On the 4th of August 2026, our co-founder and COO, Lester Goh, was invited to speak at Aichi Institute of Technology's Yakusa Campus, hosted by Professor Nozawa Hideki.
The two-hour talk and workshop to fourth-year undergraduates and master's students from the NozawaLab covered how AKIYA2.0 approaches akiya reuse as a business — from real estate consultancy to our asset management and cluster model — alongside case studies from the Amazaki Tea House on Omishima and our ongoing work on the Noto Peninsula.
"We realise the importance of working with local stakeholders — and these Aichi students, many of whom are preparing their Master's dissertation briefs right now, threw hard questions about akiya at us. It was genuinely engaging, even for those of us who are considered more experienced in the field. I'm very, very heartened," said Lester.
The session was made possible thanks to our local partner in Aichi, Miraibi K.K., who is currently working with AKIYA2.0 on a kominka project in the prefecture. Miraibi K.K. Founder and CEO, Sora Kaori, joined Lester to speak on the partnership from the local side.
AKIYA2.0's summer architectural intern, Kimberly Lim from the Singapore University of Technology and Design also presented her work, sharing the design and model work she and fellow interns have been developing for the Aichi kominka project as part of their placement with AKIYA2.0.
We're grateful to Professor Nozawa and Aichi Institute of Technology for the invitation, and to Miraibi K.K. for continuing to make this kind of work and this kind of exchange with students possible.