Abstract

Kengo Kuma is an architect of lines. He doesn't just create shapes with lines. He connects people with lines. He connects the world of flicks and jumps, and turns it into a network. Such an architect likens his own journey to a long-distance run. Following the long line full of "losses" that Kuma ran through gives you energy. A book about life that should be read by people other than architects. -- Recommended by Hiroki Azuma! Architecture that blends into nature, dialogue with materials, deconstruction of volume, creation in a small space, liberation from closed "boxes," new publicness... A 30-year trajectory of challenges that the master of Japanese architecture talks about in detail. A futuristic "answer" in architecture. I lived between two contrasting eras. That's how I would sum up my life in one sentence. The two eras were the era of industrialization and the era of post-industrialization that came after it. They were two social systems at the same time, and two completely opposite design paradigms. In that sense, all of my architectural works and all of my work can be said to be witnesses to the times. This also has the meaning of being a witness to a special time between eras, a record of a special time. I have divided the special time that I have lived through into four parts. --From the preface, from the controversial work "M2" to the turning points "Hiroshige" and "Yusuhara" and the "Minamisanriku Regeneration Project", this is an unparalleled philosophy and practice that seeks a new relationship between nature, technology, and humans!

Author’s Information

Born in 1954. Graduated from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Architecture. Established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. After working as a professor at the University of Tokyo, he is currently a Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. In 1964, he was inspired by Tange Kenzo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium, designed for the Tokyo Olympics, and decided to become an architect at an early age. He studied under Hara Hiroshi and Uchida Yoshiya at university, and crossed the Sahara Desert in Africa during graduate school. He surveyed villages and was awakened to their beauty and power. After serving as a visiting researcher at Columbia University, he established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He has designed buildings in over 30 countries, with over 200 projects in progress simultaneously both in Japan and overseas. He has received various awards both in Japan and overseas, including the International Wood Architecture Award from Finland and the International Stone Architecture Award from Italy.