Small-scale

At 10 years old Kengo Kuma decided he wanted to become an architect when his father took him to see the Yoyogi National Gymnasium by Kenzo Tange. By the time he reached college he traveled to search for something to replace the predominant building materials concrete and steel. After visiting sun-dried brick houses in the Sahara and modest wooden houses on Japanese islands, he became convinced that the age of large tall buildings had come to an end, in place for small- scale architecture informed by rural villages.  In the 90s during the Japanese economic downturn Kuma had the chance to work on small buildings in the countryside. Working with local craftsmen he noticed the stark contrast between them and the building managers in Tokyo... More