Kengo Kuma and Associates: The Latest Architecture and News

Scheduled to open in the summer of 2021, the H.C. Andersen’s House is a new museum, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates in Odense, Denmark. Reinterpreting the story of the Danish author’s life and work, the project “will provide a unique artistic experience, which combines landscape, architecture and modern exhibition design”.

Kengo Kuma & Associates has designed a series of luxury villas for a new tourism development in Saudi Arabia. The project was commissioned by The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) as part of The Red Sea Project. Featuring seven typologies, the design will include villas built on land and overwater. The project aims to set new standards in sustainable development as a global tourism destination.

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Kengo Kuma & Associates and Mad Arkitekter won the competition for the new Ibsen Library in Skien, Norway. Working with BuroHappold Engineering, the team created the design to celebrate the renowned playwright Henrik Ibsen. As a new cultural center for the city, the project creates multiple access points across multiple floors to form a welcoming environment. The library aims to make Ibsen’s drama and literature accessible to everyone.

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Taller de Arquitectura Carmelina&Aurelio, by Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Mexico, has launched a coloring book with illustrations of famous architectural works. Due to the success of the first edition, the studio has just published the second volume of the series, with illustrations of works by Zaha Hadid, Kengo Kuma, Rozana Montiel, BIG, and Eileen Gray. The digital book in PDF format is available for free on the studio website.

As architecture is increasingly reliant on renderings to convey its message and depict the unbuilt, many practices turn to seasoned 3D artists to help them portray their designs in the most favourable light; thus they externalize visualizations to a handful of firms. 

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The Kaira Looro Architecture Competition to support humanitarian projects has released its full list of winning projects for an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The contest, already in its 4^th edition, aims to raise awareness among the international community about emergencies in developing countries, and support humanitarian projects in Africa.

Kengo Kuma Associates and K2LD Architects have won the competition to design the new Singapore Founders Memorial. Selected from 193 submissions, the project is made to honor Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, as well as those leaders that played significant roles in the city-state’s path to independence. The jury unanimously selected the winning design for its response to the brief and site, emphasizing Singapore as a “City in a Garden” while allowing for future growth.

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Set to officially open by Spring of 2020, Ace Hotel Kyoto, designed by Kengo Kuma, is a 213- room hotel in Japan. With a program that stretches over a newly built part and an existing historical fragment, that once hosted the Kyoto Central Telephone Company created by Tetsuro Yoshida, the structure is envisioned as a "Cultural Catalyst".

As 2019 winds down, we're taking a look ahead to the projects we're most looking forward to in 2020. With a mix of cultural and commercial programs, the designs are located across five continents, with many under construction for multiple years. Designed across a wide range of scales, they represent a mix of interconnected landscapes, museums, and the world's newest skyscrapers. 

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Global smart phone brand OPPO teamed up with Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to create a large outdoor installation at 2019 London Design Festival. Called ‘Bamboo (竹) Ring: Weaving into Lightness’, the project is installed in the John Madejski Garden at the V&A Museum for the duration of the festival. Inspired by the Garden and curated by Clare Farrow, the doughnut-shaped structure has been created by weaving rings of bamboo and carbon fiber together.

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Designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA), and led by partner Yuki Ikeguchi, the Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM) just opened in Eskisehir, Turkey. The project aims to promote Turkish art and make a cultural contribution to the city of Eskisehir.

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Design:ED Podcast is an inside look into the field of architecture told from the perspective of individuals that are leading the industry. This motivational series grants unique insight into the making of a successful design career, from humble beginnings to worldwide recognition. Every week, featured guests share their personal highs and lows on their journey to success, that is sure to inspire audiences at all levels of the industry. Listening to their stories will provide a rare blueprint for anyone seeking to advance their career, and elevate their work to the next level.

In this episode of Design:ED Podcast, host Aaron Prinz speaks with Kengo Kuma about why he chose to be an architect, what difficulties architects face when starting their own office, and how has cross-cultural education influenced his work.

Kengo Kuma (born 8th August, 1956) is one of the most significant Japanese figures in contemporary architecture. His reinterpretation of traditional Japanese architectural elements for the 21st century has involved serious innovation in uses of natural materials, new ways of thinking about light and lightness and architecture that enhances rather than dominates. His buildings don't attempt to fade into the surroundings through simple gestures, as some current Japanese work does, but instead his architecture attempts to manipulate traditional elements into statement-making architecture that still draws links with the area in which it's built. These high-tech remixes of traditional elements and influences have proved popular across Japan and beyond, and his recent works have begun expanding out of Japan to China and the West.

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Kengo Kuma & Associates have proposed a new 40-story mixed-use skyscraper incorporating a historic Gothic Revival facade in Seattle. Located in the Belltown neighborhood, the project would reuse the ornate five-story Bebb & Gould’s Terminal Sales Annex facade. Made in collaboration with Ankrom Moisan Architects and the landscape architecture firm Berger Partnership, the project aims to reinforce the Gothic and Art Deco heritage of Seattle’s downtown.

The winners of the Kaira Loo Competition have been announced, dedicated to the design of a Peace Pavilion to be built in the city of Sedhiou, southern Senegal. The objective of the competition was to create a symbolic structure serving as a memorial to the victims of African wars, and that would sensitize the local and international community by creating a commemorative and educational space that respects both the environment and local traditions.

The Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM) by Kengo Kuma and Associates will open in June 2019, situated in Eskişehir, a university town in the northwest of Turkey. The OMM will feature an internationally significant collection of modern and contemporary art, showcased within a scheme designed by the architect behind the recently-completed V&A Dundee.

The 4,500-square-meter scheme is defined by a distinctive stacked timber design, drawing inspiration from Odunpazari’s traditional Ottoman wooden cantilevered houses that are synonymous with the district, and pays homage to the town’s history as a thriving wood market. Along with several other city museums in the surrounding area, OMM will create a museum square and public meeting place in the town.

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Hot on the heels of its lavish breakthrough Milan store, Starbucks has opened yet another striking and innovatively-designed coffee house. However, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma's design associates an entirely different mood with the company's coffee beverages.

Starbucks Taiwan the company’s first location in the Asia Pacific, consists of 29 white shipping containers, shifted and stacked in a grid-like formation. Within the containers’ 3,444 sqft (320 sqm) of space are a variety of intimate and comfortable spaces. A drive-thru is also incorporated into the design to maximize the store’s convenience to its customers.

Videos

The V&A Dundee, in collaboration with Rapid Visual Media, have released drone footage and imagery ahead of the building’s opening, marking Kengo Kuma’s first UK project. The footage showcases the new museum jutting out into Dundee’s River Tay, inspired by the cliffs of Scotland.

The museum is formed of 2,500 pre-cast concrete panels hung from complex curving walls, casting shadows which vary depending on weather conditions. As well as being Kuma’s first UK building, the V&A Dundee is also the first dedicated design museum in Scotland.

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