About Kengo Kuma
MORE ABOUT KENGO KUMA
Kengo Kuma
Biography
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Architect Kengo Kuma
1954 Born in Kanagawa Prefecture
1979 Completed the Master Course, Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
1985-86 Visiting Scholar Graduate School, Columbia University and Asian Cultural Council
1987 Established Spatial Design Studio
1990 Established Kengo Kuma & Associates
1994 Lecturer at the Graduate Shool of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
1998-99 Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University
2001-09 Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
2008 Established Kuma & Associates Europe
2008 Invited Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2009 Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, The University of Tokyo
Kengo Kuma was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1954. He completed his master’s degree at the University of Tokyo in 1979. From 1985 to 1986, he studied at Columbia University as Visiting Scholar. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990 in Aoyama, Tokyo. From 2001 to 2008 he taught at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University. In 2009 he was installed as professor of the University of Tokyo.
Among Kuma’s major works are the Kirosan Observatory (1995), Water/Glass (1995, for which he received the AIA Benedictus Award), Venice Biennale/Space Design of Japanese Pavilion (1995), Stage in Forest, Toyoma Center for Performance Arts (1997, for which he received the 1997 Architectural Institute of Japan Annual Award), Stone Museum (2000, for which he received International Stone Architecture Award 2001), Bato-machi Hiroshige Museum (2001, for which he received The Murano Prize). Recent works include Great Bamboo Wall (2002, Beijing, China), Nagasaki Prefectural Museum (2005, Nagasaki, Japan), Suntory Museum of Art (2007, Tokyo, Japan), and Nezu Museum (2009, Tokyo, Japan).
A number of large-scale projects are now going on in Europe and China, such as an arts centre in Besancon City, France, and the development of the Sanlitun District in Beijing, China. He was awarded the International Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award in 2002 (Finland), International Architecture Awards for the Best New Global Design for “Chokkura Plaza and Shelter” in 2007, and Energy Performance + Architecture Award in 2008 (France).
Competitions
1993
Second Prize, Niigata City Performing Arts Center Competition / Niigata, Niigata, Japan
Second Prize, Abashiri Urban Planning Competition / Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan
1996
Third Prize, Proposal for the Nagaoka Culture Forum Design Competition / Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan
2002
First Prize, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Exhibition Center Competition / Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
First Prize, Mori Building Corporation Odaiba Museum Competition / Minato, Tokyo, Japan
2007
First Prize, Besancon City of Arts and Culture Architecture Competition / Besancon, France
First Prize, Architectural Competition for the Complex of Government Buildings related to the area of the “Eiffel Hall”－Western Railway Station of Budapest / Budapest, Hungary
First Prize, Contemporary Art Center (FRAC) / Marseille, France
2008
First Prize, Granada Performing Arts Center Competition / Granada, Spain
First Prize, International Invited Competition for iconic park and mixed development in Iskandar Malaysia / Johor-Bahru, Malaysia
First Prize, Commercial and environmental design proposal for the Central Post Office Competition / Tokyo, Japan
First Price, Granada Performing Arts Center / Granada, Spain
First Prize, Asakusa Culture and Tourist Center Competition / Tokyo, Japan
Publications
Kengo Kuma, 10 Houses, Toso Publishing, Tokyo, 1986. Republished in paperback, Chikuma Publishing, 1990
Kengo Kuma, Introduction to Architecture-History and Ideology, Chikuma Publishing, Tokyo, 1994
Kengo Kuma, Catastrophe of Architectural Desire, Shin’yosha, Tokyo, 1994
Kengo Kuma, Beyond the Architectural Crisis, TOTO Publishing, Tokyo, 1995
Kengo Kuma, Anti-Object, Chikuma Publishing, Tokyo 2000
Kengo Kuma, Defeated Architecture, Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo 2004
Kengo Kuma, Lecture and Dialogue, INAX Publishing, 2007
Kengo Kuma and Yumi Kiyono, Shin Toshi-ron Tokyo (A New Debate on Cities), Shueisha Publishing, Tokyo, 2008
Kengo Kuma, A Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, 2008
Awards
1994
Good Design Architecture for “Yusuhara Visitor’s Center”, selected by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry
1995
Grand Prize for JCD Design Award 1995 Cultural / Public Institutions for “Kiro-san Observatory”
1997
Architectural Institute of Japan Award for “Noh Stage in the Forest”
First Place, AIA DuPONT Benedictus Award for “Water/Glass”
Grand Prize, Regional Design Award, Kochi Prefecture, for “Yusuhara Visitor’s Center”
1999
Honorable Mention, Boston Society of Architecture, Unbuilt Architecture Design Award 2000
2000
Grand Prize, Prize of AIJ, Tohoku Chapter for Design for “River/ Filter”
Grand Prize, INTER INTRA SPACE design selection for “Kitakami Canal Museum”
