nextmaruni CHAIR MUSEUM :Design ::Designers


Alberto Meda Born in Lenno Tremezzina (Como) in 1945. Master in Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico of Milan in 1969. From 1973 to 1979, technical manager of Kartell. In 1979, he starts as a freelance industrial designer for various companies; Alfa Romeo Auto(1981-1986) etc. From 1983 to 1987, lecturer on industrial technology at Domus Academy. Since 1994, the Museum of Modern Art in New York includes in its Design Collection; "Light light" chair in 1987, "Soft light" chair in 1989, "On-Off" lamp by Luceplan in 1988, and "Longframe" by Alias in 1993. Meda Chair(Vitra) was awarded I.D design review - 'Best of category' in 1997, 'Good design Gold Prize' of Japan in the next year. A personal exhibition at Salon du Meuble in Paris in 1999. In 2003, he was awarded Reddot award for Iittala Knives. He works and lives in Milan.

Harri Koskinen URL : www.harrikoskinen.com Harri Koskinen was born in Finland in 1970 and studied design at the Lahti Design Institute and University of Art and Design of Helsinki. He worked for Iittala and other manufactures as a freelance designer beginning in 1996 while he was still a student. He established an industrial design company, Friends of Industry Ltd. in 2000. His first solo exhibition was presented at the MDS-G in Tokyo in 2000. He works with a wide range of products, from glasswares to speakers, wristwatches and furniture. Clients: Altia, Arabia, Finlandia Vodka Worldwide, Genelec, Hackman, iittala, Woodnotes; Finland. Issey Miyake Inc, Muji, Seiko Instruments Inc.; Japan. Danese, Montina, O luce, Venini; Italy. Asplund, Design House Stockholm, Kallemo; Sweden. Beaute Prestige International, Galerie Kreo; France. Svarowski; Switzerland. Schmidingermodul; Austria.

Jasper Morrison Jasper Morrison was born in London in 1959 and graduated in Design at Kingston Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art in London, with a year at Berlin's HdK art school. 1986, set up an Office for Design in London. 1987, exhibited Reuters News Centre, an installation at Documenta 8 in Kassel. 1988, took part in the Berlin Design Werkstadt with “Some new items for the home, part I”. Earliest designs produced by Aram Designs and SCP Ltd. in London, Neotu in Paris, FSB in Germany and Cappellini in Italy. 1989, began collaboration with Vitra exhibiting “Some new items for the home, part II”, at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Formed Utilism International with Andreas Brandolini and Axel Kufus, providing exhibition design and town planning services. 1994, began a consultancy with Ustra, the Hannover transport authority, designing a bus shelter, and in 1995 the new Hannover tram. Further collaborations began around this time with projects for the Italian companies Alessi, Flos, and Magis, and the German porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal. 2000, began a project for Rowenta to design a set of kitchen electrical appliances, the first major product design project attempted by the office. 2001 elected as a Royal Designer for Industry. Furniture design for London’s Tate Modern, Museum of Art (architects Herzog & de Meuron). Solo exhibitions in Tokyo: Axis Gallery;Yamagiwa and HH Style. 2004, began consultancies with Muji, Japan, Samsung, Korea and Ideal Standard,UK. 2005 founding of Super Normal with Naoto Fukusawa. In June 2006, first Super Normal exhibition in Tokyo.

o-d-a/Jutamas Buranajade+Piti Amraranga URL : www.o-d-a.net nextmaruni/The competition Grand-Prix 2005 o-d-a is design group included two members, Ms. Jutamas Buranajade and Mr. Piti Amraranga. Both born in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1980. Jutamas graduated from Silpakorn University’s Product Design Department, while Piti graduated from Visual Communication Arts Department. o-d-a was 10 Finalists of “Tokyo Designers Block Competition 2003”. Was awarded as “Emerging awards” 2007 by The Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University. Was awarded "The Honourable Mentions" of Promosedia International Design Competition 2007. And participated "FRAGILES" exhibition at Design Miami 2007. *Please get more info : nextmaruni/International design competition.

Kanji Ueki URL : www.casappo.com Interior Designer. Representative director of Casappo & Associates. Born in Tokyo in 1945. After graduating from Keio University in Tokyo, he went to Italy. Worked at RINASCENTE department design section in Milan. Since 1971, he worked for Aldo Jacober architect studio in Milan. In 1975, established design office, Casappo & Associates in Tokyo. His major works are: IBM Makuhari, Chiba (1991); Reaber Crown Department, Taipei (1991); Seoul City Club, Seoul (1998); Apple Computer Retail Store, U.S. (2001-2003); The Museum of Modern Art, collaborating with architect Yoshio Taniguchi (2004) Currently, Ueki is awarded Industrial Design Excellence Awards Gold Medal (Apple Computer Retail Store) in 2001 and BEST STORE OF THE YEAR 2004 (TOUCH) in 2004.

