Interview with Yoshitaka Uchino

Yoshitaka Uchino ("YU") interviewed on Thursday, 18 October.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

YU : I am 14 years in this industry as an architect after I had some experiences at several architect’s office. Actually the first house I designed got prize and a young couple offered me the design for their house, I decided to start my career as an architect. At that time, I strongly design, made models and CGs, create inspiring projects even though I had not given the commissions from the clients. When a subtle chance to realize architectures, I was driven to create ideas for the projects and propose them for the clients. Most of them were in vain, nevertheless few of them were received and they got some fame. As a result, some property companies including Marushima-Sougyou gave me appraisal,and offered me chances to design the big projects including Void in a Forest.

How did you become a designer?

YU : Science, history, and culture and creating something was my favorite things when I was a high school student. The system of the University of Tokyo offered us to select our majors when we were sophomore, I choose Architecture because I just would like to create buildings which were innovative and inspiring and would like to contribute to the world by designing architectures.When I was a university student, Tadao Ando was there as a professor. He insisted to go to several places in the world to get architectural studies and inspirations, so I visited many countries. The experiences by actually visiting several renowned architectures and villages really have tremendous impact on me.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

YU : As I am the principal architect at YDS Architects, we design and create architectures and cities based on five principles. 5 Principles of YDS Architects are below.1. Nature: Light and Wind2. MA, Void3. Spaces of Agora4. Spaces of Path (Roji)5. Symbiosis: Environment and HistoryDriven by these principles and philosophies, we start to design all projects to discuss the important points and issues of them. Nothing is taken for granted for them. After we decides key points to contend with, the beginnings of design must rely on sketches by my hand. We usually make tons of models based on the sketches while discussing with each other. The models we create earlier of the design phase are somewhat simple and abstract one, we heavily rely on the models not on CGs. We create CGs for some studies and making presentations for clients.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

YU : I like the first phase of the projects. Thinking about the concepts and ideas of them are really inspiring and making sketches really fascinates and excites me. Of course, the journey of design considering cost, laws, and customer’s demands also are interesting,and that struggles stirs me up. Nevertheless the first image of the projects are the most important treasures for us because we would like to create inspiring ideas for each and every projects.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

YU : Persistence and emotional will are the most important skills other than design skills. Creating some inspiring images is somewhat easy, but realizing them is really difficult. One must persuade clients and contend with laws, because creating inspiring and new building demands risks which clients would owe and collide with the laws most of the time.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

YU : My carrier as an architect starts from detached house as most architects do,and thanks to many clients I realized several bigger buildings including residential buildings, kindergartens, and social facilities. Architect’s accomplishments are not based upon the size of buildings, rather designing single houses demands special talents and ideas. Nevertheless, I would like to design big architects including museums,airports, commercial complexes and so on. If my ideas would be highly valued by someone, I would like to create urban designs to create cities like Le Corbusier and Kisho Kurokawa did in the past.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

YU : Keep persistence of your own ideas is the most valuable advice for young designers and architects. Inspiring and brand-new ideas and concepts would be rejected at first most of the time. But keep patience and confident on you would break the walls which hinders the realizations of your ideas.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

YU : If you want to be successful as an architect, first you would visit many countries architectures, towns and villages. Seeing the photos or images on the internet is not totally enough. Getting some information on some architectures they are useful,nevertheless only viewing them is not good for nurturing your sense. Sketching the actual buildings gives you tremendous inspirations and knowledge to you.

What is your day to day look like?

YU : The first thing after I got up, I imagine the images and concepts of the projects which we are doing now. When I come to the office,I first clean the office up with colleagues and have meeting what to do the day creating images of the project. I read design and world news every day and get some inspirations from them. When most of the tasks I should do are somewhat ordinary one, I would think about images and sketches of the project which I would like to realize in the future. Although these images are not useful immediately, I believe the concepts and ideas would serve in other projects.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

YU : I don’t follow up the latest design trend, and I stick with my personal styale and philosophies. Although I don’t care about the latest design trend,I strongly care what’s is going on in the world in other area. The attitude towards design is heavily based upon my interests on histories, cultures, political issues and so on, I think this attitude is necessary for me in order to contribute to the world by creating buildings.I value my own images and concepts with philosophies, so although some of the projects in the world really inspires me,I would not like to follow other’s design.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

YU : I highly value architectures that are beautiful and functional, and I don’t value superficial design without philosophies. I think good architectures should be based upon the firm and inspiring concepts. The most important things for architectures are that they are not things but people would live or gather there.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

