JA 109 Spring, 2018

Over the last 30 years Kengo Kuma has been working to re-introduce materials, support skilled craft, and connect people and projects to their surroundings. JA 109 presents his work through the framework of his focus on materiality. Kuma has developed a 3 layer process – materials, methods, and geometry, which is used to guide his work. In practice, this turns into decisions on the type of material used, assembly method, and resulting form. This issue is organized by the material type of each project and is visualized in a diagram that describes his work history. Wood is frequently Kuma’s material of choice and projects such as Sunny Hills Japan and the Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum are featured. Other projects combine materials such as earth, stone, metal, tile, glass, and membranes to showcase the continuous effort that connects each of his works. Text in English and Japanese.