Internship:

Kengo Kuma & Associates (Tokyo) and Kuma & Associates Europe (Paris) invite students or young architects to apply for an internship. You will be working as part of the design team on different scale levels within various projects. The position is full time within 1 month to 3 months.
It is necessary to mention your available period in the letter, as well as your age, gender, nationality / citizenship and available languages (with level) in the CV.
The recruiting systems between Tokyo office and Paris office are separated. Please contact the right office you would like to work for directly.

Requirements:

• You should be at least BA degree holder with architectural university study (master course students, MA degree holders or applicants with professional experiences are preferred)
• Strong design talent
• Excellent skills in modeling, AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Rhinoceros, Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Fluency in written and spoken French (at Paris office)
• Laptop PC, architectural software installed, Windows preferable
• Physical strength and mental strength with high motivation

Further qualifications:

• Knowledge of additional languages - especially Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese - are highly recommended (at Tokyo office)
• Proactive, self-disciplined and confident in a complex environment
• Hard worker and team player minded
• Accurate, punctual, hands-on and clean

To Apply:

Please send your letter along with your CV and hardcopy portfolio to:

Kengo Kuma & Associates
HR Department
2-24-8 Minamiaoyama Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0062 Japan

Kuma & Associates Europe
HR Department
16 rue Martel 75010 Paris France

Or please send your letter, CV and portfolio as PDF (less than 5MB) to :
kuma@ba2.so-net.ne.jpkuma@kkaa.co.jp
The e-mail title has to be “Internship Application”
Applications without hardcopy/PDF portfolio cannot be considered. (We do not check online portfolio link, CD-R and DVD)

Note:

We prefer hardcopy portfolio than digital ones. However we would not return the application documents to the applicants.
We do not have the position for interior / product / graphic designers or students.
We are replying only who passed the documentary screening.
The contact person must be the applicant himself / herself.
Since we cannot answer your inquiries about recruitment, please do not call, mail or visit the offices directly.

Full time position:

Kengo Kuma and Associates in Tokyo is recruiting new staffs for the international projects.

Requirements:

• Strong design talent
• Master degree in architecture
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Fluency in written and spoken Japanese, especially for new graduates and entry level architects
• Excellent skills in AutoCAD, Adobe CS and Microsoft Office
• Excellent communication and organization skills in a complex environment

Further qualifications:

• Professional experiences as an active full time architect (not include internships and year-out experiences) in the international field for a few years or more
• Fluency in written and spoken Korean or Chinese (Mandarin)
• Good knowledge of 3D Studio Max and Rhinoceros

To Apply:

Please send your letter along with your CV and hardcopy portfolio to:

Kengo Kuma & Associates
HR Department
2-24-8 Minamiaoyama Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0062 Japan

Or please send your letter, CV and portfolio as PDF (less than 5MB) to :
kuma@ba2.so-net.ne.jp
The e-mail title has to be “application for architect position”
It is necessary to mention your age, gender, nationality / citizenship, available languages (with level) and available software in the CV.
Applications without hardcopy/PDF portfolio cannot be considered (We do not check online portfolio link, CD-R and DVD).
The recruiting systems between Tokyo office and Paris office are separated. Please contact the right office you would like to work for directly.

Note:

We prefer hardcopy portfolio than digital ones. However we would not return the application documents to the applicants. We do not have the position for interior / product / graphic designers and landscape architects, also not looking for freelance collaborators. We are replying only who passed the documentary screening in 2 months from the time we received the application documents. The contact person must be the applicant himself / herself. Since we cannot answer your inquiries about recruitment, please do not call, mail or visit to the office directly.

Full Time Position:

Kengo Kuma & Associates in Tokyo is currently looking for experienced architects for the projects in South Korea, as contract employees. The period is up to the project status, minimum of 2.5 years. The working location is Tokyo first then Seoul(or suburb of Seoul) later, the shifting period is up to the project status.

Requirements:

• Strong design talent
• Minimum of 4 years working experience as a full-time architectural design staff involved in the projects in South Korea
• Knowledge and understanding of construction detailing and documentation in South Korea
• Bilingual in Japanese / Korean or English / Korean
• Good knowledge of AutoCAD, Adobe CS and Microsoft Office
• Excellent communication and organization skills

To Apply:

Please send your letter along with your CV and hardcopy portfolio to:

Kengo Kuma & Associates
HR Department
2-24-8 Minamiaoyama Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0062 Japan

Or please send your letter, CV and portfolio as PDF (less than 5MB) to :
kuma@ba2.so-net.ne.jp
The subject should be “Application for architects of South Korean projects”

Note:

We prefer hardcopy portfolio than digital ones. However we would not return the application documents to the applicants. Applications without hardcopy/PDF portfolio cannot be considered (We do not check online portfolio link, CD-R and DVD). We are replying only who passed the documentary screening in 2 months from the time we received the application documents. Since we cannot answer your inquiries about recruitment, please do not call, mail or visit to the office directly.

