Articles

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

  • ArtLab by Kengo Kuma at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

    Architectural Record, November 2017

    Full Article

  • Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Village by Kengo Kuma & Associates

    Architectural Record, August 2017

    Surrounded by majestic Douglas firs, Oregon’s Portland Japanese Garden (PJG) is a piece of Japan transplanted to the Pacific Northwest.

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  • Erretegia Restaurant by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

    Architectural Record, August 2017

    Some buildings merely coexist with the landscape, but others enhance it. Located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Erretegia does both.

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  • ‘Shizuku by Chef Naoko’ Restaurant by Kengo Kuma & Associates

    Architectural Record, July 2017

    Like Japanese cuisine, Kengo Kuma’s Portland, Oregon restaurant utilizes the finest natural ingredients.

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  • Kamikatz Public House

    Architectural Record, June 2017

    Defined by a 26-foot-tall patchwork of repurposed windows, this combined shop and craft beer pub takes recycling to new heights.

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  • Triangle House by Shigeru Ban

    Architectural Record, June 2017

    For Pritzker laureate Shigeru Ban, nothing beats the private house when it comes to testing out new ideas.

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  • The Girls of ’77

    Groton School Quarterly, May 2017

    The story behind Groton’s coeducation pioneers.

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  • Dolce & Gabbana by Curiosity

    Architectural Record, April 2017

    A striking contrast to Tokyo’s eye-popping fashion boutiques, this elegant Omotesando shop is a simple, black box accented by innovative lighting.

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2016

  • Grand Opera: National Taichung Theater

    Architectural Record, December 2016

    More than a decade in the making, Toyo Ito’s masterwork redefines the relationship between form, space, and structure.

    Full Article

  • Design Vanguard: Facet Studio

    Architectural Record, December 2016

    A bicontinental practice unearths hidden meaning to create refined architecture.

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  • Ginza Place

    Architectural Record, November 2016

    Backlighting an 11-story commercial building’s metal facade creates a focal point for a busy intersection.

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  • Sou Fujimoto: Foreigners Don’t Really Want Crazy Things

    The Architectural Review, October 2016

    Although small design challenges still excite Fujimoto, he is now thinking big and merging architecture with urbanism.

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  • Umeda Hospital

    Architectural Record, July 2016

    Kengo Kuma introduces new materials to take the edge off his earlier concrete design.

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  • Interiors: Intersect by Lexus

    Architectural Record, July 2016

    Wonderwall’s combined cafe and exhibit space is essentially a car showroom minus the cars.

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  • All Wrapped Up

    Dwell, June 2016

    How is a 921-square-foot, 44-level house possible? Tokyo architect Akihisa Hirata’s sculptural staircase is a mind-bending, shape-shifting solution to small-space living.

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  • Helix House

    Architectural Record, April 2016

    TNA’s 21st-century twist on an early Corbusian concept creates a roomy spatial arrangement for a young family.

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  • Kiln-hopping in Kyushu

    Japonica.info, February 2016

    In Japan, you don’t have to go far to find a potter. From Hokkaido to Okinawa, they are here, there and everywhere. Many live and work in beautiful places out in the country. Visiting their workshops can be both fun and fascinating. Plus buying pots directly from the artist not only makes a wonderful souvenir, it also supports a deeply rooted ceramics tradition.

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  • Newsmaker: Kengo Kuma

    Architectural Record, January 2016

    A conversation with Kengo Kuma after being selected by Japanese officials as the architect for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Stadium.

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  • Toyo Ito Libraries in Japan and Taiwan

    Architectural Record, January 2016

    The proliferation of digital data available with a laptop has taken its toll on public libraries but this pair entices visitors to come and linger.

    Full Article

2015

  • Onomichi and its Uber-Cool Hotel for Cyclists

    Japonica.info, December 2015

    Onomichi may be a little past its prime, a little over the hill, and a little overlooked by development. But therein lies the charm of this Hiroshima Prefecture town perched at the edge of the Inland Sea.

