Kengo Kuma, one of Japan’s most influential architects and theorists, will deliver the CannonDesign Lecture for Excellence in Architecture and Engineering, titled Anti Object, as part of the Sam Fox School Public Lecture Series.

“Since launching Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990, Kuma has sought to articulate and embody a vision that combines sophisticated technologies and the imaginative use of traditional Japanese materials with a deep and even poetic commitment to the particularities of site and place.

In April 2016 Kuma was awarded the commission to design the expansion for the Hans Christian Anderson museum in Odense, Denmark. Other recent works include Suntory Museum (2007), Nezu Museum (2009), Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum (2010), Asakusa Culture Tourism Information Center (2012), the Nagaoka City Hall (2012), The 5th Kabukiza (2013), Kyushu Geibunkan (2013), Tokyo Central Post Office KITTE (2013), Toshima City Hall (Tokyo), Toyama Kirari–Toyama Glass Art Museum and City Library (2015), and Komatsu Seiren Fabo (2015). Major early works include Kiro-san Observatory (1994), the guest house Water/Glass (1995), the Noh Stage in Forest at the Toyoma Center for Performance Arts, the Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art (2000), and the Great Bamboo Wall in China (2002).

Kuma’s honors include the International Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award in 2002 (Finland), International Architecture Awards for the Best New Global Design for Chokkura Plaza and Shelter in 2007, and the Energy Performance + Architecture Award in 2008 (France).”