Kengo Kuma discusses his new book ‘Substance’

*Kengo Kuma: Substance*

(Image credit: Images Publishing)

Substance is the new monograph from the Japanese master architect Kengo Kuma. Featuring 35 pavilion projects from around the world, it is not only a chronicle of Kuma’s recent work but an exploration of his use of material, in particular wood, bamboo, metal, paper, textile, and stone.

Yure pavilion, Jardin de Tuileries, Paris, 2019

Details of the Yure pavilion, Jardin de Tuileries, Paris, 2019

In the pages of ‘Substance’ by Kengo Kuma

The watchword here is integration, and the ways in which Kengo Kuma’s approach brings together traditional Japanese design and construction methods with new technologies.

Since Kengo Kuma & Associates was established in 1990, the firm has overseen everything from the acclaimed V&A outpost in Dundee, with its geologic solidity, to the ephemeral Paper Clouds installation at Somerset House created for the 2025 London Design Biennale.

The book, published by Images, includes projects like the reimagined forest of salvaged timber, Domino 3.0, created for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, the Wakuni Shoten tobacco store in Tokyo, temples, bridges, pavilions, tents and tea houses, as well as other installations, like the Krug x Kuma pavilion for the champagne brand.

Botanical Pavilion, Melbourne, Australia, 2020

To mark the publication of Substance, Wallpaper* asked Kuma about his experience with craft, technology and innovation in architecture.

An interview with Kengo Kuma

Cave of Light and Shadow, Suzhou, China, 2023

Wallpaper*: Have the technological innovations (CAD, 3D printing and modelling, AI) that have happened during your career changed your approach to design?

Kengo Kuma: Our design is greatly influenced by technology. Fabrication through technology has made architectural possibilities even more organic. Organic architectural design, cost management, and the way we draw plans have all become easier, while evolving our imagination.

W*: In your opinion, how has technology impacted our understanding and application of traditional craft processes?

KK: I believe technology has revealed a flexible attitude and respect for natural materials inherent in traditional human craftsmanship.

W*: Do you think that architecture’s relationship with nature has improved over the past few decades?

KK: I particularly feel that the relationship between architecture and nature has changed dramatically since 2000. The increase in natural disasters has revealed the limitations of modernist architecture represented by concrete and steel and has fostered the awareness that prioritises natural materials as a way for humans to survive.

It has further intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic and, I believe, has had a significant impact on architectural design.

W*: Are there any natural spaces or environments that influence your approach to creating architectural space?

KK: I consider myself an architect particularly sensitive to topography. Whether in urban areas or in nature, I walk around the site and think about what kind of terrain the place is situated on.

W*: Which is more important for architects, a relationship with space, with materials or with technology? Or are they increasingly related?

KK: Space, materials and technology are all indispensable to architecture and are interrelated, but if I must prioritise, it should be materials. By thoroughly studying materials, how the space and the technology should be designed emerges naturally.

Images Publishing

Kengo Kuma: Substance

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.