I was reappointed president of the MSAJ at the General Meeting on June 2024. Since the previous president resigned mid-term at the end of March, I was elected by the Board members to take over the remaining term of the president’s office. So I am continuously serving the position.
Membrane Structures Association Japan was founded in 1966 as the Tent Structures Research Group, renamed Membrane Structures Association Japan in 1972, and then reorganized as the incorporated association in 1978, becoming a general incorporated association in April 2012. I am the fifth president of the association.
MSAJ has been designated by Japanese government as a performance evaluation and type conformity accrediting organization, and is engaged in related activities.
Membrane structures have been used as temporary structures, but since the 1980s, they have also been actively used as permanent facilities, and large air membrane structures such as Tokyo Dome have been constructed. In the 1990s, large membrane structures featuring timber-based structures as skeletons were also created, which already have a 30-year history. I believe that these structures will be giving good precedent references for large timber buildings of today.
Membrane materials are characterized by their lightness, flexibility, airtightness, watertightness, and translucency, and in the low-carbon era, they are expected to contribute to the society more and more not only as structures but also in various other fields.
Japan is undergoing a major transition from steady growth era to one of contraction due to a declining and aging population. On the other hand, the world’s population is growing toward 10 billion. In such an era, it will be necessary to develop more stable operations and cultivate new application fields that match the times domestically, and to approach overseas markets more aggressively than ever before.
I would like to promote association activities with the aim of making new contributions of membrane structures to society.
Ken’ichi Kawaguchi