Kazuyo Sejima+Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA Kazuyo Sejima / 1956 : Born in Ibaraki Prefecture 1981 : Graduated from Japan Women's University with Masters Degree in Architecture Joined Toyo Ito & Associates 1987 : Established Kazuyo Sejima & Associates 1995 : Established SANAA with Ryue Nishizawa 2001 - Professor at Keio University 2005 - Visiting Professor at Princeton University Ryue Nishizawa / 1966 : Born in Kanagawa Prefecture 1990 : Graduated from Yokohama National University with Masters Degree in Architecture Joined Kazuyo Sejima & Associates 1995 : Established SANAA with Kazuyo Sejima 1997 : Established Office of Ryue Nishizawa 2001 - Associate Professor at Yokohama National University 2005 - Visiting Professor at Princeton University < Major Works > 2003 : Christian Dior Building Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan 2004 : 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa, Kanazawa Japan 2006 : Zollverein School of management and design, Essen, Germany The Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, Toledo, Ohio, USA Novartis Campus WSJ-158 Office Building, Basel, Switzerland Naoshima Ferrey Terminal, Kagawa, Japan 2007 : Stadstheater Almere 'De Kunstlinie', Almere, the Netherlands <Recent Projects> Dior Omotesando, Tokyo 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Toledo Museum of Art; Glass Pavillion, USA Zollverein school of Management and Design, Germany Novartis Office Building, Switzerland Marine Station Naoshima, Kagawa "De Kunstlinie" Theatre and Cultural Centre, Almere, the Netherlands New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, USA etc. <Current Projects> Learning Center, EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne), Switzerland Louvre Lens, Paris, France Vitra Factory Building, Weil am Rhein, Germany etc. <Publications> 2003 : Monograph, “KAZUYO SEJIMA + RYUE NISHIZAWA / SANAA WORKS 1995 - 2003”TOTO Shuppan, Japan 2004 : “Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa 2000/2004” "EL CROQUIS, No. 121/122, Spain 2005 : “GA Sejima Kazuyo + Nishizawa Ryue Dokuhon,” A.D.A, EDITA, Japan 2005 : GA ARCHITECT 18 “Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa /1987-2006.” A.D.A, EDITA, Japan

Masayuki Kurokawa Architect. Born in Nagoya in 1937. Completed doctoral courses at Waseda University's Graduate School of Architecture. Established KUROKAWA Masayuki Architect Studio in 1967. Received major prizes and awards, such as Mainichi Design Award and the Japan Interior Designers' Association Award. Several of his works are displayed in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and in the Denver Art Museum. Books: "Masayuki Kurokawa X Koichi Inagaki / archigraph", "Design Mandara (Kyuryudo)". Established Designtope Co., Ltd. (http://www.designtope.net/) in 2001. It supports activities of individuals and organizations that create design, aiming at "good design will come to fill the world." Professor at Kanazawa College of Art. Producer for nextmaruni project. President, Kurokawa Masayuki Architectural Design Office: www.k-system.net President, Society of Research and Design: www.k-system.net/butsugaku President, DESIGNTOPE: http://www.designtope.net Professor, Research Institute of Art, Kanazawa College of Art: www.kanazawa-bidai.ac.jp

Michele De Lucchi Born in 1951 at Ferrara and graduated in architecture in Florence. During the period of radical and experimental architecture, he was a prominent figure in movements like Cavart, Alchymia and Memphis. De Lucchi designed products for Artemide, Dada Cucine, Kartell, Matsushita, Mauser, Poltrona Frau and Olivetti, for whom he has been Director of Design since 1992. He has developed experimental projects for Compaq Computers, Philips, Siemens and Vitra. His architectural designs have been mainly for office buildings in Japan, Germany and Italy. In 1999, he has been appointed to renovate some of ENEL's (the Italian Electricity Board's) power plants. Many of his service interiors are in use at Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bundesbahn, Enel, Poste Italiane, Telecom Italia, Mandarina Duck, Banca Popolare di Lodi and so on. IIn 1990, he set up Produzione Privata, a small-scale concern through which Michele De Lucchi designs products that are made using artisan techniques and crafts. The honors he has received include the following prizes: Good Design (Japan), Compasso d'Oro, Premio Smau, Office Design Eimu (Italy), Deutsche Auswahl, IF Hannover, Design Plus, Roter Punkt, and Design Team of the Year 1997 (Germany). His firm, aMDL, has its offices in Milan and Rome.

