Creating the perfect space through dialogue
I start by conducting detailed interviews with researchers and people who will use the facility, and sometimes I even draw the blueprints myself to visualize the concept.
Strict constraints are an inevitable part of conducting cutting-edge research. Hazardous materials used in research and organisms that could have a negative impact on ecosystems need to be strictly managed. Research facilities sometimes require that even the slightest vibration—imperceptible to humans—be eliminated. Gai Satou is an Assistant Deputy Manager in the Facilities Management Division, which is responsible for constructing new facilities on RIKEN’s campus. He frequently gets the chance to research sites to create the best research environment for researchers. In doing his job, he places great importance on dialogue with researchers and facility users.
Now is the time to take on a challenge
Inspired by his dream of building homes, Satou studied architecture in college. He took a job at a home builder and gained four years of experience designing wooden homes. While working, he obtained his First-Class Architect license, and this led him to think about taking on a role that could make the most of his expertise. It was around that time that he came across a job posting for an architectural position at RIKEN. Having been interested in space as a student and as a frequent reader of science magazines, he already felt a connection to science.
“If I’m going to take on a challenge, now is the time,” he thought. He took the plunge and joined RIKEN in 2021.
Don’t let the flies escape!
At first, the job presented Satou with one dilemma after another. Even though they are both architectural structures, residential buildings and research facilities present completely different issues in practice. He pored over blueprints of research facilities and, with guidance from senior colleagues, gradually acquired the necessary knowledge.
Amid all this, he was assigned to renovate a laboratory that works with fruit flies.
“I guess they’ll be raising them in insect cages,” he thought, and blithely joined a meeting with the researchers—only to be told, “We need to build a lab that will keep genetically modified flies from escaping.”
Hearing that, Satou felt a sudden sense of tension.
Standard doors typically have a gap of about 2 millimeters between the bottom of the door and the floor. Since fruit flies are also about 2 millimeters in size, there was a risk they could escape. So, under his leadership, the team installed doors that sealed without gaps. They also devised various measures to prevent the flies from escaping, such as designing the lab to have low air pressure so air wouldn’t flow out of the room. This experience showed Satou the weight of the responsibility involved in designing a laboratory.
In practice, RIKEN’s internal facilities staff create the specifications for a construction project, and then external contractors draw up the blueprints and carry out the work based on these specifications. However, Satou says, “It’s important to be very precise about how we want the facility to be built. I start by conducting detailed interviews with researchers and people who will use the facility, and sometimes I even draw the blueprints myself to visualize the concept.”
Nearly 50 trips to Harima
Even after the fruit fly lab project, Satou continued to prioritize communication with on-site teams.
A new project was beginning on the Harima Campus, home to the large-scale SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility, and Satou was placed in charge of the ancillary facilities for assembling its successor, SPring-8-II. It takes about six hours one way to travel from RIKEN’s Wako Campus (in Saitama Prefecture) to the Harima Campus (in Hyogo Prefecture), and over the course of three years, he made nearly 50 round trips.
When researchers are running experiments using SPring-8, vibrations are forbidden—even the faintest shaking imperceptible to humans. Doing construction work on a site with these strict conditions meant coordinating closely with the Harima Facilities Section. Part of the job was to fine-tune researchers’ experiment schedules so that the delicate experiments were not disrupted by noise and vibration from the work. Despite this logistical complication, the facility was successfully completed in March 2026.
“As the project leader, I had to earn the trust of not only the researchers and the on-site management team, but also of the designers and contractors. At first, we communicated via email, but meeting in person turned out to be essential—even though the distance made it quite challenging,” Satou recalls.
Supporting research with excellent facilities
“Our goal is to build excellent facilities and create an environment where outstanding research can be conducted,” says Satou. Currently, he is working on animal housing facilities on the Tsukuba Campus , while also working on expansion work on the Wako Campus, taking on the challenge of creating a research environment that meets Japan’s highest standards.
Although he is busy, Satou finds the time to travel domestically and internationally for a respite from work. On a recent trip to Spain, he toured the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí. Balancing his career with personal time, he works behind the scenes to support state-of-the-art research.
This article was adapted from the original Japanese article (研究を支える仕事――対話を重ね、最適な空間を追求) (opens in a new tab) published on the RIKEN (opens in a new tab) website.