    Full Article

  • Jutaku: A Slide Show

    Japonica.info, December 2015

    A combination of two kanji characters, jutaku is a standard Japanese word that means “house.” But today many architect-designed homes in Japan are anything but standard. Freed from preconceived ideas about size, style and even shape, designers up and down the archipelago are building some of the most unique homes on the globe. Defined by contorted geometries, daring feats of structural engineering, awkward site circumstances and a host of other extreme conditions, many would be unthinkable anywhere else. It is this wild outburst of design creativity that is the subject of my latest book: “Jutaku: Japanese Houses.”

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  • Grace Farms

    Architectural Record, November 2015

    A ribbon of glass, steel, and wood serves a nonprofit foundation dedicated to bringing people closer to art, nature, and faith.

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  • Tea House

    Architectural Record, September 2015

    Kengo Kuma’s Beijing Tea House blends past and present with its elegant material palette.

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  • Uehara Gardens Apartment

    Architectural Record, September 2015

    Exquisite materials and excellent craftsmanship characterize this renovation by Curiosity.

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  • Last Call at Tokyo’s Hotel Okura

    Architectural Record, August 2015

    After Yoshiro Taniguchi’s midcentury classic closes, much of the building will be torn down. But should it be saved?

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  • Onomichi U2

    Architectural Record, July 2015

    A former seaside warehouse shifts gears to become an uber-cool hotel where cyclists can stay with their wheels.

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  • A Separate Peace: Sayama Lakeside Cemetery Park Community Hall and Forest Chapel

    Architectural Record, July 2015

    Two thoughtful buildings that elevate the architecture of grieving and remembrance at burial grounds near Tokyo.

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  • Record Houses: Yamate Street House

    Architectural Record, April 2015

    When it comes to home-building in Tokyo, empty land is good land—even a tiny triangular lot wedged between a heavily trafficked boulevard and a narrow side street.

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  • The POOL Aoyama

    Architectural Record, February 2015

    A former swimming space turned into a trendy boutique is a refreshing surprise.

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2014

  • Design Vanguard: Go Hasegawa and Associates, Tokyo

    Architectural Record, December 2014

    Finding inspiration in quirky, leftover urban sites, this Tokyo architect makes the job of fitting in a defiant act of design.

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  • Design Vanguard: UID, Fukuyama City (Hiroshima Prefecture), Japan

    Architectural Record, December 2014

    Though contemporary, UID’s work is rooted in historic Japanese architecture and its integration with the landscape.

  • Full Article

  • Arata Isozaki Opposes Zaha Hadid’s Tokyo Olympics Stadium, Proposes She Downsize

    Architectural Record, November 2014

    In the latest round of public outcry over Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Stadium, architect Arata Isozaki joins illustrious architects opposed to the project’s development.

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  • Louis Vuitton Matsuya Ginza Façade

    Architectural Record, November 2014

    Jun Aoki’s new facade for a Louis Vuitton boutique exemplifies Japan’s energy belt-tightening triggered by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of 2011.

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  • Toyo Ito’s National Taichung Theater on Display

    Architectural Record, October 2014

    Displaying a work of architecture in a gallery is always a challenge, especially when that building is Taiwan’s National Taichung Theater—unarguably Tokyo architect Toyo Ito’s most ambitious project to date.

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  • Nishinoyama House

    Architectural Record, October 2014

    Kazoo Sejima’s collective housing in Kyoto uses overlapping roofs to create a sense of place.

    Full Article

  • Kayanoya

    Architectural Record, September 2014

    Kengo Kuma incorporates the fittings of a traditional soy sauce brewery in a fine foods store in downtown Tokyo.

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  • Protestors Don’t Want 1964 Olympics Stadium Replaced by Zaha Hadid’s

    Architectural Record, July 2014

    Placard-wearing protestors peacefully encircled the 50,000-seat Kasumigaoka National Stadium erected for the 1964 Olympics in the hope of saving it from demolition and replacement with a Zaha Hadid-designed arena several times its size.

    Full Article

  • JAL Skyward Series: Kayari

    JAL Skyward, June 2014

    A fresh take on the traditional mosquito-repelling incense holder by product designer Shinichiro Ogata.

