Nendo designer biography books

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It is the same feeling I get when I experience something I have never experienced before, like using an unfamiliar object or technology. A play space for children, a lounge and study space for reading books, and a stage that can be used for concerts or public screenings have all been added to the meeting area, and Tenri souvenirs can be purchased at a newly designed shop next to the space.

Every design was created to ensure that the materials and colouring of the interiors matched those of the plaza as closely as possible.

The customer roster includes numerous famous brands that place their trust in nendo’s unique perspective, among them Flos, Cappellini, Fritz Hansen, Shiseido, YKK and SNCF.

Born in Toronto, Canada, in 1977, Oki Sato changed continents to study architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo. They are also arranged at four different heights according to their function, in order to minimise noise levels.

C. Escher, who I am collaborating with on an upcoming exhibition in NGV, Australia. But its range is much broader.

Nendo’s full oeuvre runs the gamut from product packaging for such brands as Coca-Cola and Kenzo to large-scale urban-planning and architecture projects, including Tenri Station Plaza CoFuFun, which populated the space in front of a Japanese rail terminal with a series of conical pavilions, turning it into a sort of urban playground for people of all ages.

Whatever the undertaking, the studio’s approach remains the same: embodying lighthearted insights into the human experience in minimalist forms and details.

Hot on the heels of nendo's 2019 Phaidon monograph, which traced the first 13 years of the studio's prolific output, nendo 2016-2020 shows us what founder Oki Sato and his team did next - an astonishing number of projects in five years. Well, actually she just follows me…

What do you always carry with you in your pocket?

O
S

My phone.

What is always lying on your desk?

O
S

Pens, paper, and often my pet dog Kinnako…

If you could call everyone right now to propose an idea or a project you have in mind — who would it be, and about what?

O
S

It’s a pity that I’m not able to speak personally to M.

He studied architecture at Waseda University but found the program a little too narrow and rigid for his liking.

After graduating, in 2002, he traveled with friends to the Salone del Mobile in Milan and stumbled into the biggest aha moment of his life: He realized that architects could do more than design buildings — they could also design furniture, lighting and other objects.

(Opening December 2 –www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/escher-x-nendo-between-two-worlds/)

If you could change something that is actually impossible to change, what would it be?

O
S

It would be great if there was just one more hour in the day, but I would probably spend it on designing — like all the rest.

Since establishing nendo, you have worked in various design fields, from graphics, lighting and exhibitions to furniture. Because pre-cast concrete moulds are produced at the factory and then assembled on site, the resulting structures are precise and the same mould can be used multiple times to maximise cost-effectiveness. And the architects at the fair appeared to be enjoying plenty of creative freedom while doing so.

Upon returning to Tokyo, he founded Nendo, whose name means “flexible clay” in Japanese, with his classmate Akihiro Ito, the firm’s managing director.

Then I went to Milan with some friends in 2002, and was so excited to see that everyone was designing things so freely that I decided to start nendo and return to Milan the following year as a designer, not a visitor.

We have used the term path of design because it’s impossible to divide your world into individual disciplines.

The project goal was to encourage local community revitalisation by providing a space for events, communication of tourist information and leisure facilities for local residents.

Tenri’s urban boundaries include a number of ancient Japanese tombs known as cofun. The cofun are beautiful and distinctive, yet also blend into the spaces where everyday life goes on in the city.

Of course, there will be a number of technical differences between designing a small piece of chocolate and a large interior space, but in both cases, there will be living human beings coming into contact with the designs. You have been voted Designer of the Year by both Wallpaper and Elle Decor. I have to make up what I lack in exceptional talent with hard work.

I’ll describe it in depth to give you an idea of the broad scope of the ideas involved.

The plan for the 7,700-square-metre area includes cycle rentals, a cafe and other shops as well as an information kiosk, play area, outdoor stage and meeting area.