an international university, share design ideas with one another and broaden their learning experience by undertaking a real-world project with a real-life client.