Kayoko Ota is an Architectural Curator/Editor based in Tokyo. After working for AMO, a think tank of the Dutch architectural design firm OMA, she is currently a Specially Appointed Research Fellow at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is involved in the Japanese Urban Research Project and works on the international dissemination of thinking about Japanese cities and architecture. 

She was appointed a Curator at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) from 2018 to 2021; Commissioner of the Japanese Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition; and Advisor to the Chinese Pavilion at the same International Art Exhibition in 2015. From 2004 to 2006, she served as a deputy editor and member of the editorial board of DOMUS magazine. Her major publications include “SHIBUYA! Harvard Graduate Students Think About Shibuya 10 Years from Now” (co-author), “Project Japan: Metabolism Talks...”, “Post-Occupancy” and “Sharing Tokyo.“

Akihisa Hirata is a Japanese architect, born in Osaka in 1971. Completed MA from Kyoto University in 1997. Received MA from the Graduate School of Engineering and Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1997. After working for Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects, established his own office, Akihisa Hirata Architecture Office in 2005. Assigned to Kyoto University since 2015. Currently a professor at Kyoto University.
Major works including Masuya (2006), sarugaku (2008), Bloomberg Pavilion (2011), Art Museum & Library, Ota (2017), Tree-ness House (2017), Overlap House (2018), Center of Yatsushiro Folk Performing Arts (2021), HARAKADO (2024).
Guest lecturer at Bauhaus Dessau, Germany, Harvard GSD. USA, The Architecture Foundation, UK. Solo exhibitions in Tokyo, London, Belgium, and joined A Japanese Constellation: Toyo Ito, SANAA, and Beyond (MoMA, 2016), Milan Design Week and Art Basel.

Akihisa Hirata

Klein Dytham architecture (KDa) is a highly regarded multidisciplinary design practice known for its dynamic approach to architecture, interiors, public spaces, and installations. Established in Tokyo in the early 1990s by Royal College of Art graduates Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, KDa has built a reputation for creating innovative and engaging environments that seamlessly blend functionality with bold, colourful and vibrant aesthetics.

Among their most acclaimed projects are Daikanyama T-SITE and Open House in Bangkok, both recognized by the Financial Times as among 20 of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. Their portfolio continues to expand with notable recent works, including Fender’s Flagship Tokyo, an inventive hinoki wood facade for Cartier in Osaka, and a state-of-the-art music gallery for KEF in Toky0.

Klein Dytham architecture (KDa)

Yusuke Seki is a Tokyo-based designer. After working with major clients like AU and Sony and exhibiting internationally at events such as Milan Salone and Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair, he founded his own studio in 2008. Since then, he has designed a wide range of spaces, including shops, boutiques, candy stores, and salons.

Seki’s design approach focuses on simplicity and minimalism, drawing inspiration from existing elements like materials, location, and history. He reinterprets these into unique, irreplaceable designs that balance function with a deep awareness of context and tradition, linking past methods to future possibilities.

Yuseuke Seki

Tomoki Kato, Ph.D. is a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design, and a president of UEYAKATO LANDSCAPE Co., LTD. He continues to train himself daily in pursuit of an organization of tasteful and professional landscape craftsmen who carry on Japanese garden culture while also creating tradition through their superior skills, sensitivity, and aesthetic taste.
At Kyoto University of the Arts, he is currently engaged in garden research that is grounded in practical learning. He gives frequent lectures both in Japan and abroad, including the 2014 and 2018 keynote speeches at the international conference of the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA).

UEYAKATO LANDSCAPE Co., LTD.

Murinan (無鄰菴)

Reiko Sudo is one of Japan’s most influential contemporary textile designers, celebrated for her innovative use of materials, sustainable manufacturing techniques, and dedication to preserving Japanese textile traditions. As Design Director of Nuno, the textile design firm she co-founded in 1984, Sudo combines traditional Japanese dyeing and weaving with cutting-edge technologies and unconventional materials like silk, metal, paper, and cotton. Her work spans from large-scale industrial production to unique, artful pieces.

