PLANE—SITE travelled to the Tokyo offices of Kengo Kuma & Associates to discuss the topics of time, space, and existence as they relate to Kuma’s work. He discusses the role of humility in architecture, and his desire to bring architecture and nature closer together. He also discusses Japan’s so-called ‘lost decade’ after the 1991 financial crash, which necessitated his studio’s move from Tokyo to the Japanese countryside. During these years, Kuma worked on smaller scale projects, learning about materials from local craftspeople — “a most fruitful period”, as he recalls in the video. Many of these techniques and ideas influenced his later, bigger projects.
