Yamazaki Kentaro, born in 1976, is an eclectic architect who draws inspiration for his projects from his travels around the world, bringing sensations and perceptions back into his work. We involved him with his 2015 Kashiwa House project, in our book "Japanese Contemporary House. Small anthology of floating spaces", published by Lettera22 Edizioni.
The project leaves complete freedom of usability on the part of the user, generating a fluid space as the maximum expression of the flexibility of the architecture.
Listening to the needs of those who will "live" his projects and the sensations released by the external environment influence, in our opinion, his creations, giving them that material detail and specific care that make them directly connectable to his approach. planning.
Let's start with the first question to break the ice: How do you get your tea?
I like to drink tea while watching people walking around, or being surrounded by the
crowds in the city.
To this day, what do you think is your most significant and representative work of your design approach? Is there a project that you consider emblematic to tell who are you?
Hakusui Nursery School is an emblematic project to show how my design approach
works.
The most important thing in my design approach, is to listen to what the site are telling.
The site of Hakusui Nursery School is a slope and is surrounded by lush trees.
The architecture appears as a materialized translation, from the wind flow and rain in
the site into an environment for children.
© Naoomi Kurozumi
What do you think is a decisive project (of others) for your professional career? Who do you consider your teacher or an important reference for your work?
I learn from architectures, towns and landscapes that I encounter during traveling, and
my projects are also significantly influenced by them. For example, the humane
architectures created by Asplund, Aalto, and Östberg alway teach me a lot. In addition, the
chaotic landscape of Varanasi in India and the beauty created by the harmony between
the agricultural landscape created by the Vineyard in Napa Valley and human activities are
also unforgettable to me. Though these do not appear directly in my project, nor my
designs clearly associated with them, but they are still undoubtedly important during the
design process of my architectures.
What will be the direction for the future of Japanese home architecture? Climate change, the aging of the population, the evolution of our daily habits due to the pandemic, which changes can affect the living spaces of tomorrow and how?
It is difficult to predict how Japanese home architecture will evolve in the future.
What we can say, however, is that through architecture, we may be able to recall what
have been forgotten during the modern era of pursuing functionality and rationality.
For example, the comfort of the breeze felt on the porch can help us regain our physical
senses. Or a device that accepts others to come in, such as the dirt floor, may remind us
the connection with people is not some little closed circle only in the family, but could be
opened in a slightly wider community.
YAMAZAKI KENTARO DESIGN WORKSHOP
1976 Born in Chiba, Japan
2002 Graduated the university of Kogakuin with M.A.
2002 Worked at Irie Miyake Architects & engineers.
2008 Established Architectural design firm Yamazaki Kentaro Design Workshop
2014 Lecture at Kogakuin University
2017 Lecture at Tokyo University of Science and Lecture at Meiji University (~2020)
2018 Lecture at Tokyo Metropolitan University (~2019) and Lecture at Waseda University
2019 Lecture at Hosei University
2020 GOOD DESIGN AWARD Jury members
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