Chuo Driving School Holds '1st Morioka Future Design Conference'
Chuo Driving School in Morioka is launching a renovation project designed by award-winning Univ of Tokyo students, transforming the school into a local community hub and library.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 8, 2026 at 01:10
- 🔍 Collected: April 7, 2026 at 16:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 21:56 (317h 26m after Collected)
■ Project Overview
In the Chuo Driving School Project (hereafter "this project"), we will renovate the school building of our facility (2-31-11 Nishiaoyama, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture). We regard the driving camp, which started in fiscal 2025, not merely as a place for instruction, but as a "great opportunity to showcase the region's charm." We will completely design the entire driving school experience, including proposing camp plans where students can experience Morioka's culture and charm through all five senses.
As design supervisors and facilitators for this project, we have appointed Kotaro Saeki and Rena Shibasaki, 4th-year architecture students at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering, who won the Grand Prize at the "Tanseisha Space Award 2025" (winning both the Grand Prize and the Jury's Special Award, beating out working professionals). Leveraging the expertise of these energetic young talents, we will jointly promote design proposals for interiors and signage plans, as well as the establishment of a construction system, crowdfunding, and the planning and management of workshops involving local residents.
Furthermore, we are proceeding with a plan to convert surplus classrooms, generated by the shift to online lectures, into a "private library." By opening this space not only to people attending the driving camp but also to local residents, everyone who participates will play a leading role, establishing a new brand value as an "open driving school" loved across generations.
■ About Chuo Driving School
Starting in fiscal 2025, our school began accepting driving camp students, redefining the driving school as a "base to broadcast and experience the charm of the region." We go beyond the framework of ensuring local traffic safety by focusing on creating fans of Morioka with driver's licensing as the starting point. This includes operating a "Sansa Club" to participate in the Sansa Odori dance, inviting students to the "Morioka Donpa," and using school buses to transport students to tourist spots. We aim for a future where people who deeply understand Morioka's charm through their camp experience at our school will visit the area as repeaters (related population) even after graduation, contributing to regional revitalization.
■ About the Project Design Team
Kotaro Saeki and Rena Shibasaki, 4th-year architecture students at the University of Tokyo, will handle the design supervision and facilitation of this project. Saeki is also an alumnus who actually received instruction as a first-generation student of our driving camp in August 2025.
Since last summer, our school has been repeatedly designing and discussing the renovation with them. The two are up-and-coming creators leading the next generation, who accomplished the feat of winning both the Grand Prize and the Jury's Special Award at the "Tanseisha Space Award 2025," where space design professionals compete, beating out working professionals. Together with these two, who have this solid track record and the perspective of an alumnus, our school will create new spatial value that transcends the boundaries of a driving school.
■ Initiatives to Date
In November 2025, our school received the design overview and construction plan proposal for this project and formulated the project's big picture. In this project, we are considering holding DIY activities and workshops together with local residents, creating new value by collaborating with the local community. We have already held repeated discussions with volunteer groups operating in Morioka, local construction companies, and people who broadcast the charm of the region, building a structure to receive tremendous cooperation in future workshop management and PR activities.
In terms of design, we have continued meticulous examinations using CG and models. Currently, in our school's lobby, 3 patterns produced by the design supervisors (Saeki and Shibasaki) are on display.
In the Chuo Driving School Project (hereafter "this project"), we will renovate the school building of our facility (2-31-11 Nishiaoyama, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture). We regard the driving camp, which started in fiscal 2025, not merely as a place for instruction, but as a "great opportunity to showcase the region's charm." We will completely design the entire driving school experience, including proposing camp plans where students can experience Morioka's culture and charm through all five senses.
As design supervisors and facilitators for this project, we have appointed Kotaro Saeki and Rena Shibasaki, 4th-year architecture students at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering, who won the Grand Prize at the "Tanseisha Space Award 2025" (winning both the Grand Prize and the Jury's Special Award, beating out working professionals). Leveraging the expertise of these energetic young talents, we will jointly promote design proposals for interiors and signage plans, as well as the establishment of a construction system, crowdfunding, and the planning and management of workshops involving local residents.
Furthermore, we are proceeding with a plan to convert surplus classrooms, generated by the shift to online lectures, into a "private library." By opening this space not only to people attending the driving camp but also to local residents, everyone who participates will play a leading role, establishing a new brand value as an "open driving school" loved across generations.
■ About Chuo Driving School
Starting in fiscal 2025, our school began accepting driving camp students, redefining the driving school as a "base to broadcast and experience the charm of the region." We go beyond the framework of ensuring local traffic safety by focusing on creating fans of Morioka with driver's licensing as the starting point. This includes operating a "Sansa Club" to participate in the Sansa Odori dance, inviting students to the "Morioka Donpa," and using school buses to transport students to tourist spots. We aim for a future where people who deeply understand Morioka's charm through their camp experience at our school will visit the area as repeaters (related population) even after graduation, contributing to regional revitalization.
■ About the Project Design Team
Kotaro Saeki and Rena Shibasaki, 4th-year architecture students at the University of Tokyo, will handle the design supervision and facilitation of this project. Saeki is also an alumnus who actually received instruction as a first-generation student of our driving camp in August 2025.
Since last summer, our school has been repeatedly designing and discussing the renovation with them. The two are up-and-coming creators leading the next generation, who accomplished the feat of winning both the Grand Prize and the Jury's Special Award at the "Tanseisha Space Award 2025," where space design professionals compete, beating out working professionals. Together with these two, who have this solid track record and the perspective of an alumnus, our school will create new spatial value that transcends the boundaries of a driving school.
■ Initiatives to Date
In November 2025, our school received the design overview and construction plan proposal for this project and formulated the project's big picture. In this project, we are considering holding DIY activities and workshops together with local residents, creating new value by collaborating with the local community. We have already held repeated discussions with volunteer groups operating in Morioka, local construction companies, and people who broadcast the charm of the region, building a structure to receive tremendous cooperation in future workshop management and PR activities.
In terms of design, we have continued meticulous examinations using CG and models. Currently, in our school's lobby, 3 patterns produced by the design supervisors (Saeki and Shibasaki) are on display.