Director General of Forestry Agency Prize for “Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum”
2001
Togo Murano Award and Architectural Institute Award for “Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum”
International Stone Architecture Award for “Stone Museum”, Italy
2002
Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award, Finland
2005
The Marble Architecture Award 2005 East Asia External Facings 1st prize for “Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum”
2007
Detail Prize 2007 special prize for ’Chokkura Plaza and Shelter”
International Architecture Award for the Best New Global Design for “Chokkura Plaza and Shelter”
2008
Energy Performance + Architecture Award, France
Emirates Leaf Award for Public Building for Suntory Museum of Art, Britain/UAE
Bobat 2008 for SAKENOHANA, France
2009
d’Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France
2010
Green GOOD DESIGN Award for ‘Yusuhara Town Hall’, from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum and The European Design for Architecture and Art Design
2011
Mainichi Award for the Arts (Nezu Museum)
Exhibitions
1992
Solo Exhibition “Tokyo Columns” / M2, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
1993
City of Labyrinth / Sezon Museum of Art, Toshimaku, Tokyo/Tsukashin Hall, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan
1995
Solo Exhibition “Velocity of Transmission” / Gallery MA, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Venice Biennale 1995 / Venice, Italy
1996
Milan Triennial / Milan, Italy
1997
Virtual Architecture /The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
2000
Venice Biennale 2000 / Venice, Italy
ARCHI LAB 2000 / Orleans, France
2001
Japanese Avant-Garde / Reality Projection, 16 Young Japanese Architects / RIBA, London, Great Britain
2002
ARCHI LAB 2002 / Orleans, France
Venice Biennale 2002 / Venice, Italy
2004
Takeo Paper Show 2004 “HAPTIC” / Spiral, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Venice Biennale 2004 / Venice, Italy
New Trends of Architecture in Europe and Asia-Pacific 2004-2005 / Lille, France
Solo Exhibition “Kengo Kuma: Defeated Architecture” / Matsuya Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition “Niwa; Where the Particle Response” / Hotel New Otani Garden Court, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
The “3_2_1_New architecture in Japan and Poland” Exhibition / Center of Japanese and Technology “Manggha”, Krakow, Poland
Archilab / Mori Art Museum, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
2005
OribeTea House / Ceramics Park Mino, Tajimi, Gifu, Japan
Entrez Lantement, E-11117 / Milan, Italy
Solo Exhibition “Kengo Kuma, The architecture between tradition and innovation” / Siracusa/Milan/Napoli, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden
EXTREME EURASIA / Spiral, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
KRUG x KUMA=∞ / Hara Museum, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition “Kuma Mock-Ups” / GA Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2006
GA International 2006 / GA Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition “ARCHILAB 2006” / Orleans, France
2007
100 years of Mondadori Milano Capitale del Design Decode Elements / Castello Sforzesco, Milan, Italy
Swarovski Crystal Palace / Swarovski Crystal Palace, Milan, Italy
Tokyo Design Premio Tokyo Designer’s Week in Milan / Tokyo Design Room, Milan, Italy
Mitsui Fudosan Residential “Tsunagu” / Mitsui Fudosan Residential Booth, Milan, Italy
Kengo Kuma Two Carps: Water/Land-Village/Urban-Phenomenology, The “Barbara Cappochin” Biennal, International Architectural Exhibition 2007 edition / Palazzo dela Ragione, Padova, Italy
2008
Participation in Milano Salone (Casa Umbrella) / Milano, Italy
11th International Architecture Biennale / Venice, Italy
Solo Exhibition “Material Immaterial” / I-Space, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2009
Fiber ’09 Senseware, Trienale di Milano
‘Studies in Organic’, Kengo Kuma Solo Exhibition / Gallery MA, Tokyo
Kengo Kuma
Biography
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Architect Kengo Kuma
1954 Born in Kanagawa Prefecture
1979 Completed the Master Course, Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
1985-86 Visiting Scholar Graduate School, Columbia University and Asian Cultural Council
1987 Established Spatial Design Studio
1990 Established Kengo Kuma & Associates
1994 Lecturer at the Graduate Shool of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
1998-99 Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University
2001-09 Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
2008 Established Kuma & Associates Europe
2008 Invited Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2009 Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, The University of Tokyo
Kengo Kuma was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1954. He completed his master’s degree at the University of Tokyo in 1979. From 1985 to 1986, he studied at Columbia University as Visiting Scholar. He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990 in Aoyama, Tokyo. From 2001 to 2008 he taught at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University. In 2009 he was installed as professor of the University of Tokyo.