"Mr. Sunday" official website (Japanese only) :
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/mrsunday/

「復興の職人」

東日本大震災の復興支援に関わってらっしゃる方々を「復興の職人」に見立て、相互支援・意見交換を行う試みです。 第一弾として宮城県登米市においてシンポジウムを開催しました。

vol. 1 - 3.11 以降の建築

vol. 2 - 森舞台について

vol. 3 - 東北とのかかわり

参加パネリスト

ボランティアのボランティア
遠野まごころネットワーク副代表 多田一彦

東北民俗学
文芸評論家 東雅夫 (左)
荒蝦夷 土方正志 (右)

気仙大工の知恵
気仙大工・左官伝承館館長 佐藤文雄 (中央)
気仙大工棟梁 武蔵栄治 (右)/ 藤原出穂 (左)

福興市
社会貢献団体ユナイテッド・アース世話人
佐藤敬生 (左)/ 郷右近丸彦 (右)

復興共生住宅
日本の森バイオマスネットワーク
大場隆博

復興の薪 (ビデオ参加)

NPO 吉里吉里国事務局長 芳賀正彦
岩手県県南広域振興局遠野農林振興センター林務課 深澤光

〈メインパネリスト〉 建築家 隈研吾
〈ゲストパネリスト〉 登米市長 布施孝尚
〈オーガナイザー〉　ジャーナリスト 岡博大

会場構成・記録・編集
針谷 / 平辻 / 喜多 / 栗生

[link: balstokyo.com]
[link: e-j-p.org]

建築家の隈研吾がいま、問い直す復興の道。
東日本大震災からの復興に貢献している人々や
東北が誇る伝統文化の職人たちと
復興の智恵をつむぎます。

日時　10月1日（土） 14:00-17:30 （13:30開場）
会場　宮城県登米市の「伝統芸能伝承館 森舞台」
　　　 （宮城県登米市登米町寺池上町42）
入場　無料
内容　（１）基調講演　建築家 隈研吾　14:00-14:45
　　 　（２）パネル・ディスカッション　隈研吾 × 「復興の職人」 15:00-17:30
　　　　＊アフタートーク・パーティーあり （先着50名無料） 18:00-19:30

主催　隈研吾建築都市設計事務所、湘南遊映坐
協力　登米市観光物産協会、とよま振興公社ほか

＜パネリスト参加７組＋ビデオ参加１組＞
・「気仙大工の知恵」
　気仙大工・左官伝承館館長　佐藤文雄
　気仙大工棟梁　武蔵英治、藤原出穂
・「木造仮設住宅」
　一般社団法人モア・トゥリーズ事務局長　水谷伸吉
・「復興共生住宅」
　日本の森バイオマスネットワーク　大場隆博
・「循環型地域創造」
　NPOサスティナブル・コミュニティ研究所長　川村健一
・「福興市」
　社会貢献団体ユナイテッド・アース世話人　郷右近丸彦
・「ボランティアのボランティア」
　遠野まごころネットワーク副代表　多田一彦
・「東北民俗学」
　文芸評論家　東雅夫
　荒蝦夷　土方正志
・「復興の薪」（ビデオ参加）
　NPO吉里吉里国事務局長　芳賀正彦
　岩手県県南広域振興局遠野農林振興センター林務課　深澤光

＜メインパネリスト＞　建築家　隈研吾
＜ゲストパネリスト＞　登米市長　布施孝尚
＜オーガナイザー＞　ジャーナリスト　岡博大

PDFをダウンロード

[link: http://e-j-p.org/]

Cambria Kyuden Website (Japanese only) :
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/cambria/list/list20110804.html

http://www.dojimariver.com/maps.google.co.jp

http://www.casalgrandepadana.com/index.cfm/1,869,2314,0,html/OLD-HOUSE

This structure consists of folded triangular plates making a bumpy surface. Trying to make this structure look random was a valuable attempt. Basically, the rise made by these bumps work like a depth of a beam and this structure can span a long distance by the beam-like ridge intersecting with each other. I was eager to realize this structure because this project was the first time I applied my “Manual Form Finding” software.

However, this kind of architecture apparently seems impossible when the budget and time of a general official construction is considered. It can be realized only when all situations are satisfied. I feel like this all the time when I design architecture. My manual form finding software was used in the past when I taught students designing and making a polyhedric structure named “Mori no Kyoshitsu” (Classroom in the Forest) made by plywood in a lecture at Keio University. Fortunately the software was also improved through other project and it was almost completed before applying to this Shimonoseki project. Using the software, at first I looked for what kind of form can be made by the given materials and then changed the form again and again to decrease the amount of steel used in the structure. I grasped the form by simplifying the member into a wire frame model, but at the same time, I imagined the depth of the member and the way of connecting each member and building the structure. This has a big effect on the expense of the structure. As Mr. Fujiwara say, the way of setting the coordinates of the member influences the cost a lot, so I discussed it a lot with Mr. Saita, who was in charge of this project.

