Photographer: Guillaume Satre | ArchDaily

21 Projects Where Kengo Kuma (Re)Uses Materials in Unusual Ways

José Tomás Franco — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Kengo Kuma uses materials to connect with the local context and the users of his projects. The textures and elementary forms of constructive systems, materials, and products, are exhibited and used in favor of the architectural concept, giving value to the functions that will be carried out in each building.

From showcases made with ceramic tiles to the sifted light created by expanded metal panels, passing through an ethereal polyester coating, Kuma understands the material as an essential component that can make a difference in architecture from the design stages. Next, we present 21 projects where Kengo Kuma masterfully uses construction materials.

Landscape House / Mabire Reich

Cristian Aguilar — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 15:00:00 +0000

Extending a house means reducing the exterior space of a plot. The theme of the project that we developed for the “landscape house” is the restitution of an exterior space. The site of the project is located in Nantes (France), in an area established on a ridge of the Armorican Massif. The 300m² plot hosts at its bottom a small house as a testimony to the past worker of the neighborhood.

Spotlight: Kengo Kuma

Dario Goodwin — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 04:30:00 +0000

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 its built in. 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.

Reconstructed Past / MABIRE REICH Architectes

Daniel Tapia — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 12:00:00 +0000

Close from what it must have looked like when it was inaugurated, college Jean Mermoz is a typical witness of scholar architecture from the ’60s. We took the opportunity of the need, the extension of the meal facilities and the creation of the sciences cluster, to rethink progress and links between the different buildings, and redefine a new identity.

Puzzle House / Mabire Reich

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 01:00:00 +0000

To extend a house, is to add an extra layer in an existing building, which sometimes allows to see the previous ones. The house we had to extend, close to the Procé park in Nantes, is a clear example of this layering process, picture of the time passing through the changing needs of the previous owners.

Macdonald Public Facility Complex / Kengo Kuma & Associates

Daniela Cardenas — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 02:00:00 +0000

The creation of a public equipments complex within the warehouse Macdonald allows to realize the link between existing architecture and architecture to come, revealing the needs and developments of a changing society. It is also the pretext of the connexion between traditional processes and contemporary needs.Existing warehouse’s architect, Marcel Forest, described it as a base, convenient to the reception of future extensions.This one will be realized by a light metallic structure, a support of a big linear roof sheltering an ensemble of public services.

Organic Vegetables Transformation Plant / Mabire Reich

Karen Valenzuela — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 03:00:00 +0000

A Short Food Supply Chain Project.

Schuman Bridge / Explorations Architecture

Daniel Sánchez — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:00:00 +0000

The Schuman bridge is located in the Saône corridor, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It forms a new entryway to the historic center of Lyon, the second largest city in France.