Toshitechno Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Tomoyuki Shimamura; hereinafter "Toshitechno"), in collaboration with Nittetsu Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd., will hold talk events and networking sessions at the Address Building (Akasaka 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo), which is scheduled for demolition on July 10, 2026 (Friday) and July 11, 2026 (Saturday).

This project is a special program of the "Akasaka Address Building Demolition Festival - AKASAKA ART ACTION -" to be held on July 10 (Fri.) and July 11 (Sat.), 2026. On the day, speakers involved in architecture, art, demolition, and community development, including architect Yuko Nagayama and artist Akira Fujimoto, will gather.

The venue is the exhibition space for the art project "Sono Aida #Akasaka," which will be held in the Address Building before its demolition. In a building where works continue to be created, participants will discuss what kind of scenery and connections can be created for the future city while touching upon the time the building has experienced.

The transition of a building's role will be a time to consider the beginning of the next city. This program is recommended not only for those interested in architecture and art, but also for those connected to Akasaka and those interested in community development and urban change.

To apply for participation: https://addressbldgkaitaisaitalksession.peatix.com/

[July 10 (Fri.) Talk Event & Networking Program]

Part 1 | New Co-creation Born from the Demolition Festival

The demolition festival involves a diverse range of people, including artists, local residents, companies, government officials, students, children, and visitors.

Using the building's transformation as an opportunity, people gather, expressions are born, and new relationships are fostered among those who might not have met otherwise. In Part 1, using the "Akasaka Address Building Demolition Festival" as a case study, we will consider what kind of connections and possibilities opening up the building before demolition can bring to the community, companies, and visitors.

Speakers include Kengo Hayashi, who researches the relationship between people, architecture, and the city from the perspective of architectural and urban history; Reiichiro Tsurumoto, who is in charge of planning and operating the demolition festival; and Sumimasu Co., Ltd., which develops participatory art workshops. They will discuss the living environment, public spaces, and co-creation that will be required in future cities, while passing on the time and memories accumulated in buildings and cities to the next generation. Date & Time July 10, 2026 (Fri.) 18:30-19:00

Speakers Fumihiko Nishimura | Representative Director, Sumimasu Co., Ltd. Kengo Hayashi | Associate Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo Reiichiro Tsurumoto | Demolition Festival Manager, Toshitechno Co., Ltd.

Part 2 | Considering the Future of the Next City from Architecture, Art, and Demolition - Opening Up New Scenery from the End of a Building -

Traces left on walls and floors, the shape of spaces used for many years, the cityscape seen from windows, the structures and equipment that supported the building. The building facing demolition bears the imprint of the time it has experienced in that location.

Part 2 will feature artist Akira Fujimoto, architect Yuko Nagayama, and Toshitechno Director Yoshimitsu Yamahara.

What kind of questions and encounters can art create amidst urban change? How can architecture embrace the flow of time and the memory of a place, and connect it to the next scenery? What value can be handed over to the next city from the demolition site?

In conjunction with the artworks and open productions presented in "Sono Aida #Akasaka," participants will discuss the potential of connecting the end of a building to the beginning of the next city.

Date & Time July 10, 2026 (Fri.) 19:00-19:45

Speakers Akira Fujimoto | Artist / Representative of Sono Aida Yuko Nagayama | Architect / Representative of Yuko Nagayama Architect & Associates Yoshimitsu Yamahara | Director, Business Division General Manager, Toshitechno Co., Ltd.

Part 3 | Networking Session - Towards New Co-creation Through Dialogue -

After the symposium, there will be time for free exchange among speakers and participants while touring the art space of "Sono Aida #Akasaka."

People from diverse backgrounds, including architects, artists, demolition contractors, developers, government officials, community players, students, and creators, will gather and exchange words about their activities and interests.

Interaction with artists participating in the exhibition and open productions is also planned. It will create opportunities for new projects and collaborations while touching upon the background of the works and the meaning of creating them in a building before demolition.

