This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Architectural Record
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Architectural Record
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Technology
    • Interviews
    • Commentary
    • Reviews
    • Editorials
  • PROJECTS
    • Building Types
    • Adaptive Reuse
    • Museums & Arts Centers
    • Colleges & Universities
    • Interior Design
    • Lighting
    • Kitchen & Bath
  • HOUSES
    • Record Houses
    • House of the Month
    • Featured Houses
  • PRODUCTS
    • Material World Newsletter
    • Categories
    • Products of the Year
    • Sponsored Products
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
      • Sponsored Podcasts
      • Design:ED Podcast
    • Historic Archive
    • Design Vanguard
    • Record Interiors
    • Top 300 Firms
    • Products of the Year
    • Best Architecture Schools
  • SUBMIT WORK
    • Record Products 2022
    • Guess the Architect
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Editorial Calendar
  • CONTINUING ED
    • Editorial Continuing Ed
    • CE Center
    • CE Topic Academies
  • EVENTS
    • Record on the Road
    • Innovation Conference
    • Women In Architecture
    • Webinars
    • Ad Excellence Awards
    • Submit an Event
  • MORE
    • CONTACT
      • Masthead
      • Customer Service
      • Subscribe
      • Custom Content Marketing
    • Advertise
    • Newsletters
    • Store
    • Custom Content Marketing
    • Research
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Sponsored eBooks
  • MAGAZINE
    • Digital Edition
    • Historic Archive
    • Subscribe
    • Customer Service
    • My Account
    • Current Issue
Home » Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects

You have 0 Articles Left This Month. Join RECORD Premium for Unlimited Access.

Design Vanguard

Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects

A Tokyo-based architect demonstrates a knack for handling materials and fitting buildings into their natural and urban contexts.

December 16, 2010
Naomi Pollock, FAIA
Order Reprints
No Comments

In Japan, where few buildings are made to last, trees are mostly dispensable, and real estate remains among the world’s priciest, most architects simply nod politely to the notion of context. But the Tokyo-based designer Hiroshi Nakamura worships it. Whether they are cupping leafy boughs, jutting between tree trunks, or echoing urban eclecticism, his quirky buildings fit their sites as perfectly as toes in a tabi sock. Nakamura’s environmental awareness began during his childhood in the city of Kanazawa, where he liked to build nestlike cardboard houses. As a student at Meiji University, he caught the attention of Kengo Kuma, who was serving as a competition juror and offered him a job in 1999.

In his three years at Kuma’s office, Nakamura ran several small projects through to completion and learned from the skilled craftsmen and carpenters who often collaborate with the firm. As project architect for Plastic House in Tokyo, he saw how Kuma used contemporary materials, a skill he would need on the commission that launched his solo career — a high-profile boutique in the heart of Ginza for the French fashion house Lanvin. The client for this project, who had wanted a young architect from the start, hired Nakamura after visiting Plastic House. At Plastic House, a translucent plastic skin admits daylight inside; but at Lanvin, Nakamura punctured the facade with clear acrylic cylinders to dot the shop interior with daylight. Following his mentor’s model, he worked closely with fabricators, in this case shipbuilders, to create the boutique’s unique facade. It consists of two layers of steel plate punctured with 3,000 portholelike openings and pinned together by the acrylic pegs.

You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.

Architectural Record Logo.

Unlimited access + premium benefits
for as low as $2/month.

Already a subscriber?Login Now or Register Your Email

What does an Architectural Record subscription include?

Privacy Policy

Related Articles

Lath House by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Erretegia Restaurant by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

In Poland, Shigeru Ban Deploys Paper Partitions to Help Ukrainian Refugees

Related Products

Architectural Record November 2021 Issue

Subscription Center
  • Join Record Premium
  • My Account
  • Create Account
  • eNewsletter Subscriptions
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Connect with AR

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Architectural Record audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep.

close
  • Marathon Oil Tower's ceiling.
    Sponsored byTamlyn

    Simple but Significant Detailing with Acoustical Trim

  • Union Square Station.
    Sponsored bySAFTI FIRST Fire Rated Glazing Solutions

    Let There Be Light: Fire Rated Glass Floor Brings Vision and Transparency to Union Square Station

  • Sonoma Raceway.
    Sponsored byHumboldt Sawmill

    Using Natural Wood in Hospitality Applications

DESIGN:ED Podcast
Listen to Architectural Record’s DESIGN:ED Podcast

Events

May 19, 2022

The Collision of AGILE and MESSY

NOW ON DEMAND

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU
May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

This presentation will explore fresh, new innovative concepts for appropriate systematic solutions, as well as guidelines and recommendations for the housing of these resources.

July 7, 2022

Comfort Meets Creativity: Designing for Wellness and Longevity with Sustainable Products and Cool Color Trend

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU
May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

This live webinar will explore the impact our interior surroundings have on wellness, longevity, and happiness.

View All Submit An Event

Popular Stories

LEAD Serra Glenstone.jpg

Thomas Phifer Designs Pavilion for Richard Serra at the Glenstone Museum

Obama lead.jpg

At the 2022 AIA Conference, Obama Offers Timely Advice for Architects

Amagansett Dune House.

Ryall Sheridan Architects Crafts a Seaside Retreat on Long Island

Keynote speakers

AIA Holds 2022 Conference in Chicago

RIBA.jpg

The UK's RIBA Must Become an "Activist Organization"

Tall Buildings Symposium - Free Webinar - June 15, 2022 - 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM EDT

The latest news and information

#1 Source for Architectural Design, News and Products

JOIN NOW
  • Contact
    • Survey And Sample
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Industry Jobs
  • Call for Entries
  • Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Renew
    • Create Account
    • Change Address
    • Pay My Bill
    • Free eNewsletters
    • Customer Care
  • Advertise
    • Architectural Record
    • Advertising Awards
  • Privacy
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing