Kengo Kuma

A personal tour of Tokyo's architecture, as seen through the eyes of one of the world's most acclaimed architects who is also designing the primary venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.

My Life As an Architect in 25 Buildings

"An 'object' is a work of architecture that is expressly cut off from its environment. Objects are not exclusive to any particular architectural style, but objectification has long been central to western architecture. Indeed, it might even be said to be the very strategy by which modernism succeeded in conquering the world. It is all-pervasive because it is consistent with the aim of the prevailing economic system: to transform virtually everything into a commodity.In Anti-Object, Kengo Kuma argues that this mindset prevents us from establishing a healthy relationship with the external world and suggests that an alternative form of architecture is not only desirable but possible as well. His approach is illustrated with a discussion of works by his office in which he has sought, by various tactics, to avoid objectification. The ideas embodied in these diverse projects have much in common with the Japanese tradition, not of 'monuments', but of 'weaker' buildings characterised by their use of natural light and natural materials."--Publisher's website.

The Dissolution and Disintegration of Architecture

Anti-object

Paul Geerts

The most comprehensive monograph available on the internationally renowned Belgian floral artist and designer Daniel Ost. His masterful site-specific sculptures redefine the boundaries of art, design, and floral arrangement. Ost has created exquisite installations for royal residences, embassies, temples, international art exhibitions, and the fashion industry. Presents 80 of his most important projects while accompanying essays explore their significance and the inspiration behind them. Lavish photography illustrates each project in this visually inspiring sourcebook for all creative and design professionals. Texts by Dutch author Cees Nooteboom and Japanese architect Kengo Kuma reflect on the impact of Ost’s career.

Daniel Ost

And Natural Architecture

Small Architecture

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

Widely considered to be a classic, this essay on Japanese aesthetics by a major author ranges from the patina of lacquerware and the custom of moon-viewing to monastery toilets and the lighting in a brothel, while contrasting the Japanese sense of subtlety and nuance with Western imports such as electric lighting.

In Praise of Shadows

Ljiljana Miletić

Dvadeset deveti Salon arhitekture

Marco Casamonti

Botond Bognar

Introduces in detail the work of Kengo Kuma whose designs have been attracting growing international reputation.

Selected Works

Matteo Belfiore

Salvator-John A. Liotta

According to renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, "this book aims to establish the interrelation between patterns and layering within architecture. These two previously detached notions can now be integrated into one methodology mediated by structural concepts. Patterns and Layering is the first book to introduce this new interrelationship, which has the potential to begin a new architectural and design revolution."

Japanese Spatial Culture, Nature and Architecture

Patterns and Layering

A personal tour of Tokyo’s architecture, as seen through the eyes of one of the world’s most acclaimed architects who is also designing the primary venue for the Tokyo Olympic games. Tokyo is Japan’s cultural and commercial epicenter, bursting with vibrancy and life. Its buildings, both historical and contemporary, are a direct reflection of its history and its people. Kengo Kuma was only ten years old when he found himself so inspired by Tokyo’s cityscape that he decided to become an architect. Here he tells the story of his career through twenty-five inspirational buildings in the city. Kuma’s passion is evident on every page, as well as his curiosity about construction methods and his wealth of knowledge about buildings around the world, making this a unique commentary on Tokyo’s dynamic architecture. Kengo Kuma: My Life as an Architect is an intimate and truly inspiring book, revealing the beauty that exists in the world’s everyday spaces.

Kengo Kuma: My Life as an Architect in Tokyo

Lugi Alini

Kengo Kuma exhibition

Presents more than thirty of the architect's recent works, including high-profile commissions such as the Suntory Museum in Tokyo and the Ondo Civic Center in Kure; the exlusive Lotus House in Zushi; large-scale urban developments in Sanlitun Village South in Beijing, and more.

The New Work of Kengo Kuma

Material Immaterial

Luigi Alini

Since the age of ten, when he first saw the monumental concrete gymnasium designed by Kenzo Tange for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Kengo Kuma (b. 1954) has aspired to create architecture that utilizes materials in an expressive manner. Despite his early fascination with concrete, Kuma has become better known for his unusual handling of glass, wood, and stone in works as diverse as private residences, Buddhist temples, and art museums. With an acute sensitivity to maximizing a building's setting--whether urban or rural--Tange has created such celebrated structures as the Tokyo headquarters of Louis Vuitton, adobe housing for an ancient wooden Buddha, and an observatory that is sunk into a seaside hill like Michael Heizer's Double Negative.

Works and Projects

Kengo Kuma, one of Japan’s leading architects, has been combining professional practice and academia for most of his career. In addition to creating many internationally recognized buildings all over the world, he has written extensively about the history and theory of architecture. Like his built work, his writings also reflect his profound personal philosophy. Architecture of Defeat is no exception. Now available in English for the first time, the book explores events and architectural trends in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in both Japan and beyond. It brings together a collection of essays which Kuma wrote after disasters such as the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11 and the earthquake and tsunami that obliterated much of the built landscape on Japan’s northern shore in a matter of minutes in 2011. Asking if we have been building in a manner that is too self-confident or arrogant, he examines architecture’s intrinsic—and often problematic—relationship to the powerful forces of contemporary politics, economics, consumerism, and technology, as well as its vital ties to society. Despite the title, Architecture of Defeat is an optimistic and hopeful book. Rather than anticipating the demise of architecture, Kuma envisages a different mode of conceiving architecture: guided and shaped by more modesty and with greater respect for the forces of our natural world. Beautifully designed and illustrated, this is a fascinating insight into the thinking of one of the world’s most influential architects.

Architecture of Defeat

Stefano Pavarini

We are dealing with architectural works in which the subtle charm of the forms and the close relationship with nature are combined with great architectural knowledge and perfect functionality.

Geometries of Nature

Bognar describes in detail the work of Kengo Kuma whose designs have been attracting growing international attention. Kuma's work is characterized by simplicity and sensitivity to ecological issues taking account of the site and the materials used.

Kengo Kuma

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