Kengo Kuma is one of the most significant contemporary Japanese architects.
Born in Yokohama in 1954, Kuma studied at Tokyo University, graduating in1979.
In 1987 he opened Spatial Design Studio, and in 1990 Kengo Kuma & Associates, based in Tokyo. In 2008 he also opened an office in Paris.
Kuma currently teaches at the Graduate School of Architecture of Tokyo University, while in the past he has taught at Keio University and been a visiting professor at the University of Illinois and Columbia University.
His work has been internationally acknowledged and received prestigious awards such as the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award (Finland), the Grand Prize for JCD Design Award 1995 Cultural / Public Institutions and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize.