Interviews with Kazunobu Nakamura

Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Architecture in 2000, at the top of this class.

I started working in the architectural industry, but instead of focusing on architectural design, which focuses on facades and the connections between spaces, I wanted to focus on how to design a single interior space, so I switched to spatial design.

At the same time, as an art activity, he began presenting installation works based on the theme of organic shapes that exist in the natural world, and has continued to do so up to the present.

The goal of my design is to manifest and realize the seeds of design that I have found, that is, the trivial elements that only I find attractive, into a form that everyone can understand.

Whenever I encountered life's choices, I picked and chose what I loved to do with my life and ended up in the profession of designer.

I am not a design legend, but I hope to become one someday. I don't know how to become one yet, so I continue to search for the answer to that question on a daily basis.

I think a great designer is able to create something fresh with unknown values.

I think that what a great designer creates is a design made within the scope of existing values.

I would like to consider design study to create works that abstract and manifest beautiful things in nature, such as trees, clouds, flowing water, and mountain ridges.

I would like to turn this study into reality through actual interior and installation design.

Unfortunately, I don't know yet. I'm still searching for that answer, too.

I am inspired by old Japanese painters who expressed majestic undulations and streams with a single brushstroke.

Kano Eitoku, Hasegawa Tohaku, Maruyama Okyo, Katsushika Hokusai, and others.

The large tree that covers the screen and the undulating branches and leaves that surround it, as represented by Eitoku Kano's "Hinokizu Byobu(Cypress Trees Screen)".

The rippling, raging river represented by "Hozugawa Folding Screen" by Okyo Maruyama.

Hokusai Katsushika's "Fugaku Sanjurokkei/Kanagawa Okinamiura" is known overseas as "The Great Wave" because of its huge waves that seem to engulf the entire space.

These motifs of organic forms of nature, with their irregular shapes and dynamic brushstrokes, create a flow in the space and beautiful depth and expanse.

I continue to work on designs every day, believing that my most outstanding works are those that have yet to be realized, but will be realized in the future.

I believe that the way to become a better designer is not to be satisfied with one's current situation, not to be satisfied with one's past work, and to continue striving to create better work.

I think he wanted to be a sculptor or a contemporary artist, etc. In that case, he would have wanted to be an artist who could create art that has eternity.

I want to create as many works of art as possible that will remain in people's hearts and be loved long after my life is over.

That may be Kikuchi City Central Library.

Seven years have passed since the library opened, and the children who attended and studied at the library when it first opened are now adults.

I was very happy to hear that they are proud of this library and that their life choices were influenced by their encounter with this library.

The design period for most jobs is one year or more from conception to the creation of the implementation design.

Most projects, regardless of size, take several years to complete, counting from the initial planning stage.

When designing a space in an empty space, my mind is always empty at the beginning.

I seek various stimuli in order to spark ideas in my mind that are suitable for this place.

First, I gather information on the characteristics of the place, the functions required, and the ideal image sought, and turn this information into the seeds of a design.

And I aim to create new value by crossing these with the design studies.

Technology is one of the ways I use to materialize the images in my mind.

I think technology is a great tool for exploring concrete forms while examining real-world dimensions and structures.

I like materials that are less assertive as materials.

Many space designers utilize the strong expression of the material itself, such as stone or solid wood, in their designs.

However, I prefer plain, less assertive materials that purely express form and structure.

I always want my materials to be like "water.

Sometimes it forms the surface of water, sometimes it flows like a river, sometimes it breaks up into small pieces and becomes rain, and sometimes it drifts around in the space and becomes fog.

Although they are made of the same material, their appearance is plain and changeable, without any sense of materiality.

It leaves a strong impression of form rather than asserting itself as a material.

I want the material to be like that.

As a boy, I was a child who loved to make sculptures.

I loved the scenery that sculptures, or organic objects, created in space.

I wanted to work with this feeling, so I decided to become a designer and studied architecture at university.

I studied architecture at university and became a designer of spaces.

At the same time, as an art activity, he has been presenting installation works based on the theme of organic shapes as they exist in the natural world.

Design is creation that begins with a request from others or consultation from others about a problem.

Art is creation that begins with inspiration that comes from within myself.

Most jobs have many restrictions, and the client's image of what he or she wants is often limited. And design tolerances are often limited.

