Full-time Faculty

Kane Yanagawa

Design Research / Associate Professor / Chief Coordinator of Design Studios & Coordinator of Year-3 Design Studios

Design Research / Associate Professor / Chief Coordinator of Design Studios & Coordinator of Year-3 Design Studios

Education

M.Arch., University of California Los Angeles, USA
B.A., University of Chicago, USA


Expertise & Research Interests

Digital fabrication and construction
Interdisciplinary computational design research
Collaborative and collective design
Interactive Systems



sKY_Associative

INTRODUCTION

sKY_Associative is a design + education based studio in the Department of Architecture at National Cheng Kung University. Initiated by Prof. Kane Yanagawa, the studio is founded on the notion that responsible architectural design in this age evolves from four key components, education, innovation, collaboration, and society.

 

EDUCATION

Our current academic course explorations focus on a few strategic concepts related to the implementation of Industry 4.0 technology into the architectural design and manufacturing process using open source controllers and parametric design software. Specifically, the Modes of Making course addresses the integration of parametric design data and fabrication control mechanisms, while the Performance Oriented Parametric Design course emphasizes the direct translation of computational data to real world effect and real world sensory data into design computation. Students are encouraged to examine the concepts and ideologies behind the Third Industrial Revolution and Industry 4.0, innovating computational tools and fabrication methods to explore the application of unconventional materials and modes of industrial production in architecture as well as investigating its effects on society.

 

INNOVATION

The art, artifacts, and architecture that we create, are a reflection of our society and culture. In this post‐digital era in which images and ideas, travel across the globe faster than the sound of our voice across a room, it is easier than ever for authenticity and innovation to be supplanted by forgery and stagnation. sKY_Associative believes that design knowledge gained empirically through exploration and experience as well as researched through experimentation and testing are both vital elements of the creative process. As such, “design” at sKY_Associative is an exercise in artistic innovation and originality through critical dialogues with history and culture. We value the courage and enthusiasm to explore the unconventional and unprecedented and trust in “creative destruction” as a path to progress and innovation. Thus, much of our work focuses on the search and development of innovative design materials, techniques and technologies.

 

COLLABORATION

sKY_Associative recognizes the important role of collaboration in design not only from within the university environment, but from industry and the general public as well. We take pride in our existing collaborative projects with our industry partners YFY|E-ink, Taiwan Textile Research Institute, Chimei|Modex, and the Wen-Long Cultural Arts Foundation. Current design research includes the development and implementation of parametrically controlled solution to facilitate the “direct to fabrication” methodology in architecture and industrial design. In recent years, our focus had been on the development and application of the Constrained Design Hysteresis (CDH) methodology used to assist in our collaborative efforts with our major manufacturing industry partners. Through these efforts we believe our multidisciplinary group of designers and engineers can deliver unprecedented design concepts and solutions, further developing and explore its potential in real world implementation.



SOCIETY

sKY_Associative operates on the premise that digital creation is beginning to shift the global economy from a traditional capitalist exchange market model to one in which high-end mass customized manufacturing, is becoming an important aspect of not only the service sector trades such as design, architecture, educational research, but more and more a meaningful part of everyday society. In the past few years, parallel movements have emerged throughout different fields of study, digital fabrication in design, the Maker Movement in society, and the Industry 4.0 initiative within manufacturing industries, all of which aim to close the gap between consumer, designer and manufacturing. When design production allows us to blur the lines between these three groups, society will shift from one built upon information to one centered around imagination.     In the next decade, elements of the Third Industrial Revolution promise to reverse the previous industrial trend in which machines replaced artisans, benefitting unskilled labor and large industries for a socio-economic model that empowers the artisan and supports smaller, more varied, and specialized industries. As we enter into this post-Information Age economy, the demand for creative, entrepreneurial, and skill based population as well as new integrative industrial platforms such as Cyber-Physical Systems, appear to hold the key to an automated manufacturing ecosystem capable of addressing the demands of this new societal transformation. sKY_Associative is committed to demonstrating the potentials and opportunities available to this new generation of young designers by supporting/hosting open workshops, public exhibition, and international competitions as a method of nurturing the human imagination, spirit, and mind.