Among Kuma’s major works are the Kirosan Observatory (1995), Water/Glass (1995, for which he received the AIA Benedictus Award), Venice Biennale/Space Design of Japanese Pavilion (1995), Stage in Forest, Toyoma Center for Performance Arts (1997, for which he received the 1997 Architectural Institute of Japan Annual Award), Stone Museum (2000, for which he received International Stone Architecture Award 2001), Bato-machi Hiroshige Museum (2001, for which he received The Murano Prize). Recent works include Great Bamboo Wall (2002, Beijing, China), Nagasaki Prefectural Museum (2005, Nagasaki, Japan), Suntory Museum of Art (2007, Tokyo, Japan), and Nezu Museum (2009, Tokyo, Japan).
A number of large-scale projects are now going on in Europe and China, such as an arts centre in Besancon City, France, and the development of the Sanlitun District in Beijing, China. He was awarded the International Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award in 2002 (Finland), International Architecture Awards for the Best New Global Design for “Chokkura Plaza and Shelter” in 2007, and Energy Performance + Architecture Award in 2008 (France).
Competitions
1993
Second Prize, Niigata City Performing Arts Center Competition / Niigata, Niigata, Japan
Second Prize, Abashiri Urban Planning Competition / Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan
1996
Third Prize, Proposal for the Nagaoka Culture Forum Design Competition / Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan
2002
First Prize, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Exhibition Center Competition / Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
First Prize, Mori Building Corporation Odaiba Museum Competition / Minato, Tokyo, Japan
2007
First Prize, Besancon City of Arts and Culture Architecture Competition / Besancon, France
First Prize, Architectural Competition for the Complex of Government Buildings related to the area of the “Eiffel Hall”－Western Railway Station of Budapest / Budapest, Hungary
First Prize, Contemporary Art Center (FRAC) / Marseille, France
2008
First Prize, Granada Performing Arts Center Competition / Granada, Spain
First Prize, International Invited Competition for iconic park and mixed development in Iskandar Malaysia / Johor-Bahru, Malaysia
First Prize, Commercial and environmental design proposal for the Central Post Office Competition / Tokyo, Japan
First Price, Granada Performing Arts Center / Granada, Spain
First Prize, Asakusa Culture and Tourist Center Competition / Tokyo, Japan
Publications
Kengo Kuma, 10 Houses, Toso Publishing, Tokyo, 1986. Republished in paperback, Chikuma Publishing, 1990
Kengo Kuma, Introduction to Architecture-History and Ideology, Chikuma Publishing, Tokyo, 1994
Kengo Kuma, Catastrophe of Architectural Desire, Shin’yosha, Tokyo, 1994
Kengo Kuma, Beyond the Architectural Crisis, TOTO Publishing, Tokyo, 1995
Kengo Kuma, Anti-Object, Chikuma Publishing, Tokyo 2000
Kengo Kuma, Defeated Architecture, Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo 2004
Kengo Kuma, Lecture and Dialogue, INAX Publishing, 2007
Kengo Kuma and Yumi Kiyono, Shin Toshi-ron Tokyo (A New Debate on Cities), Shueisha Publishing, Tokyo, 2008
Kengo Kuma, A Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, 2008
Awards
1994
Good Design Architecture for “Yusuhara Visitor’s Center”, selected by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry
1995
Grand Prize for JCD Design Award 1995 Cultural / Public Institutions for “Kiro-san Observatory”
1997
Architectural Institute of Japan Award for “Noh Stage in the Forest”
First Place, AIA DuPONT Benedictus Award for “Water/Glass”
Grand Prize, Regional Design Award, Kochi Prefecture, for “Yusuhara Visitor’s Center”
1999
Honorable Mention, Boston Society of Architecture, Unbuilt Architecture Design Award 2000
2000
Grand Prize, Prize of AIJ, Tohoku Chapter for Design for “River/ Filter”
Grand Prize, INTER INTRA SPACE design selection for “Kitakami Canal Museum”
