Kengo Kuma
Advice to the Young

”Travel to the farthest part of the world”

World-renowned architect, Kengo Kuma, shares his advice to young architects.

Kuma explains the importance of traveling to the farthest part of the world at a young age, “it will influence you for the rest of your life”. Kuma also explains how a two-month research trip to the Sahara Desert changed him while studying the villages there.

Kengo Kuma (b. 1954) is considered one of the most significant contemporary Japanese architects. In 1987 he founded the Spatial Design Studio (now Kengo Kuma & Associates) and opened his Paris Studio in 2008. In 1987, he founded the Spatial Design Studio. In 1990, Kengo Kuma & Associates, his own studio was established. During the 1998–1999 academic year, he was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Environmental Information at Keio University. In 2008, Kuma earned a Ph.D. from Keio University. In October 2021 The Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) will open. Kuma is the designer of the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo which has been built for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Kengo Kuma was interviewed at his office in Tokyo by Mette Holm, in May 2020.

Camera: Yudai Maruyama
Edit: Kasper Bech Dyg
Produced by Christian Lund
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2021
Supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond

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