Housing & Environmental Design Laboratory

A canal can look quiet from the road, yet hold centuries of movement, memory, worship, and daily work. That is what makes the Nonthaburi Waterfront Living Survey, conducted from September 21 to 26, especially valuable. The survey focused on communities along the Bang Kruai Canal, a waterway that connects the Om Non Canal with the Chao Phraya River. This area is more than a scenic waterfront. It is a living record of old settlement patterns, temple-centered landholding, and th

A strong architecture thesis does more than describe buildings. It reveals how people live, work, adapt, and sustain community through space. That is the power of M1 Igaki Asahi’s award-winning research, 「コーヒー農耕社会における居住空間と生業の相互関係」, which received the 2026 日本建築学会優秀卒業論文賞. The study focuses on coffee-producing regions in Laos, where homes are not simply places of rest. They are tied closely to farming, processing, storage, family care, seasonal labor, and local exchange. By look

Aging is becoming a shared global reality, and one of its hardest challenges is not only medical. It is social. Many older adults live with shrinking circles of contact after retirement, bereavement, migration of younger family members, or reduced mobility. Over time, isolation can affect mood, confidence, daily routines, and cognitive health. Improving quality of life, or QOL, for older adults calls for more than care services alone. It also calls for places where elders fee

Waterfront life in Nonthaburi is not only a scenic subject. It is a living system where houses, canals, boats, markets, temples, drainage, and memory all meet at the water’s edge. From August 1 to 10, the survey focused on how people live beside water in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand, and how water landscapes shape daily routines, local identity, and future planning. The work matters because rivers and canals in the Bangkok metropolitan region face pressure from urban growth,

What happens in the mountains of Northern Thailand cannot be understood through a single story. Children’s education, family livelihoods, local identity, migration, coffee cultivation, and cultural memory all meet in the same hills. That is why the 38th Meeting on the Life of the Thai Mountainous People, held on October 3, carried meaning beyond a regular gathering. It brought attention to the lived realities of highland communities and asked how outside supporters, local res

An international GPBL (Global Project-Based Learning) workshop titled “ECOMUSEUM in Chiang Mai” was conducted in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as part of GPBL2026 activities. The workshop brought together students and researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Chiang Mai University, and Maejo University, and consisted of two main phases combining practical conservation activities and urban survey-based design proposals. During the first phase, participants spent four days wor

Thailand’s first reminiscence therapy center has been established in Ton Haen Noi Village, Chiang Mai. The center was created as a space for practicing “Kaisoho” (reminiscence therapy), a method that encourages elderly people to recall and share memories through conversation, objects, photographs, and everyday experiences from the past. At the center, Faai-san and Setsuko-san, who learned the reminiscence therapy method in Nagoya, Japan, kindly organized and facilitated activ

On March 8, a reminiscence workshop (WS) was conducted in Tainan, Taiwan. The workshop was organized mainly by the Taiwan research team and held in the Jibei community, a settlement known for being home to the Siraya people (Siraya / 西拉雅族), one of the Indigenous groups of Taiwan. The Siraya are classified as a subgroup of the Pingpu peoples and are mainly distributed in the Tainan region. The workshop began with a field walk through the community guided by Professor Alak Akad

Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology conducted field research in Nonthaburi and Samut Songkhram Provinces, Thailand, as part of the JSPS research project on water landscapes and humid Asian environments. The research was carried out in collaboration with Kasetsart University and Silpakorn University. The team investigated riverine settlements, traditional dwelling environments, water management systems, and the cultural landscapes formed through long-term interac

We will conduct the research, "STUDY ON THE AUTONOMOUS RESTORATION OF WATERSCAPES IN HUMID ASIA THROUGH INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND LOCAL CULTURAL PRACTICES", in BANGKOK, NONTHABURI, PATUMTHANI, and SAMUTSONGKRAM, Thailand, from FEBRUARY 16-22, 2026. The survey will be collaborated with FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY, and FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, KASETSART UNIVERSITY. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. KREANGKRAI KIRDSIRI, FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY, and

GPBL WorkShop in Chiang mai, Thailand, launched. The work shop titled as " Eco Museum in THN Village" will be co designed with Chiang mai University and Mae jo University and from SIT, 22 students will join the programe. The aim of this workshop is to repair the roof, renovate exhibits, and renovate the exterior of the main eco museum facility, which opened in 2019 in THN village. Students will spend time in a village with staying over nights, learning about and experiencing

Measuring under hot and humid climate conditions everyday.

In the very hot weather of July, this GPBL was attended by the participation of staffs and excellent students from Thailand, the Faculty...

GPBL WS, aiming at learning Eco Museum, held in Tokyo during 25th, July-3rd August, launched.

We conducted a preliminary survey of Koh Kret together with Professor Tan from Kasetsart University for a new JSPS research project that...

was completed. The floods that occurred from September to October last year caused great damage in various parts of Chiang Mai. The...

We will hold 5th GPBL Workshop with Chiang Mai University and Mae Jo University in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 18th - 27th, March 2025. The...

Set in Addis Ababa, which continues to change at an alarming rate, we collaborated with students to investigate several buildings, in a...

This project will be held with significant changes in content in light of the torrential rains and flooding that have hit mainland...

The floods that have hit mainland Southeast Asia, including northern Thailand, are becoming more serious. On September 11, Chiang Rai...