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  • Sengukan Museum

    Architectural Record, May 2014

    Devoted to Japan’s sacred Ise Shrine, this museum utilizes historic elements from Japan’s most important Shinto site.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: 15.0%

    JAL Skyward, May 2014

    Architect-product designer Naoki Terada creates a trio of ice cream spoons with metal casting techniques developed by a traditional maker of Buddhist ritual objects.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Otehaki

    JAL Skyward, April 2014

    The Tokyo design concern Azmaya creates a mini-broom and matching dustbin.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Spoke Chair

    JAL Skyward, March 2014

    Created by furniture designer Katsuhei Toyoguchi in 1963, this iconic chair is an elegant blend of East and West.

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  • Material Girl: Reiko Sudo Q&A

    JAL Skyward, February 2014

    A classically trained textile illustrator and designer, Reiko Sudo combines traditional fabrics with cutting-edge technology.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Kimura Glass

    JAL Skyward, February 2014

    Exceptionally clear and impossibly thin–each glass is just 0.9 millimeters thick–  Compact brand drinking glasses developed from light bulb making technology.

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  • Snapshot: Teshima Yokoo House: Tower

    Architectural Record, January 2014

    A combination museum and funeral hall, this renovated house is one of many art venues being developed on islands in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Koyori

    JAL Skyward, January 2014

    Designed by Studio Gala, Koyori brand boxes are helping to keep traditional, Japanese paper-making alive.

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2013

  • Ando Museum

    Architectural Record, December 2013

    A building within a building, the Ando Museum turns an antique house into a celebration of work by one of Japan’s most influential architects.

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  • Design Vanguard: Akihisa Hirata Architecture Office

    Architectural Record, December 2013

    Inspired by smoke, bubbles, and other natural phenomena, this Tokyo architect integrates his passions for buildings and biology.

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  • Product Focus: Anatomy of a Dream

    Architectural Record, December 2013

    Architect Tadao Ando’s first chair design for mass production, this sculptural wooden piece is manufactured by Carl Hansen & Søn.

    Full Article

  • JAL Skyward Series: Step Step

    JAL Skyward, December 2013

    An elegant wooden stool with a matching shoehorn, Step Step makes it easy to switch footwear.

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  • Will Tokyo’s Second Olympics Leave a Design Legacy?

    Architectural Record, November 2013

    A town with a good track record, Tokyo beat out Istanbul and Madrid to win the 2020 Olympics bid. What will be the design legacy of this decision?

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Paper Wood

    JAL Skyward, November 2013

    Plywood–that inexpensive composite of laminated layers–often plays a supporting role in construction projects. But to Drill Design, this lowly material is full of aesthetic potential.

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  • Zen and the Art of Mentoring

    Rolex Mentors & Proteges, October 2013

    Instead of asking her protégé Yang Zhao to observe from the sidelines, Kazuyo Sejima put him to work designing a gathering place for a Japanese village devastated by the 2011 tsunami.

    Full Article

  • Profile: Sou Fujimoto

    Dwell, October 2013

  • JAL Skyward Series: Fujiyama Glass

    JAL Skyward, October 2013

    A conical cup with a flat top, the Fujiyama Glass combines two of Japan’s great loves: beer and Mt. Fuji.

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  • Quick Take: Shigeru Ban’s Cardboard Cathedral

    Architectural Record, September 2013

    Inside Christchurch’s decimated central business district, Shigeru Ban builds a temporary replacement for the city’s Anglican cathedral, a 19th century, Gothic style structure damaged beyond repair by the earthquake of 2011.

    Full Article

  • Architect We Love: Sou Fujimoto

    Dwell, September 2013

    With his experimental buildings, the Tokyo-based architect is creating a new breed of hybrid design.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Kudamemo

    JAL Skyward, September 2013

    A striking facsimile of an Anjou pear or a Fuji apple, Kudamemo is a notepad that looks good enough to eat.