[Speaker Profiles]

Akira Fujimoto | Artist / Representative of Sono Aida

After graduating from the Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts, he was based at FABRICA (Italy). He completed his Master's degree in Design at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts. He presents works using various methods, including paintings, installations, and art projects, with environmental and social phenomena as motifs. He has developed projects such as "NEW RECYCLE®," "2021," "Marine Debris on Land," and "FUTURE MEMORY." Since 2015, he has been the representative of "Sono Aida," a project that utilizes temporal and spatial voids created in urban areas as spaces for artists' activities and expressions.

Yuko Nagayama | Architect / Representative of Yuko Nagayama Architect & Associates

After working at Jun Aoki & Associates, she established Yuko Nagayama Architect & Associates in 2002. Her major works include "Teshima Yokoo House," "Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai," "Tokyu Kabukicho Tower," and the "Woman's Pavilion" and "Panasonic Group Pavilion 'Nomu no Kuni'" at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai. Plans for "Torch Tower" and others are currently underway. Her books include "Spinning Stories from Architecture" (Graphicsha) and "Architecture as a Trigger" (Shueisha Shinsho).

Yoshimitsu Yamahara | Director, Business Division General Manager, Toshitechno Co., Ltd.

As a director of Toshitechno, a demolition and construction management company supporting urban renewal, he has been involved in numerous demolition projects. Based on the philosophy that "demolition is not an end, but a beginning," he is engaged in activities that create new value from demolition sites, such as demolition festivals, industry-academia collaboration projects, co-creation with communities, and recycled concrete businesses.

Fumihiko Nishimura | Representative Director, Sumimasu Co., Ltd.

Advocating "Transforming difficulty into interest," he develops activities that unlock people's uniqueness through original art methods.

He is involved in projects such as the art-specialized employment support "GENIUS," as well as individual "MY genius" and corporate "OUR genius." At the Akasaka Address Building Demolition Festival, he will conduct participatory art workshops where children and adults alike become creators.

Kengo Hayashi | Lecturer, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo Associate Professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo. His specialties are architectural history, urban history, and environmental studies. He researches sustainable urban forms by interpreting the transition of urban residential spaces and the relationship between people, architecture, and the city from a historical perspective.

Focusing on the time accumulated in buildings and cities, and the daily lives and memories of each region, he explores the possibilities of future residential environments and public spaces. He conducts research and activities to consider the form of future cities by using the past urban landscape as a clue.

Reiichiro Tsurumoto | Representative of Nedzukuriya / Demolition Festival Manager, Toshitechno After studying architecture at Musashino Art University, he has been involved in community development utilizing vacant houses and idle real estate. Based at "Nedzukuriya," a community learning center, he plans and manages community collaboration projects and urban regeneration projects nationwide.

In recent years, he has been developing "Demolition Festivals" and "Demolition Universities" that open up the transition of a building's role to the community, fostering dialogue, culture, and new connections.

[About the Venue "Sono Aida #Akasaka"]

Sono Aida #Akasaka [Understructure] Visualizing "invisible social infrastructure" with 14 contemporary artists on the entire building before demolition.

"Sono Aida #Akasaka" is an exhibition held during the temporary utilization period from mid-June to July 11, before the demolition of Akasaka Address Building (Akasaka 2-2-19, Minato-ku, Tokyo).

Artists are utilizing the vacant office building as a studio and exhibition space, and open productions will continue throughout the exhibition period. With the addition of impromptu artists, the exhibition will change over time. Artists themselves are responsible for planning and operation, and various programs, including talk events and live performances, will be held during the exhibition.

Participating Artists: Yasushi Aizawa | Ryosuke Imazato | Joy Kawakubo | Yuta Tokunaga | Tomokazu Fujita | Akira Fujimoto | Rina Machida | Takamitsu Miyakawa | Wataru Yamagami | Cannon Hersey | Hogalee | Shinnosuke Tojo | Koji Ohno | Yuo Matsui (Takuya Sekikawa)

Planning: Sono Aida / ARCHI HATCH

Exhibition Period: June 23, 2026 (Tue) - July 11, 2026 (Sat) Opening Hours: 12:00 - 20:00 (until 18:00 on the last day) Venue: B1F, 1F, 6F, 7F, 9F Closed: Mondays URL: https://sonoaida.jp/akasaka

Sono Aida #Akasaka Performance

Wataru Yamakami | Wataru Yamagami "Theater Theater"

This world can be seen as a theater.

