We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Hiroaki Iwasa ("HI").
Hiroaki Iwasa is a holistic architect with a 30-year career designing a variety of projects, from architecture to products to landscapes. He founded HIROAKI IWASA ARCHITECTS WORKSHOP in Tokyo, where he is the chief architect and holds the qualification of a first-class architect. In various projects, he grasps the situation from multiple perspectives and deep insight, approaches the issues honestly from the essential point of view, He has designed and realized rich environments that awaken the five human senses and satisfy a sense of well-being within landscapes, historical and cultural backgrounds. His various works, which emphasize the five human senses, have been realized in Japan and overseas, and have been praised in many fields and received numerous awards.
Hiroaki Iwasa Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Hiroaki Iwasa.
Hiroaki Iwasa Design - Amar Bari Apartment
Hiroaki Iwasa Design - Tsukiji Sushiiwa Tsukijiten Sushi Resutaurant
Designer Interview of Hiroaki Iwasa:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
HI : I believe that the various experiences I have had led me to become an architect, but I still remember the house I spent in Jakarta as a child very well. There was a courtyard and a pond where we had a great time drawing pictures, doing crafts, playing with friends, eating meals with our families. As well as such a fun personal space to enjoy art and communication, we also had the opportunity to see seaside hotels, historically famous architecture and the architecture of international expositions. When I learned that being an architect is an important profession that designs architectures and environments that are indispensable to people, I decided that I wanted to become an architect.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
HI : Hiroaki Iwasa Architects Workshop is an architectural design office founded in Tokyo in 1998 by Hiroaki Iwasa with the aim of providing people with a better future. In each project, we repeatedly research the situation based on dialogue with the client in order to solve essential issues and provide designs with new added value. Based on this concept, we have designed a variety of projects surrounding humans, including crafts, products, furniture, interiors, architecture, and urban design, and have achieved many results.
DI: What is "design" for you?
HI : I believe that design is a way to solve various issues, create new value, and make people happy.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
HI : I like designing spaces where people can spend time comfortably in a natural environment.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
HI : I can't narrow it down to just one thing.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
HI : My experience is system architecture of steel structures. It is a system architecture that is semi-customized to suit the purpose, such as a warehouse or factory.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
HI : My favorite materials are wood, steel, glass,and concrete. When it comes to technology, I like things that don't look like black boxes, but that I can understand how they work.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
HI : When I feel most creative is when I can see a new world with a simple solution to a complex problem or challenge.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
HI : When I design, I focus on whether the design is clear and whether it will lead to a happy future.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
HI : When I design, my team and I design with a strong sense of mission and responsibility to ensure that we solve problems and make our clients and wider society happy.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
HI : When my design becomes a reality, I walk around in my own image so much that I feel a sense of déjà vu and a sense of curiosity about how the client and society will use it.
DI: What makes a design successful?
HI : I believe that the key to successful design is sharing issues with clients and society.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
HI : I believe that the criteria for determining whether a design is good or bad is the way a problem is perceived and the way it is solved.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
HI : I believe that the role that designers play in solving social and environmental issues is not yet fully recognized, and that we will soon be in an era in which designers will have to take on the role of fulfilling this great responsibility.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
HI : I believe that the field of design should be used more actively as a means of solving social issues. I think we need to make more of an appeal to society that design has such potential.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
HI : f I remember correctly, it was an exhibition in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the "Anti Podas Exhibition" about Japanese architecture. No next exhibition scheduled yet.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
HI : My inspiration for design is to take the client's request as a starting point and seriously consider the project situation. I discover inspiration through honest research and prototyping.
DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
HI : I don't stick to superficial decoration or a certain style. Projects come in various styles depending on the client and the situation, as I face the issues myself and flexibly implement the optimal solution after receiving consultation from the client. I think if there are 100 clients in the same situation, there will be 100 different styles, and if the situation changes, even the same client will have different styles.
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
HI : I think it's a personal difference, not the country you live in. I live in Tokyo. Although I have a deep understanding of Japanese culture and embody it, I have traveled all over the world and lived in Jakarta as a child, so I am able to adapt to various cultural ideas and values from a flexible perspective and find the best way to do so. I think being able to design solutions is an advantage. The disadvantage may be that it is difficult to understand the nationality.
DI: How do you work with companies?
HI : As an independent architect, I do not work with any particular company. We form flexible teams with the most suitable members for each project to solve problems.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
HI : I think client companies gain great power by collaborating with designers. Each designer has different abilities. Therefore, I think it is better for companies to collaborate with designers that suit the purpose each time, rather than just collaborating with a specific designer.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
HI : No matter the size or purpose of the design, we follow the steps of hearing from the client, investigating the situation, discovering the problem, researching solutions, researching prototypes, refining and completing. And I think it is essential to face each other honestly at every stage.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
HI : Deck chairs on the terrace. An elephant figurine found in India. A self-designed self-assembled bookshelf. Floss floor lamp. A writing desk from the Li Dynasty.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
HI : There are many changes such as going to the mountains, going to the sea, flying in the sky, being hot or cold, sunny or raining heavily, etc.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
HI : When designing, I think it is important to not be selfish and to remember the spirit of altruism.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
HI : Being a designer is a good thing because you can look forward to thinking about how you can make things better, but on the other hand, it can be a bad thing to end up putting yourself on the back burner.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
HI : The "golden rule" is about having a thorough understanding of the entire project.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
HI : I think the most important skill for a designer is the ability to solve problems and integrate them into new worlds.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
HI : My basic tools are ears to listen to the wishes of clients and the opinions of my collaborators, eyes to investigate and check processes, hands to repeatedly sketch and prototype, a brain to solve problems and come up with ideas, and a heart to create a better future.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
HI : We meet final deadlines, but manage intermediate stages appropriately by being flexible.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
HI : It depends on the scale of the object and the accuracy of the details.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
HI : A question I am often asked is: What inspired this design? is.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
HI : Every project is a different and valuable experience. Feedback from carpenter and the field regarding my designs is important.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
HI : Clients include a variety of people, including companies, schools, nursery schools, chefs, religious people, and individuals.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
HI : Projects that are commissioned to me with trust and expectations are the most rewarding and enjoyable.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
HI : A small product and mountain villa project is about to start.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
HI : I run my own design office.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
HI : I'm sorry, but I'm not at the stage where I can talk about the details as the design is still chaotic and I'm still going through trial and error.
DI: How can people contact you?
HI : People can contact you directly from the web or Instagram at any time. WEB：http://www.iwasa-arch.com/ Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/hiroakiiwasaarchitectsworkshop/