A Practice for 2050 – Cultural Strategies for People and Society

Speakers: Nawaf Bin Ayyaf, Nagayama Yuko, and Sakamoto Eiji

ACK 2025, held under the theme “2050—Gaze Toward the Future,” will conclude with a talk inviting guests who are actively engaged in shaping the future across diverse fields such as culture, urban planning, politics, and architecture. Through their practices and multifaceted perspectives, we will explore visions of a sustainable future that respect history and culture and are realized through collaborations bridging respective fields.

Speakers:
Nawaf Bin Ayyaf (Senior Advisor, the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia)
Nagayama Yuko (Architect)
Sakamoto Eiji (Senior Editorial Writer, Nikkei Inc.)

Speaker’s Profiles
　

Nawaf Bin Ayyaf

A Senior Advisor for the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia. He is a researcher/practitioner with a deep focus on architectural studies and cultural heritage practices. He holds two Master degrees in Architecture and Design Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. His research work has been published and featured in many architecture and design outlets. He has also lectured on design and preservation/conservation at institutions like the Harvard GSD and KSU’s School of Architecture. He combines this academic background with a rich professional experience; practicing multi-scaled urban development at NGOs such as the World Bank Group, consulting firms like Accenture and CPS, and design practices like Moriyama and Teshima.

Website: https://www.nawafbinayyaf.com/

Nagayama Yuko

Born in 1975, Yuko Nagayama established Yuko Nagayama & Associates in 2002 after working at Jun Aoki & Associates. Her representative works include Teshima Yokoo House, the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, and two pavilions for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai — the Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier and the Panasonic Group Pavilion “The Land of NOMO”.
Her awards include the JIA Young Architect Award (2014), Yamanashi Cultural Prize of Architecture (2017), Tokyo Architecture Award Excellent Award (2018), Design Award for Light and Lighting Grand Prize (2021), World Architecture Festival Highly Commended (2022), and iF Design Award Winner (2023).
Her current projects include the TOKYO TORCH Torch Tower.

Website: https://www.yukonagayama.co.jp/

Sakamoto Eiji

Born in 1965 in Kumamoto City. Sakamoto Eiji joined Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. (now Nikkei Inc.) after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Kumamoto University in 1989. He worked as a credit rating analyst for corporate and foreign government bonds at the Japan Bond Research Institute (now Rating and Investment Information, Inc.). Having served as a political correspondent at The Nikkei’s Tokyo Head Office, where he covered the Prime Minister’s official residence, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Division, he currently works as senior staff writer and editor. He is also the main newscaster of the Nikkei Sunday Salon on BS TV Tokyo.
Publications include Saboru Seiji: Dasei ga Nihon o Dame ni Suru (“Neglectful Politics: How Inertia is Ruining Japan,” 2017) and co-authored works such as Nagatacho Insaido: Anata no Shiranai Seiji no Sekai (“Nagatacho Inside: The Political World You Don’t Know,” 2005) and Corona Senki: Seiji no Chukan Kessan (“Corona War Chronicles: A Midterm Political Closing of Accounts,” 2021).
He has also taught as a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Kumamoto University (2017–2022), and as a lecturer at the Extension Center, Waseda University (summer course, Nakano Campus, 2019).

Website: https://asia.nikkei.com/

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Live Stream URL
https://www.youtube.com/@artcollaborationkyoto4277