Naoto Fukasawa Born in Yamanashi in 1956. Graduated from Tama Art University’s Product Design department in 1980. Went to America in 1989 and, after having worked for eight years in the design consulting company IDEO (San Francisco), set up its Tokyo office. In 2003, he went independent and established Naoto Fukasawa Design. He has worked with major companies both domestically and from overseas including in Germany and Scandinavia, such as B&B Italia, Driade, Magis, Danese, Artemide, Boffi and Vitra. His wall-mounted CD player for MUJI, humidifier for ±0 (PLUS MINUS ZERO), and Inforbar and Neon for au/KDDI are part of the N.Y. MoMA permanent design collection. In 2006, he founded Super Normal with Jasper Morrison. In 2007, he was accorded the title of Royal Designer for Industry (Royal Society of Arts). He has won over fifty awards, including the American IDEA Gold Award, the German if Gold Award, the British D&AD Gold Award, and the Mainichi Design Award. Fukasawa is on the design advisory board for MUJI and is one of the directors for 21_21 Design Sight. He is a professor at Musashino Art University and a visiting professor at Tama Art University. He has authored “An Outline of Design” (Toto Shuppan), co-authored “ Dezain no Seitaigaku” (Tokyo Shoseki) and “Optimum” (Rikuyosha) and released “Naoto Fukasawa”, a compilation of his works, through Phaidon Press.

Sean Yoo nextmaruni/The competition Grand-Prix 2004 Sean Yoo is an American designer who was born in 1968 and grew up in Los Angeles, California. He received a degree in Urban Planning at California State Polytechnic University and worked as a city planner for one of the largest city in Southern California. After several years, however, he decided to change direction and pursue a career in design. He returned to school and in 2000 graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California with a degree in Industrial Design. He began as a staff designer for Round Three design studio in Pasadena and in 2001 decided to start his own design studio, Apt 5 Design, with Angela Tarasco. His works have been featured in many major design publications including 2003 and 2004 International Design Yearbooks and he has won numerous awards for his furniture designs including First Place in the “Concorso Young and Design 2002” presented at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. He is currently living in Matera, Italy and is working for clients such as Frighetto Industrie, Jongform and Calia Italia. *Please get more info : nextmaruni/International design competition.

Shigeru Uchida Interior Designer. Born in Yokohama, Japan in 1943. Graduated from Kuwasawa Design School. Uchida started his own firm, Uchida Design Institute in 1970. Later in 1981, he established Studio 80.�Visiting professor of Tokyo Zokei University and Kuwasawa Design School. Uchida works internationally as one of the best Japanese designers and was awarded major prizes: Mainichi Design Award, JCD Design Award, the first Kuwasawa design Award, and Art Award by the Minister of Education of Japan. Not only was he a representative designer of commercial and residential design in Japan, but he was also engaged in a wide range of activities from industrial design to furniture and urban planning in Japan and abroad. His major works are the followings; RoRoppongi WAVE building, series of boutiques for Yoji Yamamoto, the Japanese government Pavilion for Tsukuba Expo '85, lobby of the Kyoto Hotel, Hotel Il Palazzo in Fukuoka, Kobe Fashion Museum, the tea rooms 'Ji-an, So-an, Gyo-an', and Mojiko Hotel, etc. His works became a part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, the Denver Art Museum and others. His publications include 'Bounds of Privacy', 'Japan Interior vol.1-4', 'Interior Design Uchida, Mitsuhashi, Nishioka & Studio 80 Vol. II', 'A City Stimulated by Architecture Hotel Il Palazzo' 'Interior with Japanese people' and 'Furniture Book' etc.