Director General of Forestry Agency Prize for “Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum”
2001
Togo Murano Award and Architectural Institute Award for “Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum”
International Stone Architecture Award for “Stone Museum”, Italy
2002
Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award, Finland
2005
The Marble Architecture Award 2005 East Asia External Facings 1st prize for “Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum”
2007
Detail Prize 2007 special prize for ’Chokkura Plaza and Shelter”
International Architecture Award for the Best New Global Design for “Chokkura Plaza and Shelter”
2008
Energy Performance + Architecture Award, France
Emirates Leaf Award for Public Building for Suntory Museum of Art, Britain/UAE
Bobat 2008 for SAKENOHANA, France
2009
d’Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France
2010
Green GOOD DESIGN Award for ‘Yusuhara Town Hall’, from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum and The European Design for Architecture and Art Design
2011
Mainichi Award for the Arts (Nezu Museum)
Exhibitions
1992
Solo Exhibition “Tokyo Columns” / M2, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
1993
City of Labyrinth / Sezon Museum of Art, Toshimaku, Tokyo/Tsukashin Hall, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan
1995
Solo Exhibition “Velocity of Transmission” / Gallery MA, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Venice Biennale 1995 / Venice, Italy
1996
Milan Triennial / Milan, Italy
1997
Virtual Architecture /The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
2000
Venice Biennale 2000 / Venice, Italy
ARCHI LAB 2000 / Orleans, France
2001
Japanese Avant-Garde / Reality Projection, 16 Young Japanese Architects / RIBA, London, Great Britain
2002
ARCHI LAB 2002 / Orleans, France
Venice Biennale 2002 / Venice, Italy
2004
Takeo Paper Show 2004 “HAPTIC” / Spiral, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Venice Biennale 2004 / Venice, Italy
New Trends of Architecture in Europe and Asia-Pacific 2004-2005 / Lille, France
Solo Exhibition “Kengo Kuma: Defeated Architecture” / Matsuya Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition “Niwa; Where the Particle Response” / Hotel New Otani Garden Court, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
The “3_2_1_New architecture in Japan and Poland” Exhibition / Center of Japanese and Technology “Manggha”, Krakow, Poland
Archilab / Mori Art Museum, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
2005
OribeTea House / Ceramics Park Mino, Tajimi, Gifu, Japan
Entrez Lantement, E-11117 / Milan, Italy
Solo Exhibition “Kengo Kuma, The architecture between tradition and innovation” / Siracusa/Milan/Napoli, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden
EXTREME EURASIA / Spiral, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
KRUG x KUMA=∞ / Hara Museum, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition “Kuma Mock-Ups” / GA Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2006
GA International 2006 / GA Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Solo Exhibition “ARCHILAB 2006” / Orleans, France
2007
100 years of Mondadori Milano Capitale del Design Decode Elements / Castello Sforzesco, Milan, Italy
Swarovski Crystal Palace / Swarovski Crystal Palace, Milan, Italy
Tokyo Design Premio Tokyo Designer’s Week in Milan / Tokyo Design Room, Milan, Italy
Mitsui Fudosan Residential “Tsunagu” / Mitsui Fudosan Residential Booth, Milan, Italy
Kengo Kuma Two Carps: Water/Land-Village/Urban-Phenomenology, The “Barbara Cappochin” Biennal, International Architectural Exhibition 2007 edition / Palazzo dela Ragione, Padova, Italy
2008
Participation in Milano Salone (Casa Umbrella) / Milano, Italy
11th International Architecture Biennale / Venice, Italy
Solo Exhibition “Material Immaterial” / I-Space, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2009
Fiber ’09 Senseware, Trienale di Milano
‘Studies in Organic’, Kengo Kuma Solo Exhibition / Gallery MA, Tokyo
MORE ABOUT KENGO KUMA