In this way, we polished the plan again and again, but unfortunately, it was expected to be too expensive. It was also fortunate that a member of Nippon Steel Corporation helped us quite timely. We decreased the amount of steel by refining on the member, its configuration, and the joint. My office didn’t have enough time to draw the detail, and Nippon Steel Corporation helped us finish on time before the construction period. The final plan was a relatively complicated way―using a pipe as a chief member and connecting H-shaped and T-shaped plate to the end of it, and connecting to a ball shaped joint with a bolt. However, the member of Nippon Steel Corporation told us that this was the cheapest way thinking of making the structure using 3D-CAD and Numerical Control machining. Also, this structure was realized thanks to the consideration of the people living in Shimonoseki city, and the favorable cooperation of Kosei Corporation, which is a contractor.

Maybe, we could think of a structure using lattice girder in order to thoroughly save the amount of steel. In this project, I didn’t consider all the concrete skin into the structural strength to avoid complicated analysis and finish in time. However, if we design the structure considering the strength of both steel and concrete, another form may be invented. There is a lot of possibility in this structure and it is true that it has room for improvement. But the realization of this structure tells us that we can go for a more sophisticated one.

Jun Sato
Jun Sato Structural Engineers Co.,Ltd.
Associate Professor, the University of Tokyo

Fujiwara-kun, the staggering baselines of the concrete’s surface and the steel frame are actually a variation of the Brunelleschi problem. Thickness does not exist in geometry whereas it does in substance, and this gap has been one of the most difficult problems in architecture. Brunelleschi solved it in his Ospedale degli Innocenti with the solution of double column. The “Brunelleschi problem” normally appears only on plans in two dimensions, but this time it came out in three dimensions, which made our work even harder—but we sorted this out forcibly with computer, didn’t we? I am very much intrigued how Jun Sato, who was in charge of structural design, found this project.

Kengo Kuma

http://ameblo.jp/kureon2011/ maps.google.co.jp

To elaborate on this mixed structure, the most challenging part was the detail of the steel-frame. The polygon you see on the computer can turn into any shape, as it has no thickness or width (?), but the real steel material has 200mm thickness at minimum. If all this come together at one joint, the detail of that point would be an odd geometry. The polygonal or dome architecture you generally see is in fact limited to certain angles, which is after all a composition of the same detail. For Kawatana, our designing progressed inductively in two parameters – one was to study whether the volume and unevenness of the architecture could be harmonized with its environs, and the other was to confirm whether the shape could be structurally viable. As a result, the patterns of angles became varied according to the number of joints. What we did was to first transform KKAA’s 3D CAD data by a numerical formula into the coordinates of the steel baseline, and then, Nippon Steel, the fabricator, drew the details of all of the joints in 3 dimensions based on the coordinates. We used iron bulbs for the joining of the structural material, considering their flexibility for the mixed angles, but the actual size of the ball became bigger in some parts, depending on the angles.

Works on the concrete were measured by the precision of the steel-frame. If you try to coincide the central line of the steel with the baseline of the shape in the drawing, the ridgeline would naturally not be in uniform in the finish. It would have been easier if the ridgeline was widened or the element of ‘clearance’ was applied, but we wanted to create a line of tense right angle in one way or another. Again, if you want to align the ridgeline in the finished concrete with the baseline for the polygon design, the baseline of the steel would form a different polygon from the one in the drawing. Since this formation had both mountain folds and valley folds, the relations among details would be lost because of these differences. The potential failure of the theory (according to this logic) was overcome by the high plasticity of concrete. Some slightly thicker ridgeline was made where necessary and under the supervision by Kuma san, the concrete was cut and adjusted on site in some parts after it was poured in. Going back and forth between the theory of the design and the actual life-sized joints demanded quite a complicated, three-dimensional way of thinking and resulted in a huge amount of work.

Whenever I visit the site, however, I find the sight where a dune-like volume suddenly emerges from the hot springs town really unique and tense. If you set eyes on it for a while, you will notice that the architecture being harmonized with the neighboring topography of the mountains. Here, sense of tension and harmony exist in concurrence. The building interior also offers two contrary feelings – a centripetal one as if you are wrapped up in a cave, and a spreading one that comes from the composition of various vectors intertwined with the steel frame. The building is made free enough for people to enter from anywhere you like, and I am hoping that the locals will get used to it a bit more and freely make full use of that place. Rather than doing activities taking place anywhere else, I suppose there are many things that can be done only in Kawatana.

Teppei Fujiwara
Kengo Kuma & Associates

http://www.kyoto-kokusai.com/restaurant/shop/KK0003.html maps.google.co.jp

http://www.kyoto-kokusai.com/ maps.google.co.jp

http://www.bama-cafe.com/ maps.google.co.jp

http://www.kinrei.com/ maps.google.co.jp

http://www.sohosanlitun.com/ maps.google.co.jp

http://yusuhara-s.com/ maps.google.co.jp