Japan JSPS Program: Post-Fordist Manufacturing and its Exploitation by Architects

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Buntrock 9704033 This award supports a 12-month Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Dana Buntrock at the Center for Collaborative Research of the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Professor Buntrock will work with Dr. Terunobu Fujimori, Professor of the Center for Collaborative Research and of the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo, on a research project entitled, "Studying Post-Fordist Manufacturing and its Exploitation by Architects." Post-Fordism - identified by increased flexibility, adaptability, and efficiency in the manufacturing process that allows for variable control in production output - has evolved by and large outside North America, and as such its implications for architectural practice are not presently understood by North American architectural professionals. As systems of flexible production developed in Japan much earlier than they did in North America, it is possible to project opportunities for North American architects to exploit Post-Fordist techniques by studying the manner in which architects, contractors, and manufacturers work in tandem in Japan. The proposed research will explore the process of innovation in Japan that occurs between architects, contractors, and manufacturers and will compare the relative effectiveness of this interaction with that which is now occurring in the United States. The goal of the research is to obtain insights into the Post-Fordist manufacturing process that will provide immediate and useful advantages to the United States. ***