KOYA: Shed Architecture

Visit Walsh Street for KOYA: shed architecture. The exhibition examines the humble shed – or koya in Japanese – as an enduring typology that challenges dominant ideas of scale, permanence, and construction.

Modest and often overlooked, the shed sits between the vernacular and the experimental, offering alternative ways to think about architecture outside the mainstream. Japanese architects Mio Tsuneyama and Fuminori Nousaku approach the shed not just as form but as method, working resourcefully with local materials, drawing on traditional building techniques, and rethinking details such as lightweight, independent foundations to minimise land impact. Their projects are presented alongside contributions by architecture students from the University of Melbourne, reimagining the shed as a contemporary vernacular.

Curated by Nancy Ji, Mio Tsuneyama and Fuminori Nousaku, KOYA: shed architecture is a collaboration between Robin Boyd Foundation and the Melbourne School of Design.