『a+u』12月号は日建設計を特集する。日建設計はグループを含めると約3,000人の、125年の歴史を持つ設計組織である（創業1900年）。これまで日本の多くの建築や都市計画に携わってきた設計者たちは何に依拠し、何を継承しているのか。編集を進めながら見えてきたものは平面計画と配置計画である。平面計画と配置計画は、誰もが真摯に向き合って設計することで、社会やクライアントの要求を探求できるツールだと、登場する多くの設計者たちは言う。こうした設計のスタンスが、設計組織が影響力を拡大しつつ、次の世代へ継承されるための必然だったのかもしれない。それを本誌ではすべて同スケールの1/750の配置平面図で掲載した。解説文はすべてインタビューにより、建築の紹介だけでなく、設計者の考えの一端を示そうとした。本誌で紹介する2000年から2024年までの建築から、現代の建築や都市の課題や挑戦を考え、これからの建築を探る。（編）

a+u 2412
Feature: NIKKEN 2000–2024

The December 2024 issue of a+u magazine features the work of Nikken Sekkei. Founded 125 years ago in 1900, the Nikkei Sekkei group is an organizational design firm with about 3,000 employees. Nikken Sekkei’s designers have worked on numerous building and urban design projects in Japan. When pursuing their work, what do they rely on? And what have they inherited from their predecessors? As we edited and prepared this issue for publication, we became increasingly interested in Nikken Sekkei’s floor plans and layout plans. Many of the designers who appear in this issue stressed the importance of floor plans and layout plans as a tool that anyone working hard on a project design can use to explore the needs of society and the client. This attitude toward design may be something that they feel they must pass on from one generation to the next as they grow in influence. Every project profile in this issue includes a 1/750 scale floor and layout plan. The text for each project is based on interviews that not only describe the building but also try to give at least a glimpse into the thinking of the designers. Completed between 2000 and 2024, the projects featured in this issue provide an opportunity to think about the issues and challenges that contemporary architecture and cities face and an opportunity to explore the architecture of the future. (<i>a+u</i>)