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democracy of rental tenants is respected. Therefore the residents carry out decision-making, so the form of rights differs from rental in Japan. However, in reality it is the same in Japan, and there are cases where in a housing building where only one or two rental tenants remain, they remain there because they do not agree to leave. What is different is whether there is a place for direct discussion about improving their environment. A place where the vague images and ideas of the residents can take shape. In Europe over the past 20 years the amount of new construction work has decreased, and renovation work has increased. The type of personnel needed now is people with communication ability. In the past it was not necessary for building specialists to communicate with the ordinary users. However now the communication skill to be able to get the ordinary people to understand, and to lead meetings and discussions is essential.Interviewer: I guess that in most cases the person to lead these meetings is an architect?Matsumura: That is right. That function is referred to as "facilitator" as well as other titles, so a person that can design buildings is a person that can produce schemes. The ordinary person can state their wants, but to incorporate what everyone is saying into a single scheme is the work of a professional, this is something that only a person that is capable of designing can do. Also, Japan suffered the destruction of war, so almost all the building stock is post-war, but even so 60 years or more has now passed. At this time I think that a cultural basis will emerge by determining the value of the buildings and producing restoration schemes in an appropriate manner. It is also the work of the architectural specialist to push for this.Computer skills and human resourcesInterviewer: At present there are insuffi cient human resources that are strong in information technology in architectural production offi ces. This may be natural because originally architecture did not have this function, but do you see the possibility of people with these skills entering this industry? Do you have any thoughts about how there should be interaction with information technology, whether on the design side or the production side?Matsumura: My teacher, Professor Yoshichika Uchida, considered the same problem when he was young. At that time prefabricated housing manufacturers were formed, and most of their technical people were mechanical specialists. He wondered why people that did not have an architectural background could do this. He thought hard about what was the difference ultimately between people like us that have an architectural training and those with mechanical training that developed the housing manufacturers. His conclusion fi nally was whether or not they could draw with their own hand. Both architectural specialists and mechanical specialists are the same in that they can properly do their work. However, ultimately the difference is whether or not they can suddenly create value with a stroke of the pen to bring it to life. This is probably also what art is. The same thing applies even now, I think. If personnel come from a different industry, what is the difference between those that can freely use information technology and architects? However I do not know whether his fi nal conclusion is the correct answer or not.Interviewer: The techniques of architecture have developed over a long time since pre-historic times. In order not to be swallowed up by information technology it may be necessary to review what we can learn from history.Matsumura: Just thinking about it in a detached manner, I think that the enjoyment of specialization in architecture is the work itself, and there is nothing that has so much value as this. How to maintain the world that considers that conceiving and creating buildings is "interesting" is decisively important in my view. Before considering what is ultimately created and who evaluates it, I think we should consider whether the direction of BIM can really be trusted to maintain this world that considers designing to be interesting. There should be discussion on whether using BIM makes architecture more enjoyable, and if it is more enjoyable, how must BIM be used to make it more enjoyable.Interviewer: Finally, can you tell us what your expectations of Takenaka Corporation’s Design Department are?Matsumura: As you know, at present the construction industry is at a major turning point. The major corporations of Japan formerly all had the same consciousness on the road to growth, and as a result an industrial world in which all companies produced similar products or provided similar services was formed. Internationally this probably contributed to establishing the JAPAN brand, but looking at the domestic market thereafter so much waste was created by staying on this same path, and inevitably the environment for architectural work was poor. Therefore I expect the Japanese general contractors, including Takenaka, and the organized design offices to review their own traditions and human resources, and take measures to steadily bring out their own individualities. I think that Takenaka Corporation's Design Department has a sound source of individuality, so I would like them to clearly head in that direction.Interviewer: Thank you very much.(Interviewers: Shin Yokobori, Shinichi Kaku, and Nobuhito Manabe)*1 Building Information Modeling (BIM): A method of creating a building database by adding attribute information such as costs, fi nishes, etc., to a 3-dimensional building model on the computer, and sharing this information in design and construction as well as in maintenance.*2 Corporate Identity (CI): Reconstruction of the characteristics and ideals of a company, and clearly expressing them.*3 Computer Aided Design + Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD+CAM): A computer system in which CAD which supports design and CAM which supports manufacture and production are integrated.Shuichi Matsumura / Doctor of Engineering1957 Born in Hyogo Prefecture1985 Received Master’s Degree Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo1986 Lecturer, Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo1990 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo 1992 Visiting Professor, University of Rome (Italy)1996 Visiting Professor, University of Torento (Italy)2004 Visiting Professor, University of Nanjing (China)2005 Visiting Professor, Dalian University of Technology, Head of Architectural Production and Technical Research Institute (China)2006 Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo 2007 Visiting Professor, University of Montreal (Canada)Publications“Architectural Dream for Living” (Toyo Shoten)“Restoring Residential Areas” (Chinese Machine Press)“Connecting Architecture and Mono-World” (Shokokusha)“Creating Facades” (Shokokusha)“Housing Estate Restoration – Reviving American and European Apartment Blocks” (Shokokusha)“The Concepts of ‘Housing’ – Pedigree of 20th Century Housing” (University of Tokyo Press)“The Workings of the ‘World that Housing can Make’” (Shokokusha)and etc.07Interview