Rejecting flashy forms in favor of buildings in harmony with their environment, the architect — poised to become world famous for his stadium for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo — is trying to reinvent his entire trade. [...]
Kuma, a constant source of paradoxes and ironies, often makes demagogic statements on behalf of his own brand of architectural modesty. “I want to change the definition of architecture,” he told me; in a way, he already has.
— The New York Times Style Magazine
Nikil Saval pens a beautiful profile of Kengo Kuma for T Magazine and investigates the architect's ongoing quest to ground his version of Modernism in authentic Japanese craftsmanship.
2 Comments
maybe he makes demogaugic statements because he knows that’s how the media covers architecture .... nice to see the Zaha = architecture straw man goes unchallenged from the NYT Style department
Nice work tho. But most good architects have a craft based approach, need a little more depth to this analysis.... even the Japan-ness analysis is tired. You can say that about any Japanese modernist. Maybe he’s unique as a wood space frame patternist— Bucky Fuller ish
"poised to become world famous for his stadium for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo"
Isn't his fame already established fame one of the reasons why he was invited to Columbia, let alone invited to design the stadium?
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