Event 'Urban and Circularity' Bringing Together Leading Private Players from Various Industries on the Theme of 'Circularity' to be Held for Three Days at a Disused Public Facility in Nijo, Kyoto
The 'Urban and Circularity' event, themed around 'circularity,' will be held for three days at the former Kyoto City Children's Welfare Center, a disused public facility in Kyoto. Private players from various industries and experts from Japan and abroad will gather to conduct demonstration experiments for a circular city and engage in dialogue, aiming to realize a sustainable society.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 02:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 8, 2026 at 17:32
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 17:55 (23 min after Collected)
■ Demonstration Experiment Event for a Circular City Utilizing Unused Public Facilities
This event, titled 'Urban and Circularity,' a festival where practitioners from various fields gather around the keyword 'circularity' to discuss the future of economy and society, started in Kyoto in 2023 by private volunteers. Amidst societal structural changes demanding reorganization and updates in every business domain, the organizers believed that by having practitioners from diverse fields transcend boundaries to share their current practices and individual philosophies, businesses looking to build the 'future' could gain insights, build extensive networks, and find 'partners' to drive change.
Having brought together such businesses from across Japan to Kyoto annually in 2023, 2024, and 2025 to foster relationships, this event has gradually expanded in scale each year, developing into a co-sponsored event with Kyoto City from 2025. What began as a voluntary initiative for enlightenment and networking among private businesses is now evolving into a major public-private event demonstrating a circular city on the stage of unused public facilities.
■ Venue: Former Kyoto City Children's Welfare Center
'Urban and Circularity' changes its venue each time. This year, various programs will be held for three days at the former Kyoto City Children's Welfare Center building in Nijo, Kyoto City, envisioning it as a 'center for a circular city.'
A key feature is that experts from diverse fields, not just a single industry, engage in dialogue across boundaries. Attendees' industries also vary, including architectural businesses, tech/engineering businesses, primary industry workers, and art-related businesses, fostering new exchanges.
■ Domestic and International Practitioners Gather on the Theme of Re-editing Urban Resources
It is self-evident that we must create a sustainable society that aims for harmony with the environment, in contrast to the mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal model of urban civilization. The 'Kyoto Basic Concept' also states this as a prerequisite for future society at its outset. The important thing is not something completely new, but rather a re-setting of perspective, recognizing the need to explore ways to reuse urban resources while encountering diverse values.
About the Symposium Program and Speakers
Program:
A wide range of themes will be covered, including architecture, crafts, Japanese cuisine, satoyama (traditional rural landscape), restoration, fermentation, rice, wood, clothing, money, education, Buddhism, death, sports, and artist-in-residence. Over 40 talks and speeches will be held, with nearly 100 business owners and experts taking the stage.
(Top) Danish architect Jan Gehl. (Bottom left) Alastair Parvin, co-founder of Open Systems Lab, leading 'WikiHouse.' (Bottom right) Toru Oyamada, one of the founding members of the artist group 'dumb type' and currently the President and Chairman of Kyoto City University of Arts.
Speaker Lineup (Excerpt):
Keynote Speeches/
・Jan Gehl, a Danish architect and urban designer known as a world authority who advocated for 'human-centered urban planning.'
・Alastair Parvin, co-founder of Open Systems Lab, which developed 'WikiHouse,' an architectural system that anyone can assemble like a Lego kit, promoting 'democratization of architecture.'
・Toru Oyamada, one of the founding members of the multimedia performance artist group 'dumb type,' who has since continued efforts to create 'shared spaces,' and is currently the President and Chairman of Kyoto City University of Arts.
Participants from diverse fields such as architecture, education, and food (in no particular order, titles omitted as of May 8):
Jan Gehl (Architect / Professor / Urban Design Consultant) / Alastair Parvin (Open Systems Lab Director) / Toru Oyamada (Artist / President and Chairman of Kyoto City University of Arts) / Yuya Yoshisato (Co-representative of SPEAC Inc. / Representative of R Fudosan Inc.) / Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology / Co-founder of Atelier Bow-Wow) / Chiaki Hayashi (President and CEO of Q0 Inc.) / Yosuke Maeda (Representative Director and CEO of WOTA Inc.) / Kentaro Suga (Sustainability Leader at Arup / Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Kyoto Institute of Technology) / Masataka Baba (Tokyo R Fudosan / Representative of Open A Inc.) / Ryugen Matsunami (Chief Priest of Jikkenji Hodo-ji Temple / Philosopher) / Hiroshi Kado (Kamisoe) / Junya Hashizume (Architect, WATER AND ART Inc. / NPO TOMORROW) / Shuji Nakagawa (Representative Director of Nakagawa Mokkougei Inc.) / Akihiro Yasui (Author of 'Circular Economy Practice') / Riki Matsumoto (Representative of Machi no Hoikuen Kodomoen / Representative of JIREA / Representative of Machi no Kenkyujo Inc.)
