"TOKYO [UN]REAL ESTATE," an exhibition exploring real homes in Tokyo, opened on Friday, February 28, 2025 at the Civic Creative Base Tokyo (CCBT), located on the second basement floor of Tobu Hotel.

What is Civic Creative Base Tokyo (CCBT)?

CCBT is a digital creative hub organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, and opened in October 2022. One of its core programs, "Art Incubation," aims to create expressions, explorations, and actions that will change the city for the better by providing creators with opportunities to engage in creative activities and opening up the process to citizens (civics). Every year, five creators are selected through public recruitment and selection as "CCBT Artist Fellows," who then concretize and announce their plans, make their creative process public, and hold workshops and talk events.

"CCBT" is located on the second basement floor of Tobu Hotel along Shibuya Koen-dori.

Recording "Life in Tokyo" with 3D Scanning - Inspired by Kyoichi Tsuzuki's famous book

This exhibition, organized by MVMNT (Movement), a group of 2024 fellows, is a platform to present the results of the project "TOKYO [UN]REAL ESTATE," which 3D scans the rooms of people living in Tokyo and digitally archives the "now" of their diverse lifestyles. Based on the residential space data collected so far, the project is held under the concept of opening a fictional real estate agency, "Tokyo [Un]Real Estate," which introduces "real life in Tokyo."

"TOKYO STYLE" (1993), a photo book by Kyoichi Tsuzuki

Many people will remember Kyoichi Tsuzuki's photo book "TOKYO STYLE" (1993) as a work that records "the real lives of young people living in Tokyo." Japanese homes were once mocked as "rabbit hutches," but this book is a masterpiece that introduces more than 100 homes, carefully interviewing and photographing the lives of residents whose personalities and lifestyles exude from cramped rooms filled with things. The current project "TOKYO [UN]REAL ESTATE" was inspired by "TOKYO STYLE" and is an effort to change the medium from two-dimensional analog photographs to three-dimensional digital data. It is very interesting to see how real life in Tokyo has changed after more than 30 years.

3D scanning is used to digitize property information. You can view the inside of the room from any angle.

The furniture arrangement, the storage that makes the most of a small room, the posters on the walls, the interior design and clothes that exude a person's hobbies and individuality, the titles of the books lined up on the shelves... Each room reflects Tokyo's culture, trends and social transitions, while also being a space that tells the story of what its inhabitants see, what they aspire to, and what makes them live.

MVMNT takes on the challenge of collecting data on living spaces

As part of an effort to study the characteristics and changes of modern society from the perspective of "modernology," MVMNT has been recording homes and lifestyles in Tokyo as digital data for about six months. The survey was conducted in residential spaces that met the following criteria:

<Conditions for survey subjects>
1. Living spaces of people who have lived in Tokyo since the 1990s.
2. Record using an iPhone/iPad Pro equipped with a LIDAR scanner.
3. Record as much of the area as possible outside of the living room.
4. Do not rearrange the room or clean it excessively in preparation for the scan.
5. The following items of information will be collected from residents:
Recording date, occupation, place of birth, years of residence, age and gender

The 3D data collection for the rooms was carried out in two ways: "visit scanning" and "self-scanning." In the "visit scanning" method, MVMNT staff visited the home to scan directly. In the "self-scanning" method, residents themselves used a 3D scanning app to scan their rooms and send the data.

Information on 32 properties is posted on the wall. In addition to floor plans and 3D data, details about the rooms and the residents' lifestyles are also included.

The "TOKYO[UN]REAL ESTATE Library" is located near the entrance to the venue, with information on 32 properties collected and displayed on the walls. For example, "A one-room apartment surrounded by books and art" (Keio Line, Hatagaya Station | 1LDK) and "A rich life for a couple along the Chuo Line" (Kichijoji Station | 2-story maisonette | 2LDK) are featured, as well as data on living spaces in Sasazuka, Roppongi, Koenji, Shimokitazawa, Sangenjaya, Hachioji, and more. All property information is also provided as flyers that visitors are free to take home.

At the venue, visitors are free to take home flyers for each property.

The flyers for each room state figures such as "37,800KB" or "69,100KB." These figures do not indicate the rent or sales price, but the capacity of the 3D data. All collected data is open source and can be freely used as a creative asset for games, manga, animations, and more.

New value brought about by open living space data

What makes this project great is that it does not just record life in Tokyo from an editor's perspective, but also allows the collected 3D data to be used in a wide range of ways, such as for creative activities by creators and artists around the world, and for research activities in the fields of sociology and cultural anthropology. It is also provided free of charge.

The venue has a space that proposes new ways to view real estate, and in collaboration with creators and artists, manga, games, XR (augmented reality), video works, and other works that utilize 3D data are on display. There are also attempts to explore the possibilities of using data in anticipation of the future, which shows the high level of perfection of the exhibition.

In the viewing area, a life-size 3D image of the room is projected, allowing you to experience the room in a realistic way.

A new "viewing space" proposal. By projecting 3D data of the room at approximately 1:1 scale, we propose a viewing space where you can experience the room in full detail in life-size without having to go to the location. This will allow you to choose a property more intuitively.

Top left) A game in which a zashiki warashi spirit searches for a room in a real estate agency: "Yugen Kaisha Warashi Real Estate - Trial Version" (Takahashi Yusuke, Ishihara Wataru); bottom left) A one-panel comic based on room data: "Ghosts of Everyday Life" (Quick Obake); top right) "[UN] Noclip" (Osawa Toshiki), a song created using samples of everyday sounds; bottom right) "Chimera Share House", a virtual share house in the metaverse (oji_chang/Shimizu Gaku)

In the "Creative Expansion Laboratory," creators and artists will be using real living space data to reconstruct works such as manga backgrounds, music video sets, game settings, and metaverse interaction spaces. Through these exhibits, visitors can imagine new ways to use 3D data and expand their creative ideas.

Modern lifestyle where digital and analog intersect

Thirty years have passed since the publication of "TOKYO STYLE," and as digitalization advances, the spread of smartphones and subscription services is said to have reduced consumption of physical goods. However, looking at the living space data released this time, it is clear that there is little change between then and now, with a surprisingly large number of people living in rooms overflowing with clutter.

Digital property information. Data can be downloaded from the website and used for various creative activities and research.

Elements of the room that give a sense of the changing times can be seen here and there. For example, a smart speaker and laptop are placed next to a tall pile of books and clothes; the coexistence of analog and digital is symbolic of modern lifestyles. The changes in work and hobby spaces are also interesting. In the past, working at a desk was the norm, but now more and more people are using laptops and tablets to work or create anywhere, such as on the bed or sofa. Due in part to the influence of remote work, which has become established since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also characteristic that many rooms have an ambiguous mix of living and work spaces.

In the future, as huge amounts of residential space data are accumulated and this information becomes increasingly open, issues such as privacy protection and copyright management may arise. However, more important than that is the potential that the accumulation of such data holds. Careful discussion is required regarding how to use the data, but the accumulation and disclosure of this data has the potential to create new value and contribute to society in immeasurable ways.

The "TOKYO [UN]REAL ESTATE" project is more than just an archive; it could be a step towards shaping the cities and lifestyles of the future.

The event will run until Sunday, March 9th.

Venue

Interviews and writing

Editorial Department: Takashi Fujii

Shibuya registrar. In addition to Shibuya of Culture information, seasonal news and topics, it will spell write that feel every day.