Even seemingly unrelated events can be seen as a single story that overlaps in a nested structure when brought onto the stage. This work is an attempt to create another "theater" within this world theater, starting with the demolition of the "Address Building."

Date & Time: July 9 (Thu.) 19:00-

Performers: Wataru Yamagami | Artist / Representative Director, Kuroyamashachu Co., Ltd. Hiroshi Koike | Space Director, Writer, Choreographer, Film Director Takuya Ikeno | Dancer, Actor Kennedy Kawai | Dancer, Actor Shitamachi Brothers | Musicians / Rapper, Percussionist Keisuke Nakamura | Jazz Trumpeter

Venue: Sono Aida #Akasaka 7F

Sono Aida #Akasaka Talk

Art and Alternatives in the City - Starting from Sono Aida -

In 2015, Aizawa, Kawakubo, and Fujimoto coincidentally participated in "Sono Aida #01." Eleven years later, "Sono Aida" has continued in various urban gaps, involving over 100 artists. This talk will look back at the activities of the participating artists over the past 10 years, explore the current position of "Sono Aida," and discuss the future possibilities of cities and art.

Date & Time: July 11 (Sat.) 15:00-16:00 Speakers: Yasushi Aizawa | Artist Joy Kawakubo | Artist Akira Fujimoto | Artist / Representative of Sono Aida Moderator: Fumio Inoue (Organizer / Representative of CAMP) Venue: Sono Aida #Akasaka 1F

[July 11 (Sat.) Musashino Art University Wakasugi Seminar Live & Demolition Festival Networking Event]

A space for student expression encountered in a building facing demolition.

On July 11, 2026 (Sat.), an off-site version of "Sunge~ Live" will be held on the 7th floor of the Address Building, featuring Professor Koichi Wakasugi of Musashino Art University and students from the Wakasugi Laboratory.

"Sunge~ Live" is a monthly event held at "Nedzukuriya" in Nezu, Bunkyo-ku, providing a space for students to express themselves. Students bring their interests and challenges, delivering their current expressions through music, performance, words, and more.

This event is not a live performance to be passively watched, but a space to witness students grappling with their own expressions through trial and error.

On the day, along with the live performance, drinks and light meals will be available at the venue. Please enjoy a time unique to this place, surrounded by the space of the Address Building facing demolition, and experience the challenges and expressions of students at their own level.

Date & Time: July 11, 2026 (Sat.) 17:00-19:00 Venue: Address Building 7F (tentative) Performers: Koichi Wakasugi (Professor, Musashino Art University) / Wakasugi Laboratory Students *For details and reservations, please check the page below.

https://addressbldgkaitaisailiveevent.peatix.com

[Akasaka Address Building Demolition Festival Overview]

Name Akasaka Address Building Demolition Festival - AKASAKA ART ACTION -

Organizers Toshitechno Co., Ltd. Nittetsu Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Planning and Operation Live Life Co., Ltd. (Nedzukuriya)

Sponsorship Minato Ward Minato Ward Board of Education

Cooperation Sono Aida Sumimasu Co., Ltd. Others

Reservation Page For the latest information on exhibitions, workshops, talk events, live performances & networking sessions, and to make reservations for each program, please check here. https://kaitaisai.peatix.com/

[Inquiries Regarding This Event]

Demolition Festival Management Office (Toshitechno Co., Ltd.) E-mail: [email protected]

Toshitechno Co., Ltd. Official Website https://toshitechno.co.jp/

Demolition Festival Official Website https://kaitaisai.toshitechno.co.jp/

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Event
  • Organizations: ARCHI HATCH / CAMP