Research
Transforming Environmental Phenomena into Spatial Experiences.
Environmental Phenomena
Environmental landscapes are experienced as dynamic conditions emerging from the interaction of light and atmosphere. Moments such as sunsets or the shimmering surface of water appear through atmospheric optical processes—scattering, refraction, and reflection—that continuously reshape how we perceive our surroundings.
These phenomena shift with time, weather, and changing environmental conditions. Rather than existing as fixed forms, landscapes manifest as perceptual events that arise from the ongoing relationship between light and the environment.
Context
Architecture has long engaged with natural phenomena such as light, atmosphere, and environmental change. The works of Alvar Aalto, Juha Leiviskä, and Peter Zumthor show how light and atmosphere can shape spatial perception in ways that move beyond symbolism or decoration.
This research approaches environmental conditions not as passive background elements but as active agents in spatial formation. When mediated through architectural structures and materials, forces such as light, wind, and atmospheric conditions can generate new forms of spatial experience.
The project also draws on perspectives from Japanese aesthetic traditions, particularly spatial concepts related to emptiness and the relational qualities between material presence and void. Through material experimentation, field observations, and architectural installations, the research explores how environmental forces can be translated into perceptible spatial phenomena.
Research Question
How can architectural apparatus amplify environmental phenomena to generate spatial experience?
Research Framework
Environmental Phenomena
Light
Wind
Atmosphere
Water
Architectural Apparatus
Structure
Material
Optical Systems
Spatial Configuration
Environmental Amplification
Reflection
Refraction
Air Movement
Diffusion
Bodily Perception
Movement
Sensory Awareness
Embodied Presence
Temporal Perception
Spatial Experience
Atmospheric Space
Spatial Depth
Environmental Presence
Environmental Change
Feeds back into the perception of environmental phenomena
Research Themes
Environmental Phenomena
Architecture is understood as a medium that renders environmental forces perceptible. Light, wind, and atmosphere are active phenomena that shape space rather than passive background conditions. Constantly changing, they act upon spatial conditions and form the foundation of this research.
Environmental Amplification
Structures, materials, optical systems, and spatial configurations function as architectural apparatuses that mediate environmental forces. Rather than simply enclosing space, these systems operate as instruments that translate environmental dynamics into perceptible spatial conditions.
Architectural Apparatus
Through reflection, refraction, diffusion, and air movement, environmental forces are modulated by architectural structures and material systems. These interactions amplify subtle dynamics and transform otherwise invisible processes into spatially perceptible phenomena.
Atmospheric Perception
Spatial experience emerges through the interplay between environmental forces and bodily perception. Movement, variations of light, and atmospheric change are registered through sensory awareness and temporal engagement, allowing environmental processes to unfold as perceptible spatial conditions.
Method
This research is developed through an ongoing cycle of observation, experimentation, and prototyping.Fieldwork is conducted primarily in Finland, where architectural spaces are investigated to record how light, wind, and atmospheric conditions influence spatial perception.Observations of the natural environment also serve as cues for examining the mechanisms of amplifying apparatuses, focusing on the behaviors of light and wind.Through material-based and optical experiments addressing phenomena such as reflection, refraction, diffusion, and air flow, the research explores how environmental forces are transformed and modulated.The insights gained from these processes are translated into architectural apparatuses through 3D modeling and physical fabrication.These apparatuses unfold as spatial experiences through bodily movement and sensory engagement.
Field Investigations (Built & Natural)
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Material / Optical Experiments
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3D Modeling
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Prototyping
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Fabrication & Assembly
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Atmospheric Spatial Experience
Field Investigations
Material Experiments
Optical Experiments
3D Modeling
Prototyping
Fabrication & Assembly
Contribution
This research proposes architectural methods for translating environmental phenomena into spatial experience. Through the development of architectural apparatuses and practice-based experimentation, it demonstrates how subtle atmospheric forces—such as light, air movement, and environmental change—can become perceptible spatial conditions. The work expands architecture beyond static form toward dynamic environments that emerge through the interaction of body, atmosphere, and constructed systems.
1989
Early Sensory Experiences
Born in Gifu, Japan, and raised in Chigasaki from around the age of ten. Through encounters with nearby forests, rivers, the sea, and shrine landscapes, sensitivity to natural phenomena—wind, sound, temperature, and atmosphere—was cultivated. Frequent relocations during childhood led to close attention to surrounding architectural spaces, and from the age of nine he began to consider becoming an architect. These early sensory experiences later formed the foundation for spatial inquiry.
Milestone: Early environmental sensitivity
2012
Beginning of Architectural Exploration
After graduating in 2010 from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College, majoring in Interior Design, he spent a period exploring his career path and preparing independently before entering the Department of Environmental Design at Tama Art University. From this point onward, systematic research into spatial perception and environmental phenomena within architectural space began.
Milestone: Start of architectural research
2013–2015
Discovery of Light as Spatial Medium
Through engagements with lighting designer Satoshi Uchihara and Japanese garden designer Shunmyo Masuno, his interest deepened in light and Japanese spatial aesthetics such as mitate. He received the Grand Prize in the JIA Architect’s Lighting Competition for the lighting work Boundary of Light and Shadow (2013), inspired by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows. With MIRAGE CUBE (2015), a full-scale spatial work, he explored the relationship between optical phenomena and spatial perception.
Milestone: Establishment of light-based spatial experiments
2016–2018
Expansion of Spatial Experiments
He entered the Master’s program in Design at Tokyo University of the Arts, intensifying spatial experiments with light. He co-founded the spatial art collective Space Production Institute and realized multiple large-scale public installations. In the solo work SKY PATH (2018), he further developed the relationship between optical phenomena produced by natural light and structurally mediated spatial perception.
Milestone: Development of installation-based research
2018–2020
International Research and Ripple
He entered a doctoral program in the field of design and conducted field research across Europe, based primarily in Malta. In particular, the architectural experience of Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Field Chapel became decisive in shaping his perspective on the relationship between environment and the body. He completed Ripple (2020), presenting atmosphere, landscape, and mitate as key spatial elements, and was awarded a doctoral degree. The work received high recognition both domestically and internationally.
Milestone: Doctoral research and international recognition
2021–Present
Development of Architectural Apparatus
He continues research in the field of architecture, working across structural experimentation and environmental spatial systems. He founded the artist duo OSOTO Lab., developing practice-based production in parallel with research. Through extended stays in Finland and close engagement with the architecture of Juha Leiviskä, he has reexamined the relationship between environmental phenomena and architecture. He is currently developing a theoretical framework that articulates environmental phenomena as spatial experience through architectural apparatuses.
Milestone: Integration of theory and practice
Selected Publications
2025
Nishi, Takatoku.
“Transforming Environmental Phenomena into Embodied Spatial Experience through Apparatus Architecture: A Case Study of Ripple, a Site-Specific Installation.”
Advanced Design Conference 2025 Proceedings.
ISBN 978-88-97977-94-0.
2021
Nishi, Takatoku.
“Phenomena of Light and Atmosphere — 光が織りなす現象と空気感.”
Doctoral Dissertation, Tokyo University of the Arts.
Degree No. 12606-Kou-1033.