Kengo Kuma and Associates

Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. Before founding Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990, he received his degree in architecture from the University of Tokyo, where he is currently a professor of architecture. Having been inspired by Kenzo Tange's Yoyogi National Gymnasium, built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Kengo Kuma decided to pursue his architectural studies at a young age and later went on to follow the architecture program at the University of Tokyo, where he studied under Hiroshi Hara and Yoshichika Uchida. During his graduate studies, he made a research trip through the Sahara, exploring different villages and settlements, observing the unique power of beauty. After a period as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York, he established his office in Tokyo. Since then, Kengo Kuma & Associates has designed architectural works in over twenty countries and received prestigious awards, including the Japan Award Architectural Institute, the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award (Finland) and the International Stone Architecture Award (Italy). Kengo Kuma & Associates aims to design architecture that blends naturally with culture and the surrounding environment, designing buildings on a human scale. The office is constantly looking for new materials to replace cement and steel, seeking a new approach to architecture in a post-industrial society