The Innovative City Forum is being held in Roppongi Hills in part to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the office and residential complex in central Tokyo.

The title of this three-day forum, which runs till Friday, is "Designing the Future for Global Cities and Lifestyles." Altogether, the event brings more than 40 speakers who are leading figures in their respective fields of art, design, architecture, culture, photography, academics and business.

In order to explore the question of "How will we be living in 20 years?" the opening address was given by Keio University professor Heizo Takenaka, who is also the director of the Institute for Urban Strategies of the Mori Memorial Foundation. Takenaka interacted with the audience during his speech.

Architect Kazuyo Sejima was the first keynote speaker who spoke on the theme of the "Environment, Architecture and Lifestyle," by highlighting her personal experience of visiting and working on various urban and environmental design projects.

Keynote speaker Neri Oxman, assistant professor, media arts and sciences of the MIT Media Lab, offered insights into the future by introducing some of her collaborative artwork. The main title of her presentation was "Towards a Material Ecology," which covered her studies on silkworms and cocoons.

The Japan Times is one of the forum's main supporting media organizations.