Ki-Time Workshop: Wood Connects Humanity

The Ki-Time workshop was a joint initiative between Japanese, French and Vietnamese higher educational institutions in an aim to celebrate wood as the construction material of the 21st century. Within these institutions, we had participants from other countries as well, such as Algeria, Germany and South Africa. The diversity of participants truly reflects the workshop’s embodiment of the theme ‘wood connects humanity’.

The workshop was divided into two projects. One team worked on an installation at the French Institute. The other team worked on multifunctional furniture for the foyer space of Villa Kujoyama, the French artist’s residence in Kyoto. This report will focus on the latter. ​

The brief was to design multifunctional furniture that will activate the foyer space and to encourage dialogue between residents and visitors. We took inspiration from Koshi timber lattices, a characteristic feature of the Kyomachiya townhouses in Kyoto. Timber pixels would then be inserted in between the layers of timber lattices in a pattern that would resemble different Kanji characters relating to the theme of the workshop.

We chose to go with quite a simplistic shape and design for the timber elements and prioritised a precise and elegant assembly.  Another important consideration was to reduce material wastage, which we achieved by using the length of the donated timber as a basis for the furniture dimensions.  We also strived to use local materials and products as much as possible.

I would like to thank the diverse team of students, tutors and young professionals that worked together to create something that would activate the foyer space at Villa Kujoyama. It was a great privilege to learn more about timber construction and to experience first hand how something as simple as working with wood has the power to connect people from different parts of the globe.