Pritzker Prize winning architect Arata Isozaki dies aged 91
Arata Isozaki, one of the most influential post-war architects, is renowned for connecting East and West, global and local, raising questions that transcend eras and borders.
Japanese calligraphy inspires Sabina Blasiotti’s furniture design collection
SABI creates a furniture family informed by the ink-black swift strokes of Japanese calligraphy. “Each piece possesses its own expressional character,” the studio founder Sabina Blasiotti told Archipanic.
Biennale Arte 2022: 10 national pavilions with great architecture and design
Biennale Arte 2022: surreal environments inspired by William S. Burroughs, Parisian bistros and black women-powered settings. We selected 10 must-see national pavilions in Venice.
Homo Faber 2022 celebrates high craftsmanship from Europe and Japan
Until May 1, Homo Faber 2022 takes over the Island of San Giorgio with 15 exhibitions pushing the boundaries of craftsmanship while focusing on the importance of international and cross-generational collaboration.
Iconic Nagakin Capsule Tower in Tokyo set to be demolished on April 12
Despite local and international efforts to save it from the wrecking ball, the Nagakin Capsule Tower will be replaced by a brand-new building. But some of the cuboid capsules composing it might be saved from demolition, restored and hosted in museums.
Maison & Objet 2022: 7 Japanese rising talents shine in Paris
Dancing paper, PVC hand blowing, mathematical clay vessels and inflatable leather… 7 Japanese rising talents experiment with materials exploring new aesthetics at Maison & Objet 2022.
Cross-laminated timber fins wrap Kengo Kuma’s CLT Park Harumi pavilion in Tokyo
Kengo Kuma’s CLT Park Harumi recreational venue is dressed with a skin of wooden leaves filtering light like trees in a forest.
The best of Tokyo Olympics’ architecture, empty but great!
Kengo Kuma, Kenzo Tange and Fumihiko Maki but also Tange Associates, Kume Sekkei and more… Tokyo Olympics’ architecture is cross-generational and great, even if we can’t be there!
The best design and architecture of 2020 Tokyo Olympics is on Pinterest!
We have created a Pinterest board rounding up what we liked the most at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Check it out!
LET’S GO, BBC Tokyo Olympics Trail magically reimagines the vibrant host city
LET’S GO, BBC Tokyo Olympics trail by Nexus Studios and Factory Fifteen pays homage to the Japanese capital blending pop culture with sport.
Nendo unveils the Hyouri lanterns collection at the Life in Vogue virtual exhibition
Made from bamboo, washi paper and translucent silk, the Hyouri collection pays tribute to traditional Kyoto lanterns and comprises designs that “seem to swallow parts of themselves.”
Shigeru Ban designs transparent public toilets in Shibuya, Tokyo
The transparent public toilets by the Pritzker Prize winner are part of a larger project inviting to literally see through and leave behind the usual cliches of parks loos.
Studio Velocity designs a curved roof office building in Japan
There is a delicate balance of gravity and tension in the ‘Sannouno’ office building by Studio Velocity in Japan. The architecture features a white convivial curved roof and a randomly-disposed forest of wooden columns.
Fuorisalone 2020: 4 digital formats announced in the wake of Salone del Mobile 2020 cancelation due to COVID-19
Fuorisalone 2020: in April and from 15 to 21 June the Milan Design Week diffused festival extend its influence digitally with ‘Fuorisalone TV’ and ‘Fuorisalone Meets’ virtual platforms as well as special e-fairs dedicated to Chinese and Japanese design.
Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic
Japanese PM and International Olympic Committee announced that Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been postponed “no later than summer 2021” due to coronavirus.
Tokyo Olympics’ design: up-cycled medals and retro-style pictograms
Tokyo Olympics’ design: medals made from discarded smartphones, torches upcycling temporary constructions in the wake of the Fukushima calamity and pictograms inspired by the icons firstly introduced for Tokyo 1964 Games.
Cherry blossoms inspired Tokujin Yoshioka to design the Tokyo 2020 Olympics’ torch as a symbol of peace
Japanese Designer Tokujin Yoshioka unveils new images of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch which is made from recycled aluminium originally used in the construction of prefabricated housing units in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
Toyota Woven City: BIG and Toyota unveil the prototype ‘city of the future’ in Japan
Toyota Woven City, the sustainable urban development and living laboratory at the foothills of Mount Fuji will bring together sharing-economy, self driving mobility and smart homes in a fully connected ecosystem powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Junya Ishigami’s gravity defying hill made of rocks
Serpentine Pavilion 2019: a hill made of rocks informed by the natural world appears to emerge from the lawn of Kensington Gardens in London.
TAKT Project’s GLOW-GROW exhibition goes beyond natural and artificial
A line of light glimmers, grows and drips at Ventura Centrale. The GLOW-GROW installation by TAKT Projects combines natural and artificial processes.
Pinterest: discover the work of 2019 Pritzker Prize laureate Arata Isozaki
An inflatable mobile concert hall, a brutalist/metabolist library and a spiraling steel tower are among the prominent projects of Arata Isozaki, the 2019 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate. Discover more in our dedicated gallery.
MELT glass furniture by Nendo for Wonderglass is formed from gravity
As a teaser of a Milan design week major exhibition, WonderGlass presents MELT, a furniture and table top collection by Nendo exploring the molten liquid nature of glass.
mui wood panel connects with your smart home with a humble and tech-healthy approach
New smart technologies are demanding and intrusive. What if we could manage them with just a hand swipe? mui is the connected humble wood panel empowering IoT and sponsoring intimacy at the same time.
THE FLOW OF TIME immersive installation captures the essence of time
Japanese luxury watch brand Grand Seiko debuted in Miami with THE FLOW OF TIME immersive exhibition revealing the transience of time.
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS: Nendo dialogues with Escher’s iconic graphic artwork at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria
The ESCHER x NENDO | BETWEEN TWO WORLDS exhibition brings together the intriguing and deceiving genius of MC. Escher with site-specific designs created by nendo.
Denqul: Nendo designs an emergency muscle-powered battery
Japanese design studio Nendo designed DENQUL, a mobile battery which can charge smartphones by swiveling it with one hand.
Mikiya Kobayashi designs a quirky doughnut-inspired stool for the pool
A doughnut-inspired stool by Mikiya Kobayashi brings a spark of humour and good fun by the swimming pool.
Nendo’s Watercolour collection looks like is made of painted paper
Nendo debuts at Design Basel 2018 with the poetic Watercolour collection: steel furniture were treated to look like they were cut our from a paper sheet with bleeding blue-hues.
Hiroto Yoshizoe’s indirect lighting design creates a floating constellation of moons
Japanese designer Hiroto Yoshizoe created a hanging constellation of moons: mirrored disks and cones reflect light re-creating a sidereal gravity-free and sparkling effect within the room.
AGC’s innovative sound-generating glass opens new paths for architecture and design
What if our furniture could play music or if stores windows were able to talk? The sound-generating glass presented by Asahi Glass Company in Milan with a poetic installation by Motosuke Mandai expands the potentials of the material.