At the UConn event I wrote about on March 8th, A New Take on Japan-U.S. Relations, I met a fascinating Japanese architect, Yoko Kawai. Ms. Kawai and her husband co-founded Penguin Environmental Design (PED), a professional landscape and residential design firm.
PED works on new constructions or remodeling /improvements of small houses and gardens and also a wide variety of public projects including parks, campuses, public art works in commercial/institutional buildings, urban design projects, and urban studies.
They are active both in the U.S. and in Japan. PED was first founded as a First Class Kencihkushi (architect) Office in Osaka, Japan in 2001 and was later registered in Connecticut in 2008. Their designs have been the received numerous awards, including: Finalist, Windscape Competition, Boston Society of Architects, 2006 and - Finalist, Northern Osaka Station Area International Concept Competition, 2003.
They are emphasizing architecture created by combining designs based on the spatial philosophy of Japan and the visually modern to meet the needs of the American lifestyle.
They do not participate in the superficial Japanese design stereotypes that we have seen in the past but take hold of the spiritual cores and fundamental elements of Japanese design and adapt them in new ways to American houses and gardens.
PED creates a unique relationship between dwellings and their surrounding landscape. “Even when the project is only on inside or outside of the building, we take special care in designing a united space with a view to and from the other side”, states Ms. Kawai.
Ms. Kawai not only designs, she is also a teacher and a scholar. She teaches design studies and Japanese architecture, and currently is an adjunct assistant professor at the New York Institute of Technology.
It seems only natural that with the changes and innovations taking place in other areas of Japan-US business, that the design related fields are also evolving. Ms. Kawai is researching the use of information communication technology as part of a sustainable city. A meeting of function and design with the overlaying brush strokes of Japanese aesthetic.
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If you are seeking architects that integrate dwellings and landscape with a profound Japanese sensibility, contact Penguin Environmental Design in Hamden, CT. They also write a weekly blog (only in Japanese at this time) with essays related to architecture.
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