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  • Pit Stop

    Architectural Record, August 2013

    Sou Fujimoto’s transparent, public toilet is a loo with a view.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Silent Guitar

    JAL Skyward, August 2013

    This revolutionary device makes it possible to play anywhere, anytime and without disturbing anyone.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Mindbike

    JAL Skyward, July 2013

    A clever design for a do-it-yourself bicycle puts a new spin on convention.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Umbrella Tea House

    JAL Skyward, June 2013

    Enclosed within a frame of bamboo ribs and fabric resembling washi paper, this portable, tatami-floored room is a collaboration between a contemporary architect and a traditional umbrella-maker.

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  • Video: The making of Sou Fujimoto’s 2013 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

    Source, May 2013

    This year’s Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Hyde Park is a jumbo, 3D grid that grows organically from the ground. Articulated by slender, white, steel bars, this assemblage of small cubes, it is a cross between a garden folly and a mathematical model.

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  • Daikanyama Tsutaya Books

    Architectural Record, May 2013

    Klein Lytham architecture’s airy, three-building campus is an ode to the printed page.

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  • JAL Skyward Series: Allround Bowls

    JAL Skyward, May 2013

    A perfect marriage of form and function, Allround Bowls is is 13-piece kitchen set created for the Japanese home cook.

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  • Record Houses: Found in Translation

    Architectural Record, April 2013

    A house in Monterrey demonstrates that Tadao Ando’s Japanese aesthetic is at home in contemporary Mexico.

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  • Record Houses: House K

    Architectural Record, April 2013

    Sou Fujimoto’s loft-like house encourages togetherness, a quality of life still prized by the Japanese.

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  • First Look: OMA’s Coach Omotesando Flagship

    Architectural Record, April 2013

    Occupying a corner site within a new commercial complex, Coach’s flagship shop is distinguished by an elegant, transparent façade and an internal stair tower designed by OMA New York.

    Full Article

  • Graz House/showroom Japan

    Wallpaper*, April 2013

  • JAL Skyward Series: Wasara

    JAL Skyward, April 2013

    Biodegradable and beautifully proportioned, Wasara disposable dishes cater to Japanese cuisine.

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  • Japan Drive: The Heat is On

    Lexus Magazine, Spring 2013

  • At Last Toyo Ito Wins the Pritzker

    Architectural Record, March 2013

    Toyo Ito has been awarded the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize, announced Thomas J. Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award.

    Full Article

  • Prince of Paper: Shigeru Ban Q&A

    JAL Skyward, February 2013

    The projects closest to Shigeru Ban’s heart are those made with simple, reusable, easily transported materials–such as paper tubes–for people who can’t help themselves.

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  • Design Awards 2013: Best Plant Shop

    Wallpaper*, January 2013

    Hiroshima’s Qusamura specializes in pairing unusual cacti with characterful crockery.

    Full Article

  • Uto Elementary School

    Architectural Record, January 2013

    A Tokyo firm replaces an outdated schoolhouse with a vibrant, flexible facility that satisfies stringent seismic codes.

    Full Article

  • Making a Good-Looking Book about Good Design

    Swet.jp, January 2013

    A well-designed object about Japan’s recent, well-designed objects, Naomi Pollock’s Made in Japan: 100 New Products was released in September 2012 by Merrell Publishers in the U.K. and is now readily available in Japan. On October 16, 2012, architect-turned-writer spoke to SWET about her new book. Her remarks about the making of Made in Japan, summarized here, offer insights into making decisions about finding a career niche, book composition and design, and writing in the world of architecture.

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2012

  • Design Vanguard: Hironaka Ogawa & Associates

    Architectural Record, December 2012

    With an eye to his rural roots, a Tokyo architect incorporates landscape and nature into his built work.

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  • Design Vanguard: Yuko Nagayama & Associates

    Architectural Record, December 2012

    A rising star, Yuko Nagayama is breaking new ground in design.

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  • Ellipse Sky

    Architectural Record, November 2012

    Soft concrete may be an oxymoron, but Ellipse Sky, a four-story residential building, deftly pokes holes in that notion.

    Full Article

  • Japanese School Restoration Wins the 2012 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize

    Architectural Record, November 2012

    The beautifully restored Hizuchi Elementary School is an exquisite example of Japan’s homegrown Modernism.

