Tropicana Jan-Feb 2018 #116 A Start from the Heart

THE HOME | natural selection
Natural
Selection
There’s no denying the reluctant celebrity architect, Kengo Kuma
Text by Muna Noor
It’s impossible to wander the streets of
Tokyo and not be beguiled by the work of
contemporary Japanese architect Kengo
Kuma. Stay in One@Tokyo in Oshiage or
traipse past Asakusa Tourist Information
Centre located opposite the impressive
Sensoji temple; both are Kuma masterpieces
and will not fail to draw your attention.
While much of his work is located
in Japan, you’ll find his work all over the
world. Prolific by any measure, his firm
Kengo Kuma & Associates, which has
offices in Tokyo and Paris, works on a
diverse range of projects that vary in both
size and purpose: From ambitious social
initiatives like hospitals, schools and railway
stations to ID for hotels and boutiques;
short run product design collaborations and
installations, to large scale builds that occupy
vast tracts of land.
What makes his work distinct has been
his approach to design and his view of the
environment with which it interacts. It
was in Anti-Object: The Dissolution and
Disintegration of Architecture that he
championed the idea of respecting ones
surroundings rather than dominating
them. This professional philosophy has
manifested itself in a variety of ways; from
how the structure is positioned against the
land, to the types of materials he favours
and the harnessing of natural elements
to create a structure with a constantly
evolving character.
“For Kuma, wood
is the material
of the 21st
century due to
its strength,
flexibility and
ability to age and
be replaced.”
TM | january/february 2018
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