"I think that my experience of studying in the UK is alive in my current classes and that I can teach in my own way" - Interview with Prof. Nobuyuki Nomura (1)

Dr. Nobuyuki Nomura, Professor, Graduate School of Management

Professor Nomura, who specializes in behavioral observation, is a practicing teacher who is also currently working as a director of a first-class architectural firm. We interviewed Prof. Nomura, who has studied abroad, about his reasons for becoming an architect and his experiences in practice.

Interviewed: November 2015
Interviewed by: NUCB Business School Public Relations

Reasons to become an architect

Why did you decide to become an architect?

I was good at drawing and making things, and I liked it. In my second year at the University of Tokyo, there was a system called "advancement," and I had to choose a specialty such as electrical engineering or physics. After much deliberation, I chose "architecture". At that time, the electrical engineering department was the most popular. However, I thought it would be better to create something that would remain with me even after my death in the future, so I went on to study architecture.

I worked for Shimizu Corporation after graduation, and what I liked about being an architect was that I could talk with many different people. I enjoy being able to communicate with a variety of people through the process of building things, including the craftsmen on site, people at affiliated companies, and a wide range of managers.

After that, you went to the UK to study. What made you decide to come to the UK to study?

The AA School is an architectural design school affiliated with the British Institute of Architects. To put it simply, it is the school from which Zaha Hadid, the famous architect of the National Stadium, graduated. The school has produced some of the most famous architects in the world. I really wanted to go there, so I quit my job and studied there for three years, even though I was working for Shimizu Corporation. I hadn't gone to graduate school, so I wanted to go one step further.

Did you come across behavioral observation at university in England?

What was stimulating for me at the AA School was the "fieldwork" exercise where we visited cities around the world, observed various things, and extracted ideas from them. For example, all of a sudden we were told to meet at a hotel in Glasgow two days later, and we all went there together. We were not told what the assignment was until we got there. At the hotel, we were suddenly given an assignment: "Walk around Glasgow's Fat District, identify the areas that interest you, research and analyze them, and propose something.

I don't want you to do a lot of research beforehand and look at the city through colored glasses, but I want you to look at what's happening there through your own filter.

What is it like to see things through the filter of your own eyes and thoughts?

Is it an image of trying to develop what you have?

No, I think it's more like looking at people's activities and the surrounding context with an awareness of your own problems. I was taught that this way of looking at things is very important. Everyone has different interests and things to look at. It is important for each person to focus on their own interests and make their own suggestions. In the fieldwork and behavioral observation classes at our university, I especially emphasize this point and teach it to everyone. I think that my experience in England is alive in my current classes and that I can teach in my own way.

Did your work style or anything change after you studied in England?

My network of friends has changed. I have more foreign friends, and through this network, I have come to associate with artists and students at art universities. I received a lot of stimulation from them, so I really enjoyed my life in Tokyo after returning home.

I also did a lot of fieldwork and research after I came back. In the middle of the program, I went back to the doctoral program at my alma mater while working. For me, research and practice are related to each other. My specialty is office workplace research, and I repeatedly observe the behavior of workers to discover problems, and then extract problems by observing the improved workplace again.