Architect Team

The architect team in charge of the space configuration of the venues of YOKOHAMA 2005.

WORKSTATION (Japan) Established in 1988, and run jointly by Akiko Takahashi (born in Shizuoka in 1958) and Hiroshi Takahashi (born in Tokyo in 1953). Based in the Bashamichi area of Yokohama, WORKSTATION's first project was the Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum in Kochi. Major works include the Nakamachidai Community Center in Yokohama, the Takahashi Wing of the Gifu Kitagata Apartment, the Sakawa Sakuraza Town Hall, and the Playground & Rest House in Nogeyama Zoo. The design of collective housing and community architecture comprises a large proportion of WORKSTATION's current work.

Atelier Bow-wow (Japan) Established in 1992, and directed jointly by Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (born in Kanagawa in 1965) and Momoyo Kaijima (born in Tokyo, Japan in 1969). Major works include Mini House (recipient of Yoshioka Prize and Gold Prize for House Architecture from the Tokyo Society of Architects and Building Engineers), Gae House, Manga Pod (Gwangju Biennale, 2002), and Furnicycle (Shanghai Biennale, 2003). Atelier Bow-wow is also active in urban research projects such as Made in Tokyo and the Pet Architecture Guidebook.

MIKAN (Japan) Established in 1995. Members are Kiwako Kamo (born in Fukuoka in 1962), Masashi Sogabe (born in Fukuoka in 1962), Masayoshi Takeuchi (born in Kanagawa in 1962), and Manuel Tardits (born in Paris, France in 1959). MIKAN was originally established for collaboration on the design of the NHK Nagano Broadcasting Station. Since then, its work has been predominantly on the architecture of projects such as individual homes, nursery schools, group homes and live-music clubs, but it also involved in the broader sphere of design, including furniture and product design. MIKAN handled the design of the TOYOTA GROUP PAVILION and of the French Pavilion Common House at Expo 2005 in Aichi. Current projects include the Ina-Higashi Elementary School in Nagano.

Sou Fujimoto Architects (Japan) Established in 2000 by Sou Fujimoto (born in Hokkaido in 1971). Began his architectural career in Tokyo after graduating from the Department of Architecture in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. Fujimoto worked on a wide range of projects such as houses and medical facilities. He gained an interest in a new approach to architecture positioned somewhere between the man-made and the natural. Ranked second in the Aomori Art Gallery Design Competition in 2000, he went on to win the International Competition for the Annaka Environmental Art Forum in 2003, and is the recipient of many prizes, including the JIA's 'Best Young Architects' Award for 2004.