Architecture competition "Pape Nature Park Gateway" Honorable mention - Kaon Ko, Hiroki Kondo, Yuki Matsubara and Satoshi Hotsumi

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of one of our Honorable mentions for the “Pape Nature Park Gateway” competition - Kaon Ko, Hiroki Kondo, Yuki Matsubara and Satoshi Hotsumi from Japan!

Kaon Ko, Hiroki Kondo, Yuki Matsubara and Satoshi Hotsumi from Japan

Kaon Ko is an architect and co-founder of komy studio, and assistant professor at Tokyo University of Science. She graduated from the University of Tokyo, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and University of Oregon. Hiroki Kondo, Yuki Matsubara, and Satoshi Hotsumi are graduate students at Tokyo University of Science.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where company/ individuals have been involved?

Ko has worked on design-build work, installations, exhibitions, residential projects, campus planning, and mixed-use developments, in New York at OBRA Architects, Michigan and Tokyo. She has simultaneously conducted research on the historical development of craft processes through industrialization. All members of the team have been researching the areas of Nihombashi, Kagurazaka, and Yushima-Kanda in Tokyo from both architectural and urban scale perspectives.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Both the perception of architecture and the role of an architect has been under increased scrutiny in Japan lately, particularly following the disaster in Tohoku region. We believe that at its core the values remain unchanged, as we believe in its fundamental utilities that reflect social conditions of the moment. 

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

We saw Pape Nature Park Gateway competition as a way to consider the relationships between the natural environment and human intervention through symbolism, function and form. Participating in such a competition helps us reflect on issues that are crucial in the broader context, yet something we typically do not encounter in our daily lives in the metropolis.