Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Architecture must bridge the gap between human life and the natural environment, an ethos deeply ingrained in Kengo Kuma’s philosophy. Kuma prioritizes harmony with surroundings, using materials like wood and stone that are not only sustainable but also evoke warmth and intimacy. This approach reconnects people with nature while redefining the boundaries of urban spaces. Throughout Kuma’s projects, such as the Japan National Stadium and V&A Dundee in Scotland, Kuma has challenged modernist trends that overemphasize industrial materials like concrete. Instead, he advocates for lightness, transparency, and adaptability—values rooted in Japanese traditions that are also universally resonant.
Kuma pursues “openness and intimacy” in his designs, promoting structures that welcome their surroundings rather than dominate them. By combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, architecture can evolve into spaces that respect both cultural heritage and ecological systems.
In this lecture, Kuma invites architects, designers, and students to reconsider their roles in fostering a symbiotic relationship with nature. Together, we can craft a future where urban landscapes complement their natural contexts rather than compete with them.
Speaker:
Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. He proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings, and established Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA) in 1990. The firm currently has projects underway in more than 50 countries. Kuma is a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, after teaching at Keio University. His major publications include Kengo Kuma Onomatopoeia Architecture Grounding (X-Knowledge), Nihon no Kenchiku (Architecture of Japan, Iwanami Shoten), Zen Shigoto (Kengo Kuma,Complete Works, Daiwa Shobo), Ten Sen Men (Point Line Plane, Iwanami Shoten), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na Kenchiku (Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii-sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), and many others.
00:00 Welcome by Sarah Rafson
01:46 Introduction by Grace La
08:56 Lecture by Kengo Kuma
01:02:44 Q+A
Architecture must bridge the gap between human life and the natural environment, an ethos deeply ingrained in Kengo Kuma’s philosophy. Kuma prioritizes harmony with surroundings, using materials like wood and stone that are not only sustainable but also evoke warmth and intimacy. This approach reconnects people with nature while redefining the boundaries of urban spaces. Throughout Kuma’s projects, such as the Japan National Stadium and V&A Dundee in Scotland, Kuma has challenged modernist trends that overemphasize industrial materials like concrete. Instead, he advocates for lightness, transparency, and adaptability—values rooted in Japanese traditions that are also universally resonant.
Kuma pursues “openness and intimacy” in his designs, promoting structures that welcome their surroundings rather than dominate them. By combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, architecture can evolve into spaces that respect both cultural heritage and ecological systems.
In this lecture, Kuma invites architects, designers, and students to reconsider their roles in fostering a symbiotic relationship with nature. Together, we can craft a future where urban landscapes complement their natural contexts rather than compete with them.
Speaker:
Kengo Kuma was born in 1954. He proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings, and established Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA) in 1990. The firm currently has projects underway in more than 50 countries. Kuma is a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, after teaching at Keio University. His major publications include Kengo Kuma Onomatopoeia Architecture Grounding (X-Knowledge), Nihon no Kenchiku (Architecture of Japan, Iwanami Shoten), Zen Shigoto (Kengo Kuma,Complete Works, Daiwa Shobo), Ten Sen Men (Point Line Plane, Iwanami Shoten), Makeru Kenchiku (Architecture of Defeat, Iwanami Shoten), Shizen na Kenchiku (Natural Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), Chii-sana Kenchiku (Small Architecture, Iwanami Shinsho), and many others.
00:00 Welcome by Sarah Rafson
01:46 Introduction by Grace La
08:56 Lecture by Kengo Kuma
01:02:44 Q+A