    Full Article

  • Kennel club: Japan’s Kenya Hara launches Architecture for Dogs

    Wallpaper*, November 2012

    It may be tough to teach old dogs new tricks, but perhaps they can learn to live in new houses. Japanese graphic designer and curator Kenya Hara has made it his mission to find out.

    Full Article

  • All Wrapped Up

    Dwell, November 2012

  • 100% Chocolate Café

    Architectural Record, September 2012

    Blending subtle kitsch with classic materials, Wonderwall spins its client’s specialty with delectable results.

    Full Article

  • Futakotamagawa Rise Galleria

    Architectural Record, August 2012

    Completed just six days after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the outdoor illumination for this shopping plaza had to be revamped before it ever had a chance to shine.

    Full Article

  • Record Houses: House NA

    Architectural Record, April 2012

    A clear breach of form within a discreet city, this simple glass house raises the bar on transparent living for a working couple—and their neighbors.

    Full Article

  • Bathhouse

    Architectural Record, March 2012

    This integrated community meeting place and bathhouse for a quake-ravaged town is made of interlocking plywood panels which can be easily assembled with simple hand tools.

    Full Article

  • Container Housing

    Architectural Record, March 2012

    The residents of Shigeru Ban’s Container Temporary Housing in earthquake-blighted Onagawa consider themselves lucky after moving into Ban’s buildings.

    Full Article

  • Interim Housing for Rikuzentakata

    Architectural Record, March 2012

    Two Tokyo architects repurpose an existing campground for recreational vehicles as temporary housing for earthquake victims.

    Full Article

  • Japan Post Disaster

    Architectural Record, March 2012

    One year after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, Japan is making progress toward rebuilding its devastated east coast—but there is still a long way to go.

    Full Article

  • Kamaishi City Proposal

    Architectural Record,  March 2012

    An advisor to the earthquake-stricken Kamaishi City, architect Toyo Ito has proposed a reconstruction scheme incorporating both built and landscape elements.

    Full Article

  • Shizugawa Banya

    Architectural Record, March 2012

    When the 2011 earthquake hit, students at Sendai’s Miyagi University flocked to the campus’ generator-powered buildings. The plight of one budding architect’s family prompted his teacher to take action.

    Full Article

  • In Quake-Ravaged Christchurch, Ban’s Cardboard Cathedral Ready for Groundbreaking

    Architectural Record, February 2012

    A year after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake left Christchurch’s central business district in shambles, Shigeru Ban’s Cardboard Cathedral is ready to start construction.

    Full Article

2011

  • Design Vanguard: Koji Tsutsui & Associates

    Architectural Record, December 2011

    Born and bred in Japan, educated in England, and having built his defining work to date in Uganda, this architect divides his time between offices in Tokyo and San Francisco.

    Full Article

  • L’Opera Restaurant

    Architectural Record, October 2011

    A masterful insertion transforms the porte cochere of the Palais Garnier opera house into a seductive haunt.

    Full Article

  • Shigeru Ban Conceives Simple Solutions for Post-Disaster Zones in New Zealand, Japan, Architectural Record

    Architectural Record, September 2011

    An architect committed to disaster relief work, Shigeru Ban is hard at work on temporary housing for Onagawa, a coastal town in Japan decimated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and a cardboard cathedral for Christchurch now recovering from an earthquake of its own.

    Full Article

  • Metal Shutter Houses

    Architectural Record, September 2011

    Shigeru Ban transports his unique sensibility to a Chelsea condominium with High Line views.

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  • Marc Jacobs Flagship Building, Tokyo

    Architectural Record, May 2011

    Textured materials and a creative lighting strategy make the most of a small footprint within a crowded shopping district.

    Full Article

  • Shigeru Ban Offers Aid to His Native Japan

    Architectural Record, April 2011

    For quake and tsunami victims left homeless, emergency centers help ease discomfort but offer little privacy. Shigeru Ban’s partition system made of paper tubes and canvas sheets is helping to solve the problem.