Beyond Nuno, Sudo has played key roles in major design initiatives, including fabric planning for MUJI and sustainability projects with the Tsuruoka Textile Industry Cooperative. She serves on the Japan Design Committee and has been recognized with numerous honors, such as the Mainichi Design Award and the Japan Interior Design Association Award. She is also an Emerita Professor at Tokyo Zokei University and holds an honorary MA from the University for the Creative Arts in the UK.

NUNO: https://www.nuno.com/en/

Kaoru Hashimoto is a real estate developer, designer, and the president/executive director of several organizations based in Gunma, including TOWN Development Inc., Maebashi Machinaka Agency Inc., and Donuts LLC. He has played a key role in the revitalization and development of neighborhoods in Maebashi City. Recent projects in the area have involved prominent Japanese architects such as Sou Fujimoto, Akihisa Hirata, and Yuko Nagayama.

TOWN development Inc.

Maebashi Machinaka Agency

Donuts LLC

Kayoko Ota is an Architectural Curator/Editor based in Tokyo. After working for AMO, a think tank of the Dutch architectural design firm OMA, she is currently a Specially Appointed Research Fellow at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is involved in the Japanese Urban Research Project and works on the international dissemination of thinking about Japanese cities and architecture. 

She was appointed a Curator at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) from 2018 to 2021; Commissioner of the Japanese Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition; and Advisor to the Chinese Pavilion at the same International Art Exhibition in 2015. From 2004 to 2006, she served as a deputy editor and member of the editorial board of DOMUS magazine. Her major publications include “SHIBUYA! Harvard Graduate Students Think About Shibuya 10 Years from Now” (co-author), “Project Japan: Metabolism Talks...”, “Post-Occupancy” and “Sharing Tokyo.“

Akihisa Hirata is a Japanese architect, born in Osaka in 1971. Completed MA from Kyoto University in 1997. Received MA from the Graduate School of Engineering and Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1997. After working for Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects, established his own office, Akihisa Hirata Architecture Office in 2005. Assigned to Kyoto University since 2015. Currently a professor at Kyoto University.
Major works including Masuya (2006), sarugaku (2008), Bloomberg Pavilion (2011), Art Museum & Library, Ota (2017), Tree-ness House (2017), Overlap House (2018), Center of Yatsushiro Folk Performing Arts (2021), HARAKADO (2024).
Guest lecturer at Bauhaus Dessau, Germany, Harvard GSD. USA, The Architecture Foundation, UK. Solo exhibitions in Tokyo, London, Belgium, and joined A Japanese Constellation: Toyo Ito, SANAA, and Beyond (MoMA, 2016), Milan Design Week and Art Basel.

Akihisa Hirata

Tomoki Kato, Ph.D. is a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design, and a president of UEYAKATO LANDSCAPE Co., LTD. He continues to train himself daily in pursuit of an organization of tasteful and professional landscape craftsmen who carry on Japanese garden culture while also creating tradition through their superior skills, sensitivity, and aesthetic taste.
At Kyoto University of the Arts, he is currently engaged in garden research that is grounded in practical learning. He gives frequent lectures both in Japan and abroad, including the 2014 and 2018 keynote speeches at the international conference of the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA).

UEYAKATO LANDSCAPE Co., LTD.

Murinan (無鄰菴)

Reiko Sudo is one of Japan’s most influential contemporary textile designers, celebrated for her innovative use of materials, sustainable manufacturing techniques, and dedication to preserving Japanese textile traditions. As Design Director of Nuno, the textile design firm she co-founded in 1984, Sudo combines traditional Japanese dyeing and weaving with cutting-edge technologies and unconventional materials like silk, metal, paper, and cotton. Her work spans from large-scale industrial production to unique, artful pieces.

Beyond Nuno, Sudo has played key roles in major design initiatives, including fabric planning for MUJI and sustainability projects with the Tsuruoka Textile Industry Cooperative. She serves on the Japan Design Committee and has been recognized with numerous honors, such as the Mainichi Design Award and the Japan Interior Design Association Award. She is also an Emerita Professor at Tokyo Zokei University and holds an honorary MA from the University for the Creative Arts in the UK.

NUNO: https://www.nuno.com/en/