YU : The architectures should be completed at some time because the agreement of cost and applications of law are needed. When the actual forms and the basic concepts coincide with each other, the design are completed at once.The final phase of the design are always decided viewing the detailed models and mock-ups not CGs or so on. By the actual model, we would be able to figure out whether the final images are the one we have been sought after.Nevertheless, all projects are in progress in design when then even though they are under construction. We change the design while supervising the construction site and we don’t mind the energies and time to make presentations and documents to persuade the clients about the change and the cost. So when the time the constructions are over, it is the time that the design of the projects are done for us. Actually I don’t know if our projects are successful or not, people decide that. But when some flashing come to me, maybe it is when I keep viewing the models or when I walk around thinking about the projects, that the design is the very design I am looking after, the designs would go into final stages with intense force. After that very time, the things we should do are only making drawings and models for getting approval of applications and persuading customers.

What is your biggest design work?

YU : Biggest works for me is creating basic concepts and ideas. While making designs of some particular projects, we would have discussions with other architects over models and sketches, nevertheless without basic concepts and ideas I make, projects never progress. We firmly value these basic concepts and ideas, because these are the ultimate things whether the projects would be inspiring and brand-new. I consider these basic concepts and ideas thinking about our philosophies or get inspirations from the architectures I visited and books of projects by some inspiring architects including Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Tadao Ando, Kisho Kurokawa, and Rem Koolhaas.The best work for me is House-K. Various light and wind go through by inserting a terrace as an outer void into the volume. By putting narrow voids within the house, spaces sterically expand and various light such as top light and light crushed in the walls pour into spaces. One of our intentions is relating single houses to the town.

Who is your favourite designer?

YU : The architects I admire most are five architects : Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Tadao Ando, Kisho Kurokawa, and Rem Koolhaas.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

YU : My favorite cities are New York, Paris. Music is my favorite one and listening to the classic music by Mozart really give me inspirations as well as peace of mind.The Japanese culture has tremendous impacts on my design attitude, for example I design Japanese traditional engawas or pathways in my projects whether it might be a single house or a museum. Nevertheless the biggest impact on me is the way of dealing with the light. Contrary to the Western cultures where the light comes straightly and vertically from the top, the light comes in to the architectures from the horizontally and bounced on the engawas or floors in Japan. From these contrast of dealing with the natural light, I have learned a lot and strive to design based on these method.I am now working on several projects including single houses, residential buildings,offices, commercial buildings, social welfare builidngs and what not.Referring to the historic spaces such as traditional Japanese roji(path) and western plaza, the practice design bountiful and vigorous spaces of plazas and streets in housings. Whether it might be houses, residential buildings, commercial buildings, the practice pursues to design spaces where people would meet and enjoy with each other. Creating squares with trees where people feel nature such as light, wind, air and rain is one of their solutions. By realizing architectures one by one, they intend to stimulate cities and invoke communications between architectures and cities.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

YU : I think it might not be difficult working in my office,YDS Architects. I run this office with partners. Partners I select are those who have tremendous passion for architectures as well as design sense. But the most important part of the talents is sincerity to design, to the society, to the people. I would like to hire people with sincerity, and without sincerity if he or she has special abilities for design, I would not like to hire them. Sincerity is the most important and basic talent in the society I think. Our corporate culture demands not only knowledge and skill of design but also intense passion for architectures with which one would like to create something which are inspiring and brand-new. We would not like to design ordinary buildings. Although some projects have not been realized, the idea and the concept would be reincarnated in other projects. Rather, the thoughts would move even deeper and be crystalized in some unprecedented forms because they have not been built. These unrealized concepts continue to lie hidden deep in minds, and the imaginations of architectures would become stronger, it might bear fruit in unwavering forms. When the intensity of spirits and density of concepts reach to eccentric point, architectures to be built would stimulate human spirits and open up new worlds. Some of the realized projects have been designed upon the ideas with which past projects had not come true. Therefore the practice embraces and values unbuilt concepts and ideas.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

YU : I would like to foster young talents by hiring them as our staffs or nurture their sense for architectures by accepting them as internships. Although the chance of stating my view or making presentations of projects in public are not many now, but I would like to contribute to the society by doing these kind of things.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

YU : The most positive experience by getting involved in this A’ design Award competition is getting chances to compete with the architects worldwide and getting some knowledge of valuations for our projects. The works and concepts of winners are really intrigues me, and I would like to keep involving in this prestigious competition.

Yoshitaka Uchino Profile