    Full Article

  • Record Houses: InBetween House

    Architectural Record, April 2011

    A cluster of boxes united by irregular, interstitial space, InBetween House mimics the Japanese urban condition out in the country.

    Full Article

  • Musashino Art University Museum & Library, Architectural Record

    Architectural Record, March 2011

    Dividing the school’s gallery-library in two, Sou Fujimoto turns a historic building into a museum and erects a new library next door.

    Full Article

  • Newsmaker: Fumihiko Maki

    Architectural Record, January 2011

    The American Institute of Architects honors this esteemed 1993 Pritzker Prize winner and 1999 recipient of Japan’s Praemium Imperiale with the AIA Gold Medal.

    Full Article

2010

  • Design Vanguard: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects

    Architectural Record, December 2010

    A Tokyo-based architect demonstrates a knack for handling materials and fitting buildings into their natural and urban contexts.

    Full Article

  • IWI Orthodontics

    Architectural Record, September 2010

    Filling the fourth floor of an existing Tokyo building, this sleek clinic interior merges cutting-edge medical technology with gracious Japanese hospitality.

    Full Article

  • Nezu Museum

    Architectural Record, July 2010

    With a new name, a new logo, and a new building, the Nezu Museum and garden is transformed from a staid cultural institution into Tokyo’s latest “it” destination.

    Full Article

  • Shigeru Ban Aims to Build Waterproof Shelters in Haiti

    Architectural Record, May 2010

    When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake jolted Haiti, Shigeru Ban’s knee-jerk reaction was to get on a plane and go build shelters at the disaster site.

    Full Article

  • Record Houses: Tree House

    Architectural Record, April 2010

    Inspired by that magical space sheltered beneath leafy, deciduous branches, Tree House, designed by Mount Fuji Architects Studio, revolves around a single column supporting frames (aka “branches”) of engineered wood.

    Full Article

  • National Stadium of Sports Affairs Council

    January, 2010

    In a fitting match of design and program, Toyo Ito performed a feat of architectural athleticism in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

    Full Article

2009

  • Tiffany Ginza

    Architectural Record, November 2009

    Kengo Kuma creates a luminous jewel-like facade for Tiffany Ginza.

    Full Article

  • Interactive floorplan: Celluloid Jam, Yokohama

    Wallpaper*, September 2009

    A private house in the heart of suburbia, Celluloid Jam looks like it dropped off another planet but the futuristic form was just the thing for the clients’ hilltop site.

    Full Article

  • Inujima Art Project

    Architectural Record, July 2009

    Sambuichi Architects breathes new life into an old refinery on a secluded island in Japan’s Inland Sea.

    Full Article

  • Record Houses: House N

    Architectural Record, April 2009

    A tidy package with a porous wrapping, Sou Fujimoto’s House N is a set of three nesting boxes that span the scales of city and residence.

    Full Article

  • Global Report: Japan

    Architectural Record, March 2009

    Storm Clouds Gather In Most Parts of Country Architects are feeling the chill of an economic recession and the effects of the U.S. subprime crisis. Despite an estimated 2.2 percent drop in GDP in 2008, a decrease in housing starts, and a reluctance on the part of banks to lend, design firms large and small are hoping to wait out the storm. Due to its dependence on foreign financing, speculative housing has been particularly hard hit, falling 5.8 percent in December from the year before. As a result, developers are going bankrupt and projects are dying

    Full Article

  • Wilkhahn Japan

    Architectural Record, February 2009

    Noiz Architects infuses a cavernous, aging space with new light for the German furniture company’s Tokyo showroom.

    Full Article

2008

  • Design Vanguard: Suppose Design Office

    Architectural Record, December 2008

    This Hiroshima firm is making a name for itself by taking on jobs that others take a pass on.

    Full Article

  • Kanagawa Institute of Technology Workshop

    Architectural Record, November 2008

    Supported by 305 tiny columns, Junya Ishigami’s glass-encased workshop is so ethereal that it is barely a building at all.

    Full Article

  • Inujima Art Project

    Wallpaper*, October 2008

    Architect Hiroshi Sambuichi teams up with conceptual artist Yukinori Yanagi to turn an old refinery into a destination art installation.

