Kengo Kuma
autor
Kengo Kuma: Complete Works 1988-Today
After Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito, and Fumihiko Maki, Kengo Kuma has breathed renewed vigor and lightness into Japanese architecture. Departing from the modernist skyscraper of the 20th century, Kuma traveled through his native Japan to develop a truly sustainable approach, translating local craftsmanship and resources into site-specific, timely buildings. Informed by tradition, and with both feet firmly planted in the present, this "materialist" heralds a new tactile architecture marked by its engaging surfaces, innovative structures, and fluid forms, reconnecting people with the physicality of a house. Kuma's objective, above all else, is "just to respect the culture and environment of the place where I am working."
To this end, Kuma shaped the China Academy of Art's Folk Art Museum partially from discarded roof tiles; created a Chapel out of birch and moss in Nagano; and worked with local craftsmen to sculpt the V&A Dundee into a twisted, layered reflection of the Scottish coastal cliffs. With an extraordinary sensitivity for space, light, and texture, Kuma reveals unexpected qualities in materials, finding the weightlessness of stone in Chokkura Plaza and the softness of aluminum in the thatched roof of the Yangcheng Lake Tourist Transportation Center.
More recently, the architect brought his philosophy to the Japan National Stadium built for the Olympic Games, originally planned for 2020. Kuma has said the stadium could be "the catalyst that will transform Tokyo back from a concrete city. I want it to set an example that will help alter the direction of Japanese architectural design."
In this XXL-sized monograph with some 500 illustrations spanning photographs, sketches, and plans, Kuma guides us through his entire career to date, detailing milestone projects as well as ongoing works.
Soon also available as an Art Edition with a custom-built wooden slipcase and accompanied by a photogravure of a sketch by Kengo Kuma, signed by the artist and limited to 200 copies.
Daniel Ost
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.
Point Line Plane
A collection of writings that sets out Kengo Kuma’s theories of architecture, but also a left field critique of where the architecture world finds itself today.
Kengo Kuma is one of Japan’s leading architects and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Widely known as a prolific writer and philosopher, he proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology and human beings.
Through a series of thought-provoking essays, he unveils his vision of architecture as a dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation, critiquing the megastructures and capitalist influences of the 20th century and challenging readers to reconsider the role of architecture in shaping our world.
Drawing from diverse disciplines including art history, philosophy and literature, Kuma crafts a narrative that transcends the boundaries of traditional architectural theory, presenting a compelling manifesto for a new era of design – one that dismantles hard concrete volumes into points, lines and planes that celebrate the simplicity and sustainability of human connection.
