Four Facets of Contemporary Japanese Architecture: Technology

Kengo Kuma

University Professor

The University of Tokyo

Kengo Kuma is a University Professor at the University of Tokyo, where he completed a master’s course in architecture in 1979. He established Spatial Design Studio in 1987, Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990, and the Europe branch of his office in Paris in 2008. Prof. Kuma is an Architecte DESA, Architecte inscrit au Tableau de l’ Ordre des Architectes, International Fellow for the Royal Institute of British Architects, Honorary Fellow for the American Institute of Architects, and has received his Ph.D from Keio University. He has previously taught at Columbia University, Keio University, and the University of Illinois.

In Prof. Kuma’s position at the University of Tokyo, he explores the relationship between practice and education. His awards include the AIA DuPont Benedictus Award, the Togo Murano Award, the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award, the Energy Performance + Architecture Award, the Decoration Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Mainichi Art Award, the MEXT Art Encouragement Prize, the Japan Information-Culturology Society Award, and the 6th ASIAGRAPH Award.

Yusuke Obuchi

Associate Professor

The University of Tokyo

Yusuke Obuchi is an Associate Professor in Architecture at the University of Tokyo, where he has directed Obuchi Laboratory at the Department of Architecture since 2010. He is also a founding Co-director of the Advanced Design Studies Program, which consists of Digital Fabrication Lab, Sustainable Prototyping Lab, Media Initiative Lab, Design Think Tank, Design Practice Lab, Social Design Lab, and Computational Unit. Prof. Obuchi was Co-Director of the Design Research Laboratory at the Architectural Association (AA) in London from 2005 to 2010, and Course Master and Unit Master of the Architectural Association from 2003 to 2005. He studied architecture at Princeton University, Southern California Institute of Architecture, the University of Toronto, and received his Ph.D from the University of Tokyo. He has previously taught at Princeton University, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, University of Kentucky, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Prof. Obuchi teaches design studios, workshops, and seminar courses where he explores the concepts of materiality, design systems, computational design techniques, and fabrication processes in contemporary architecture and design. He has previously worked for Reiser-Umemoto in New York and ROTO Architects in Los Angeles. His research projects have been published and exhibited widely in the U.S. and Europe, and have been included in the National Triennial Exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City, Architecture Biennial Beijing, Architecture Biennial Rotterdam, Zurich Design Museum, Tokyo Designers Week, and Barcelona Design Museum.