This event, titled 'Urban and Circularity,' a festival where practitioners from various fields gather around the keyword 'circularity' to discuss the future of economy and society, started in Kyoto in 2023 by private volunteers. Amidst societal structural changes demanding reorganization and updates in every business domain, the organizers believed that by having practitioners from diverse fields transcend boundaries to share their current practices and individual philosophies, businesses looking to build the 'future' could gain insights, build extensive networks, and find 'partners' to drive change.
Having brought together such businesses from across Japan to Kyoto annually in 2023, 2024, and 2025 to foster relationships, this event has gradually expanded in scale each year, developing into a co-sponsored event with Kyoto City from 2025. What began as a voluntary initiative for enlightenment and networking among private businesses is now evolving into a major public-private event demonstrating a circular city on the stage of unused public facilities.
■ Venue: Former Kyoto City Children's Welfare Center
'Urban and Circularity' changes its venue each time. This year, various programs will be held for three days at the former Kyoto City Children's Welfare Center building in Nijo, Kyoto City, envisioning it as a 'center for a circular city.'
A key feature is that experts from diverse fields, not just a single industry, engage in dialogue across boundaries. Attendees' industries also vary, including architectural businesses, tech/engineering businesses, primary industry workers, and art-related businesses, fostering new exchanges.
■ Domestic and International Practitioners Gather on the Theme of Re-editing Urban Resources
It is self-evident that we must create a sustainable society that aims for harmony with the environment, in contrast to the mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal model of urban civilization. The 'Kyoto Basic Concept' also states this as a prerequisite for future society at its outset. The important thing is not something completely new, but rather a re-setting of perspective, recognizing the need to explore ways to reuse urban resources while encountering diverse values.
About the Symposium Program and Speakers
Program:
A wide range of themes will be covered, including architecture, crafts, Japanese cuisine, satoyama (traditional rural landscape), restoration, fermentation, rice, wood, clothing, money, education, Buddhism, death, sports, and artist-in-residence. Over 40 talks and speeches will be held, with nearly 100 business owners and experts taking the stage.
(Top) Danish architect Jan Gehl. (Bottom left) Alastair Parvin, co-founder of Open Systems Lab, leading 'WikiHouse.' (Bottom right) Toru Oyamada, one of the founding members of the artist group 'dumb type' and currently the President and Chairman of Kyoto City University of Arts.
Speaker Lineup (Excerpt):
Keynote Speeches/
・Jan Gehl, a Danish architect and urban designer known as a world authority who advocated for 'human-centered urban planning.'
・Alastair Parvin, co-founder of Open Systems Lab, which developed 'WikiHouse,' an architectural system that anyone can assemble like a Lego kit, promoting 'democratization of architecture.'
・Toru Oyamada, one of the founding members of the multimedia performance artist group 'dumb type,' who has since continued efforts to create 'shared spaces,' and is currently the President and Chairman of Kyoto City University of Arts.
Participants from diverse fields such as architecture, education, and food (in no particular order, titles omitted as of May 8):
Jan Gehl (Architect / Professor / Urban Design Consultant) / Alastair Parvin (Open Systems Lab Director) / Toru Oyamada (Artist / President and Chairman of Kyoto City University of Arts) / Yuya Yoshisato (Co-representative of SPEAC Inc. / Representative of R Fudosan Inc.) / Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology / Co-founder of Atelier Bow-Wow) / Chiaki Hayashi (President and CEO of Q0 Inc.) / Yosuke Maeda (Representative Director and CEO of WOTA Inc.) / Kentaro Suga (Sustainability Leader at Arup / Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Kyoto Institute of Technology) / Masataka Baba (Tokyo R Fudosan / Representative of Open A Inc.) / Ryugen Matsunami (Chief Priest of Jikkenji Hodo-ji Temple / Philosopher) / Hiroshi Kado (Kamisoe) / Junya Hashizume (Architect, WATER AND ART Inc. / NPO TOMORROW) / Shuji Nakagawa (Representative Director of Nakagawa Mokkougei Inc.) / Akihiro Yasui (Author of 'Circular Economy Practice') / Riki Matsumoto (Representative of Machi no Hoikuen Kodomoen / Representative of JIREA / Representative of Machi no Kenkyujo Inc.)