Shin Azumi URL : www.shinazumi.com 2005- Opened a design office ‘a studio’ in London 1995-2005 Worked as a design unit ‘ AZUMI ’ 1994 MA in Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art, UK 1989-1992 NEC Design Centre Co. Ltd. Personal Computer Dept., Japan 1989 BA in Product Design at Kyoto City University of Art, Japan 1965 Born in Kobe, Japan Awards 2007 Good Design Award, Japan - Itoki ‘FlowLounge’ furniture 2005 Good Design Award, Japan - TOA Megaphone 2005 Victoria & Albert Museum / Homes&Gardens Classic Design Award, UK - Air Switch Az by Mathmos 2005 Blueprint Award, Best Furniture Designer, Finalist 2004 Elle Decoration Award “Best Furniture”, UK, - ShipShape by Isokon Plus 2004 Jerwood Applied Arts Prize, UK, Finalist 2003 FX International Interior Design Awards, UK, "Best Furniture for Public Space - Orbital Workstation 2003 Blueprint 100% Design Award, UK, Best Contributor 2002 FX International Interior Design Awards, UK, "Best Public Space Lighting" - Himi Fish Lamp 2001 FX International Interior Design Awards, UK, "Furniture of the Year" - HM30 sofa 2000 FX International Interior Design Awards, UK, "Product of the Year" - LEM stool 1999 Peugeot Design Awards / Ceramic, at Oxo Tower Wharf, UK - Snowman Salt & Pepper Shakers 1999 Furniture Futures Award, by Design Week, UK - on Wire Frame Chair & Stool Public Collections “Volta by lapalma” Crafts Council, UK “Za Series by lapalma“ Die Neue Sammlung, Munich, Germany "Wire Frame Reversible Bench" Crafts Council, UK "Wire Frame Chair & Stool“ Stedelijk Museum / Holland, Manchester Art Galleries / UK “Yauatcha Tea Set & Sake Set” Museum fur Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Germany “TOA Megaphone“ Museum fur Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Germany Shin Azumi Also took part in the jury of Design Report Award (Germany), Kokuyo Design Award (JPN), FX International Interior Design Award (UK)、DT Design Award(JPN)、and other numerous awards.

Tamotsu Yagi Born in Kobe prefecture, Japan in 1949. He visited USA in 1984, as an art director for ESPRIT Holdings Ltd., an apparel manufacturer in San Francisco. He built up the image of the ESPRIT brand. His works, the visual communications for advertisement, such as catalogues, packages, products and store signs, were highly evaluated all over the world. In 1986, he was awarded a leadership from AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts.) In 1990, he worked for the exhibition of Amish Kilt Collection by Doug Tompkins, the former owner of ESPRIT Holdings Ltd. as an art director and also designed its catalogue. He became a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale.) n 1991, he established Tamotsu Yagi Design in San Francisco. His design works are performed globally. Every year, no less the a hundred of his design works are selected for the permanent design collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His bottle design for TRIBU perfume by Benetton Italy Co.,Ltd. has received the CLIO AWARD in 1994. In 1995, Yagi had his private exhibition in six months at the opening of SFMOMA. (SFMOMA moved on January that year.) In April, the American Government gave him a prize, which is for an Asian contributor in the artistic field. Yagi often collaborates with architects. He consulted for the graphic design of the museum of Foundation Beyeler (architecture by Renzo Piano; a famous art director), and the concept design for the Apple Store. (Apple Computer Inc.) The sign system and the environmental display plannning for Hiroshima Naka Factory (a new ecological garbage incinerating facility promoted by Hiroshima city / architecture by Yoshio Taniguchi), which opened in 2003, is his latest project.

Tetsu Sumii nextmaruni/The competition Grand-Prix 2006 1971 : Born in Tokyo 1994 : Graduated from Musashino Art University 2006 : Working as a designer *Please get more info : nextmaruni/International design competition.

Tomoko Azumi URL : www.tnadesignstudio.co.uk Born 1966, Hiroshima, Japan. Director of t.n.a. Design Studio (London) Project tutor at Design Products Department, Royal College of Art (London) Judging Board of Good Design Award Japan, 2007 & 2008 Graduated BA Environmental Design at Kyoto City University of Art in 1989, worked for architects practice and moved to London 1992. Graduated Furniture Design at Royal College of Art 1995. Started partnership design studio AZUMI, exposed their design at exhibitions such as 100% Design (London) and SaloneSattelite (Milano) since 1995. As a design consultant, worked for Lapalma (Italy), E&Y (Japan), Guzzini (Italy), Biegel (Germany) and Isokon Plus (UK), as well as designed several exhibitions and installations. Spring 2005, she opened her solo studio in East London, continue works for existing clients as well as new clients. Recent works include; ‘Twiggy Lamp’ for Maxray (Japan), ‘Ro-Ro’ rocking chair for Zilio A&C (Italy), ‘At-At’ workstation for Rothlisberger (Switzerland) and ‘Muscicapa’ for Piege (Japan). Public collections include; Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Geffrye Museum (London) and Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam).