Yasuhiro Yamashita

President and Representative Director/Architect/Town Planning Producer

山下保博photo

Listen to the voices of nature and the small things.
I want to create a society where no one is left behind.

I was born in Amami Oshima. My ancestors were also born in Amami. As you all know, Amami is surrounded by nature. Amami is surrounded by nature as you know, with the sun shining down, the clear sea, colorful flowers and greenery, and animals. It is a place rich in nature with sunshine, crystal clear sea, colorful flowers, greenery, and animals.

What I learned there was that everything, including humans, has a role to play. The two things I learned there are that everything, including humans, has a role to play, and that each of us is utilized in a very close relationship with each other.

Twenty years ago, I began to be called an architect. I have created a variety of buildings. In the process, I have felt something. I felt that I was different from other architects. That is, I have become able to listen to the voice of the materials.

I put my hands on the materials, and I become their feelings. When I do this, the materials speak to me in their own little voices.

I don't want to be trash. I want you to use me like this. I don't want to be used in such a dirty way. I want you to make me more beautiful. I want you to transform me more.

That's what the materials are telling me.

I would like to focus on the materials that have been buried and have never been looked at before, and listen to their voices. We have re-edited them as new building materials and materials for regional revitalization.

Everything has a meaning of existence, and we try to listen to its voice with a neutral mind. It can be the voice of the soil and plants, or the voice of a small village. It can be the voice of the soil and plants, the voice of a small village, or the voice of the people and nature of various regions.

We will realize a society where no small village is left behind.

I am now listening to the voices of the villages. I am focusing on sustaining the "village culture" of the Amami Islands, which is one of the most diverse in the world. We are building a network based on small villages, and building new relationships with visitors for tourism.

The unit of tradition and culture on earth is the "village". The human body is made up of 37 trillion "cells".

Just like cells, a network of settlements can form a city or a country. By receiving information from the outside, they become a healthy community. I believe that the way to create a sustainable society is to uncover, enhance, and develop the unique characteristics of each village.

The time has come for humans to get closer to nature.

The rapid development of the "economy" since the 18th century has upset the balance with nature. In the 20th century, the concept of affluence changed. In the 21st century, we are experiencing a paradigm shift from "economy" to "social contribution" and "consideration for the global environment.

Now is the time for humans to get closer to nature. The time has come to change from a human-centered filter to a nature-centered filter.

On Yasuhiro Yamashita's official website, we will introduce to you the small voices of communities, regions, and nature. We will contribute to the change of consciousness of people and society through a paradigm shift.

We will create different ideas from different perspectives, form a team, and put them into action. It is essential to create a paradigm shift.

In Amami Oshima Island, "everyone together" is called "Magun".

From Amami to the earth. A society where no one is left behind, no one at all.

We will continue to work on the "Magun" project with all the visitors to this site. If you want to start or participate in a project in "Magun", please contact us. We are looking forward to hearing from individuals, organizations, and companies who would like to start or participate in a project on "Magun.

山下保博

Profile

  • 1960 Born in Amami Kagoshima, Japan
  • 1986 Received M. Arch. at Shibaura Institute of Technology
  • 1991 Established Yamashita Kai Architectural Office
  • 1995 Renamed to Atelier Tekuto
  • 1996 Project1000 activities starts (Incorporated in 2004, Demutualized in 2010)
  • 1999Shibaura Institute of Technology Lecturer(~2007)
  • 2007 Graduate School Lecturer, the University of Tokyo(-2010)
  • 2008 Lecturer, Tokyo University of Science(-2010)
  • Established NPO organization N・C・S
  • 2010 Graduate School Lecturer, Keio University(-2012)
  • 2011 Lecturer, Kyushu University(-March 2013)
  • 2013 Visiting Professor, Kyushu University (July 2013-)
  • Established Tekuto West (Atelier Tekuto Fukuoka branch)
  • Established General Incorporated Association Regional Material Utilization Network
  • 2014 Established Tekuto South (Atelier Tekuto Kagoshima branch)
  • 2015 Established Amami Architects Co., Ltd.
  • 2016 "Denpaku" opening (Amami-Oshima)
  • 2019 Established "Denpaku + Kogei Co., Ltd."
  • Established "General Incorporated Association Shima Hito Takara"

First Class Registered Architect #212534

Kenji Mizukami

Executive Vice-President/ First Class Registered Architect

Message

Through architecture, I would like to achieve the following;
1. The welfare of humanity
2.To give back what we have taken from nature
3. To achieve spiritual happiness

Architecture is not just about forms and color. We listen to the client, to the unheard voices of the materials, the voices of the people working on site.

Out of all the communication, to capture the essence which we can mutually share and to hand on to the next generation a society, culture, environment and earth that we can all be proud of.

Profile

  • 1967 Born in Tokyo
  • Spends most of his adolescence in USA and United Kingdom
  • 1985 Graduated from Tochigi Prefectural Utsunomiya High school
  • 1991 Graduated from Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
  • Attended University of Oregon, USA and Universidad Nacional Autonomade Mexico on an exchange program
  • 1992 Apprenticeship at TASK Architects & group
  • 1997 Established Ma Design Office
  • 2008 President of Ma Design Office Ltd.
  • 2011 Studied Environmental Engineering at Open University of Japan
  • 2014 Vice President of Atelier Tekuto Co., Ltd.
  • 2019 Kogakuin University Part Time Lecturer

First Class Registered Architect #258714

Tsutomu Matsuno

Managing Director/ Management Architect, Amami Architects Co., Ltd.

Message

I am engaged in design with a wish to create architecture that will be inherited happily by the next-generation of children.

For an architecture that is long lasting, it is important that it weathers well, has high basic performance and also is loved by the user.

It is of utmost importance that we share our thoughts at high level of intensity to create an architecture that is long loved.

Furthermore, the most powerful thing about architecture is that it appears physically before us. Let’s create together, architecture that we can truly enjoy the depth of our thoughts and the physical power that architecture has.

Profile

  • 1969 Born in Tokyo
  • 1988 Graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University Senior High School
  • 1992 Graduated from Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
  • 1994 Completed the Master program at Waseda University
  • 1994 Osamu Ishiyama laboratory
  • 1996 Established life+shelter associates, Representative
  • 2002 Chiba University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Urban Environment Systems, Part-time teacher/lecturer (~2010)
  • 2007 Keio University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Part-time teacher lectured on “Architectural theory”
  • 2008 Tokyo University of Science, Faculty of Engineering, Part-time teacher
  • 2009 ICS College of Arts, Part-time teacher
  • 2013 Showa Women’s University, Part-time teacher (~2014)
  • 2014 Atelier Tekuto, Managing Director

First Class Registered Architect