{"product_id":"kengo-kuma","title":"Kengo Kuma","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito, and Fumihiko Maki, \u003cstrong\u003eKengo Kuma has breathed renewed vigor and lightness into Japanese architecture\u003c\/strong\u003e.  Departing from the modernist skyscraper of the 20th century, Kuma  traveled through his native Japan to develop a truly sustainable  approach, translating local craftsmanship and resources into  site-specific, timely buildings. Informed by tradition, and with both  feet firmly planted in the present, this “materialist” heralds \u003cstrong\u003ea new tactile architecture\u003c\/strong\u003e marked by its \u003cstrong\u003eengaging surfaces\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003einnovative structures\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003efluid forms\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003ereconnecting people with the physicality of a house\u003c\/strong\u003e. Kuma’s objective, above all else, is “just to respect the culture and environment of the place where I am working.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e To this end, Kuma shaped the \u003cstrong\u003eChina Academy of Art’s Folk Art Museum\u003c\/strong\u003e partially from discarded roof tiles; created a \u003cstrong\u003eChapel out of birch and moss\u003c\/strong\u003e in Nagano; and worked with local craftsmen to sculpt the \u003cstrong\u003eV\u0026amp;A Dundee\u003c\/strong\u003e  into a twisted, layered reflection of the Scottish coastal cliffs. With  an extraordinary sensitivity for space, light, and texture, Kuma  reveals unexpected qualities in materials, finding the weightlessness of  stone in \u003cstrong\u003eChokkura Plaza\u003c\/strong\u003e and the softness of aluminum in the thatched roof of the \u003cstrong\u003eYangcheng Lake Tourist Transportation Center\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e More recently, the architect brought his philosophy to the \u003cstrong\u003eJapan National Stadium\u003c\/strong\u003e  built for the Olympic Games, originally planned for 2020. Kuma has said  the stadium could be “the catalyst that will transform Tokyo back from a  concrete city. I want it to set an example that will help alter the  direction of Japanese architectural design.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In this monograph with some \u003cstrong\u003e500 illustrations\u003c\/strong\u003e spanning \u003cstrong\u003ephotographs\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003esketches\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eplans\u003c\/strong\u003e, Kuma guides us through his entire career to date, detailing \u003cstrong\u003emilestone projects\u003c\/strong\u003e as well as \u003cstrong\u003eongoing works\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57510122684789,"sku":"9783754404621","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/kengo-kuma","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}