Nagaoka Institute of Design

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By adopting a comprehensive new approach that considers design from a range of perspectives - from artistic to engineering, information, and economic the Nagaoka Institute of Design seeks to encourage students to discover new roles and possibilities for design in the 21st century. From the campus layout to the buildings, facilities, and types of equipment, every aspect of the study environment has been designed to serve an educational purpose. Through such efforts, we continually strive to realize an innovative design education philosophy befitting the new age in which we live.
Our curriculum is based on the belief that students learn by acquiring critical skills and a creative disposition through practice. For these reasons, we emphasize practical training and seminars. Many of our classes are taught by working designers, dealing with the latest practical issues facing the design world.
We view the community as an ideal environment for practical education and research and seek to contribute to the local community by improving education, culture, industry, and urban development. Through the Design R&D Center, established as an affiliate of the Nagaoka Institute of Design, we make the results of our design research available to the public community by undertaking beneficial research with industry or local authorities.
The Textile Studio offers students practical training in weaving on various equipment, including Swedish countermarch looms, traditional Japanese tackle (Kokoro) looms, and computer-controlled dobby looms.
Each student has access to their computer and acquires a broad range of computer skills, from basic computer operations to word processing and spreadsheet software. Students also use graphics programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator and CG and CAD applications to help create their work. When not used for classes, the Computer Seminar Room is open to all students. Macintosh computers are available in a separate Seminar Room.
The library provides students with a wealth of design-related information and publications. The library's collection includes specialist materials, photo collections, and design annuals, as well as valuable research data on traditional Japanese crafts and housing. The library also stocks the latest technical journals on graphics and 3DCG and subscribes to a broad selection of other periodicals. It also provides facilities for viewing videos, DVDs, and laserdiscs and accessing the Internet.
The area from the main entrance through the courtyard serves as the institute's entrance hall. Particularly striking is the contrast between the windows' bright illumination and the dark areas toward the ceiling. Illuminated by bright light pouring through plate-glass windows, the hallway leading from next to the restaurant entrance to the studio block also functions as a gallery. The walls of the hallway are typically lined with students' works.
The NID Hall is a multi-purpose hall used for various club activities, campus festivals, and exhibitions by graduating students. Light enters from the sides of the building between rows of columns that form an enormous gateway. The light accentuates the sense of order and horizontal structure created by these structures, lending the entire hall a somewhat austere atmosphere.
The two-story atrium gives the restaurant a spacious, open feel. DPG technology has been used in the plate-glass windows that extend from floor to ceiling, which provide a magnificent panoramic view that extends from the garden to Mount Higashiyama. Students are in a pleasant mood at lunchtime, some with half-completed work in hand, fill the restaurant.
Facing west on the second floor of the studio block, the Spatial Design and Environmental Conservation studios are usually littered with half-completed class projects and model-making materials. Students often work late into the night. Students use architectural models of famous temple buildings, such as the Jodoji Jododo, the Shofukuji Jizodo, and the Toshodaiji Kondo, to learn about the restoration of old buildings.
With a seating capacity of 250, the Great Lecture Hall is used for lecture meetings and other events, and regular classes. A glass curtain wall surrounds the building on three sides to allow in as much natural light as possible, creating a bright, vibrant space. State-of-the-art AV equipment enables the projection of videos, laserdiscs, and slides onto a screen at the hall's front.

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