K2 Fab Studio ‘Material Circularity’

K2 Fab Studio is an international joint education program that began in 2017 in conjunction with ID KAIST, the Industrial Design Department of KAIST in Korea.In 2018, the cycle of consuming large amounts of materials was reconsidered and a new cycle was proposed based on the theme of Material Circularity.

In August 2018, a faculty member and students from ID KAIST came to Japan and conducted field research and idea development. Material journey maps of the materials that are consumed in large amounts in Fukuoka, where Kyushu University is located, and Daejeon, where KAIST is located, were created and new values were explored for the materials.

As part of the field research, we visited Oki Town, Fukuoka, which declared to produce zero waste, and the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media.
At Oki Town, we visited the biomass facility and regional circulation system and reuse facility for raw garbage and learned how resource circulation takes place in the town and how the citizens involve themselves.
At the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media, we observed the “Reincarnation of Media Art” exhibit, which defined the “death” of pieces of art and explored ways to “reincarnate” them and share them with the future, providing us with new perspectives on circulation.

On the final day, we held a public presentation. We presented a proposal that connects the steps from the production of things all the way until their consumption in a circular manner through the new perspectives that were gained through field research using the method of information graphics.

In the second half of the program, which is scheduled for the winter of 2018, we will propose a new cycle through digital fabrication after structurally understanding the relationships of regional materials with manufacturing processes and distribution, techniques, the current age, the region, and social systems (laws).

[Date]
August 21st (Tuesday) – 24th (Friday), 2018

[Venue]
Kyushu University Ohashi Campus
Oki Town, Fukuoka
Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM)

[Participants]
5 students from ID KAIST
5 students from the Faculty of Design and Graduate School of Design at Kyushu University

[Faculty Members]
id KAIST: Daniel Saakes
Kytoto Sangyo University: Shinichiro Ito
Kyushu University: Minako Ikeda, Kazuhiro Jo, Tokushu Inamura, Moe Shimomura