Description
The value of architecture does not necessarily lie only in how striking its form may be, but in whether it can invite people to stay, gather, remember, and even rebuild their relationship with the surrounding environment. Kengo Kuma: New Works brings together 40 representative projects from more than a decade of Kengo Kuma’s recent practice, ranging from major public buildings, museums, and memorial spaces to residences, temples, and small pavilions, revealing his ongoing exploration of what “place” truly means.
Rather than being arranged chronologically, the projects are reorganized into six themes: “Gathering,” “Experiencing,” “Remembering,” “Retreating,” “Connecting,” and “Inspiring.” This thematic structure allows buildings of entirely different scales, functions, and locations to be considered alongside one another, shifting the focus from simply admiring architectural form to examining how people enter, use, and experience a space.
Featured projects include the Japan National Stadium, Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, Kadokawa Culture Museum, Meiji Jingu Museum, Minamisanriku 311 Memorial, UCCA Clay Museum, and The Exchange. From timber sourced from different regions of Japan and locally rooted clay and craftsmanship to the connections architecture establishes with forests, cities, and communities, the book demonstrates how Kuma’s long-standing interest in the relationship between materials, nature, and people has been extended into larger and increasingly complex public buildings.
What is particularly notable is that the book presents far more than the “wooden architecture” for which Kuma became widely known earlier in his career. As his practice expanded to national stadiums, museums, post-disaster memorial spaces, and major public projects around the world, the questions he confronted became increasingly complex: How can a building respond to local culture? How can it preserve collective memory? How can it encourage interaction among strangers? And how can the inherent character of materials and a human sense of scale be retained within advanced technology and large-scale construction?
Spanning 352 pages, the volume contains 365 illustrations, including 332 color images, accompanied by architectural photography, spatial details, and selected architectural drawings. An introductory essay by Grace La, Chair of the Department of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, reassesses the development of Kuma’s recent practice. Kengo Kuma: New Works is therefore more than a collection of recent projects; it is a considered overview of Kuma’s architectural thinking at a mature stage of his career, moving beyond the “building” itself toward a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between people, materials, nature, communities, and place.
Details
Authors: Kengo Kuma, Grace La
Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
Publication Year: 2026
Size: 30 × 24 cm
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
