Architect and collector, Kyoto
Craft is often rooted in place. This notion is at the core of Tomorrow, a not-for-profit organisation whose projects, led by the architect Shunya Hashizume, make use of the talents of artists, craftspeople and builders; many of their projects take place in the Japanese region of Tango, where the company is based. The ‘Field of Stars’ project in 2023, for example, involved a collaboration between the American artist Teresita Fernández and the Japanese carpenter Shuji Nakagawa, whose work Hashizume collects; it was a natural extension of his interests in landscape-specific approach to craft and design. Focusing on architecture that uses natural materials, Hashizume frequently collaborates with craftspeople in his work. His recent four-year renovation of Taiza Studio, a two-storey building that hosts craft workshops and exhibitions, is a perfect example: Hashizume commissioned leading woodworkers, glassworkers, ceramicists, plaster craftsmen and other artisans to restore this century-old building, whose handsome facade features burnt cedar boards.