    Full Article

  • Ban-Aid

    Architectural Record, October 2008

    Shigeru Ban discusses architects’ duty to do good.

    Full Article

  • Bape Shibuya

    Architectural Record, September 2008

    Glass boxes and reflective surfaces create an uber-cool boutique for the street fashion brand BAPE.

    Full Article

  • Miki Disaster Management Park Beans Dome

    Architectural Record, June 2008

    Encased in a steel shell mostly covered with grass, this combined tennis dome/emergency center is Shuhei Endo’s response to Japan’s Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.

    Full Article

  • Shigeru Ban Pavilion Could Fetch Upward of $1 Million at Auction

    Architectural Record, June 2008

    This Saturday, Sotheby’s will auction the 1,991-square-foot, portable Artek Pavilion designed by architect Shigeru Ban. The auction house estimates that bids may exceed $1 million before the gavel closes the sale. On Saturday, June 14, Sotheby’s will auction the Artek Pavilion designed by architect Shigeru Ban, as part of its semiannual Important 20th Century Design sale in New York. The 1,991-square-foot portable building is being sold on behalf of Artek’s major owner, the Swedish investment firm Proventus, which plans to donate the proceeds to arts and culture

    Full Article

  • AGC Quality Manufacturing Training Center

    Architectural Record, May 2008

    Takenaka Corporation’s design for the AGC Training Center transforms a building into a nighttime rainbow. A quiet collection of aging factories and outdated manufacturing plants, the Keihin industrial district of Tokyo seems light-years away from the city’s eye-popping, neon-clad commercial centers.

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  • Nicolas G. Hayek Center

    Architectural Record, May 2008

    Like an expertly crafted Swiss watch, Shigeru Ban’s Nicolas G. Hayek Center, created for the Swatch Group, is an assemblage of movable pieces that work together with machinelike precision.

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  • Soft as Steel

    Metropolis Magazine, May 2008

    Skin as well as structure, Kengo Kuma’s monocoque steel shell encloses this single family home in a residential Tokyo neighborhood.

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  • Record Houses: Nora House

    Architectural Record, April 2008

    A single-family home facing a field of cabbages and carrots, Atelier Bow-Wow’s Nora House takes its cues from traditional Japan’s agricultural architecture.

    Full Article

  • The National Museum of Singapore

    Architectural Record, February 2008

    A glass and steel addition to a neoclassical building proudly showcases the country’s heritage.

    Full Article

  • New Library, Tama Art University

    Architectural Record, January 2008

    Toyo Ito combines a new kind of grid with an innovative arch system on the outskirts of Tokyo.

    Full Article

  • Nishimachi International School Yashiro Media Center

    Architectural Record, January 2008

    A school library in a residential neighborhood serves as a “home” for books.

    Full Article

2007

  • Design Vanguard: Sou Fujimoto Fractures Plans and Sections While Bringing Together People

    Architectural Record, December 2007

    One of Japan’s most promising young designers, Sou Fujimoto launched his career with the design of a mental health facility in the middle of snowy Hokkaido.

    Full Article

  • 21_21 Design Sight

    Architectural Record, November 2007

    An installation space dedicated to design, Tadao Ando’s concrete building is interwoven with the ideas of fashion great Issey Miyake.

    Full Article

  • Suntory Museum of Art

    Architectural Record, November 2007

    Kengo Kuma’s signature screens, deployed inside and out, enclose a serene oasis for viewing art amid Tokyo Midtown’s SOM-designed towers.

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  • Tokyo Midtown

    Architectural Record, November 2007

    A group of Western and Japanese designers try to create a Rockefeller Center for 21st-century Tokyo.

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  • Jins Global Standard Nagareyama

    Architectural Record, 2007

    Ryuji Nakamura tweaks visual perception with Jin’s Global Standard, a curious Japanese eyeglass shop of unfathomable depth.

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  • Record Houses: Ring House

    Architectural Record, 2007

    Designed by the Tokyo architects tna, this mini-tower of a second home is wrapped with alternating bands of charred wood and glass, evenly balancing transparency and opacity.

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