*Portrait (including homepage) - Credit: Erieta Attali*

Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He is currently a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo after teaching at Keio University and the University of Tokyo. KKAA projects are currently underway in more than 50 countries. Kengo Kuma proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings. His major publications include Zen Shigoto(Kengo Kuma – the complete works, Daiwa Shobo), Ten Sen Men (“point, line, plane”, Iwanami Shoten), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na Kenchiku (Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii-sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho) and many others.

LUCIJA ŠUTEJ: Your grandfather was a significant influence on you and among other things, taught you how to grow vegetables. What other lessons do you remember from him that have impacted your design principles?

KENGO KUMA: Yes, my grandfather loved flowers and plants and was good at growing them. He not only taught me about gardening but also, looking back, he gave me hints on designing gardens. We would also fish together. I learned a lot from him about getting along and being familiar with nature.

LŠ: Were there other influences or figures you credit for your interest in architecture? I read that you admire Musō Soseki—what aspects of his teachings touched you?

KK: I’m impressed that Musō Soseki gave a certain logic to the gardens he beautifully designed. He demonstrated that each garden could be a world to explore one’s philosophy. I regard Muso Soseki as the pioneer of garden design who added a special role to the garden.

*Namako (© Kengo Kuma Laboratory, University of Tokyo)*

LŠ: During your studies in the United States at Columbia University, you were in touch with the architectural historian Kenneth Frampton. Were there ideas he shared with you that have influenced your work?

KK: Professor Frampton taught us the importance of having confidence in our local cultures. He did so with real and specific examples, not in an ideational manner, which made his whole point convincing. The way he taught us helped me shape my principles for designing architecture.

*Aoi Shrine Grove/ National Treasure Memorial Hall (© Masaki Hamada/Kkpo)*

LŠ: In 1987, you founded the Spatial Design Studio and then Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990 when Japan’s real estate market was at its peak and suddenly burst. Some of your initial projects were smaller-scale and located in rural regions like Tōhoku and Shikoku. What knowledge did you gather from those experiences about materials and local techniques?

KK: Working in provincial towns and villages with local carpenters and craftspeople was the most revelational experience I had in my life. Learning about natural materials or traditional techniques was important, but I enjoyed and benefited most from close communications with such people, which had been unthinkable in the projects in Tokyo. I was only allowed to speak to the manager of each construction site, and I found it extremely stressful. So even now, wherever the project is, I try to visit the site as often as I can and speak with the real people working there.

LŠ: In an era dominated by steel and concrete, your approach to integrating traditional techniques with modern technology stands out. At Sunny Hills (Minami-Aoyama), you incorporated a structure called; jigoku-gumi; into your design. What sparked your interest in joinery, and how do you see it evolving in contemporary architecture? What are some of the challenges of maintenance of such techniques?

KK: Joinery does not exist in concrete architecture as the material is not needed. Concrete, being a solid single volume, cannot change / adjust its form that is required by the passage of time or changes in environment. Joinery gives the building a certain flexibility, which is key to creating a diversified building in contemporary architecture - which is making rapid technical progress assisted by computers and new technologies.

LŠ: As seen through one of your early works - The Stone Museum in Tochigi; you are drawn to using locally sourced materials and collaborating with local craftsmen. Do you see this approach as an important direction for the future of architecture?

KK: Indeed - building brand-new structures was unavoidable in the last century because the world was constantly undergoing rapid and dramatic changes. Most of the buildings were created hastily and often carelessly. I think it only natural that people are ever more attentive in preserving / maintaining the architecture we already have, by renovating or repurposing them to pile up the times we’ve been living in.

LŠ: You have ventured into architectural installations often and drawn inspiration from the model of a tea house. What about the tea house structure interests you, and how have these installations allowed you to test new principles and approaches?

KK: Tea houses and small-scale pavilions always give us opportunities to experiment on new ideas or explore our techniques. Traditionally, tea houses have played a role in experimenting with architectural ideas and influenced Japanese architecture, and even now, I gain a lot from designing them and doing events in them.

*Wind Eaves (New Oriental Garden) (© Cheng Dean)*

LŠ: You recently collaborated with the fashion industry, specifically with Fendi. What attracted you to this project? Given the rapid evolution of technology in fashion and the increasing collaborations and shared knowledge between fashion and architecture— how do you see these interdisciplinary efforts shaping the future of both fields?

KK: Collaborating with fashion brands (such as Fendi or Dior) and the industry is essential, as it inspires me to work with new materials and trains my sensitivities towards the human body and its relationship with the material. Clothes are the closest architecture to your body.

LŠ: With Ryuichi Sakamoto you collaborated on Tsumiki. What have you learned from the experience that you wanted to share with the audience?

KK: We were friends from an early age—I think since I was a student. Through our friendship, I learned the beauty and strength of Asian culture that Ryuichi was trying to express through his music, not in a nostalgic manner but as a great contemporary expression. I transferred his music into Tsumiki as architecture, just like an Asian answer to Western masonry.

LŠ: What advice would you give young architects - who want to start their own company and make a difference in the industry?

KK: Travel to many places alone. Not in a group. Think on your own.

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