What I like is work that is tolerant. It depends greatly on the stance of the client.

I like the freedom of work that allows me to use the artistic ideas that spring up within me to solve the client's problems and methods.

The ideal of my work is a rich space created by irregular shapes. The Japanese garden has an amorphous element such as a pond that reflects light on the water surface and creates a cool scenery at its center, and the changes in space created by the amorphous shape characterize the surrounding place and give expression to the entire space. The undulating, asymmetrical path that surrounds it invites people. Beautiful trees filled with the wind cover the road, creating a tunnel of green shade that creates an indescribable sense of depth to the light-filled place at the end. Also, Japanese screen paintings various natural shapes with dynamic brush strokes in a space that should be empty, bringing a richness of space to life. Various forms of nature such as trees have been loved the indefinite form that creates beautiful spaces. Pouring rain, Old pine tree covering the air, Clouds adorning the sky, Mist and Fog. Their shape has the power to rich the space. These motifs of organic forms of nature, with their irregular shapes and dynamic brushstrokes, create a flow in the space and beautiful depth and expanse.

At the beginning of my career, I designed a small bookstore.

It was there that I learned manners toward books. That may be applied to the design of library.

I like materials that are less assertive as materials.

Many space designers utilize the strong expression of the material itself, such as stone or solid wood, in their designs.

However, I prefer plain, less assertive materials that purely express form and structure.

When designing a space in an empty space, my mind is always empty at the beginning.

I seek various stimuli in order to spark ideas in my mind that are suitable for this place.

I gather information on the characteristics of the place, the functions required, and the ideal image sought, and turn this information into the seeds of a design.

It gives me great pleasure when it is a space that emanates from my own imagination and is realized.

Vibrant Japanese screen paintings.

I believe that the sliding screen paintings and folding screen paintings in the interior of ancient Japanese architecture may have contributed to the depth and breadth of the space. Imagine if these sho-byobu paintings had been plain white, what you would see would be an inorganic, lonely, wretched, empty space in a simple Japanese architecture composed only of horizontal and vertical lines. In the space that should have been empty, a rich space emerges by depicting various forms of nature with dynamic brushstrokes.

The large tree that covers the screen and the undulating branches and leaves that surround it, as represented by Eitoku Kano's "Hinokizu Byobu(Cypress Trees Screen)".

The rippling, raging river represented by "Hozugawa Folding Screen" by Okyo Maruyama.

Although not a wall painting, Hokusai Katsushika's "Fugaku Sanjurokkei/Kanagawa Okinamiura" is known overseas as "The Great Wave" because of its huge waves that seem to engulf the entire space.

These motifs of organic forms of nature, with their irregular shapes and dynamic brushstrokes, create a flow in the space and beautiful depth and expanse.

I live in Yokohama-city, Japan.

Yokohama is an easy place to get to anywhere in Japan.

Living in Japan, I believe that the values of Japanese culture have become ingrained in me.

The air, clouds, fog, and rivers that can be felt in the land of Japan.

Japanese gardens and art designed with these motifs.

By being in this place, one can always feel these tastes directly on my skin.

It's hard for me to narrow it down to five items.

I believe that design is born from chaos.

My desk, surrounded by miscellaneous materials and models, is the most comfortable place for me to imagine design.

The miscellaneous models created by my past self inspire me now. They are placed in a seemingly chaotic space.

I believe there is a golden rule in nature.

Clouds, the flow of water, the undulation of mountain peaks, the shape of leaves and petals

They are always beautiful.

I think the most important skill for a designer is the unquenchable desire to create something.

Since this desire is not present in all people, I think the most important skill is to have that feeling of craving come from one's own heart.

The natural landscape of forests, rivers, and mountains, books on ancient Japanese design theory, ancient Japanese art such as folding screen paintings, and organically designed Japanese gardens are sources of inspiration.

The most important use of time is early in the morning and before bedtime.

During those times before the world is on-time, you can organize and reset your mind and set an on-time work schedule.

The design period for most jobs is one year or more from conception to the creation of the implementation design.

Most projects, regardless of size, take several years to complete, counting from the initial planning stage.

The success of Kikuchi City Central Library is very important to my career.

Sometimes we work in teams, sometimes we work individually.

It depends on how things come together at the time.

I can communicate in English, such as by e-mail, but I cannot speak or hear English.