Architect Kengo Kuma has been appointed as an advisor to hide kasuga Co., Ltd.
He is also participating in the Circular Economy Construction Consortium
and the "Green Composite Hills" project, among others.

hide kasuga 1896 Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Hideyuki Kasuga; hereinafter “the Company”) is pleased to announce that architect Kengo Kuma (Architect, Special Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo) will assume the position of Corporate Advisor to the Company effective October 1.
At the same time, he will also participate as an advisor in projects such as the “Green Composite Hills by hide k 1896” consortium, which the Company operates with the aim of building a “material-centric” circular economy.

Comment by Kengo Kuma

When I first visited hide kasuga 1896’s showroom in Omotesando, I was deeply impressed by their philosophy of reconstructing a wide range of materials—from new materials like carbon fiber to natural materials such as hemp, a traditional Japanese fiber—using innovative techniques, with the aim of reuse and recycling.I decided to accept the position of advisor at the company because I believe that, based on this concept, the synergy between the products, furniture, architecture, and urban environments I design and hide kasuga 1896’s innovative materials will allow us to propose a vision for the future. Moving forward, I look forward to this new challenge, starting with the joint development of sustainable, high-quality materials and exploring the possibilities of what can be created from them.

Profile of Kengo Kuma

Born in 1954. Graduated from the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Tokyo. Founded Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. Served as a professor at the University of Tokyo from 2009 to March 2020. Has been a Special Professor at the University of Tokyo since April 2020. He was deeply inspired by Kenzo Tange’s Yoyogi National Gymnasium, which he saw during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and aspired to become an architect from a young age.At university, he studied under Hiroshi Hara and Shoya Uchida. During his graduate studies, he crossed the Sahara Desert in Africa to conduct surveys of local settlements, where he became aware of the beauty and power of these communities. After serving as a visiting researcher at Columbia University, he established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990.He has designed buildings in over 20 countries and has received various awards both in Japan and abroad, including the Architectural Institute of Japan Prize, the International Wood Architecture Award from Finland, and the International Stone Architecture Award from Italy. Aiming to create architecture that blends into the local environment and culture, he proposes gentle, soft designs on a human scale.He also explores the future of architecture in a post-industrial society through the search for new materials to replace concrete and steel.

Circular Economy Consortium
About "Green Composite Hills by hide k 1896"

"Green Composite Hills by hide k 1896" is a consortium dedicated to building a circular economy through industry-academia-government collaboration, where materials, products, consumers, and recycling form a closed-loop system.
At “GCH,” we are building “traceability” in collaboration with end-product manufacturers and the market, centered on “composite textiles”—soft composite materials made from synthetic and natural fibers combined with eco-friendly plastics. At the same time, we are working to establish separation technologies for these composite materials, with the goal of creating a circular economy system.The Faculty of Textile Science and Technology at Shinshu University joined the consortium in 2020. Mitsui Chemicals joined in 2021, and the consortium plans to welcome various other companies, academic institutions, and government agencies in the future.

Material Think Tank
About "hide kasuga 1896"

hide kasuga 1896 Co., Ltd. is a materials think tank founded in 2012 by Hideyuki Kasuga, an entrepreneur dedicated to promoting the development of a circular economy.
In 2018, the materials research institute “hide kasuga LABO” was established within the International Science Innovation Center at Shinshu University.In 2019, the company opened “gallery de kasuga,” a materials-based circular gallery in Omotesando, Tokyo, and in 2020, formed the circular economy consortium “Green Composite Hills by hide k 1896.”
The company also operates two circular material brands: “hide k 1896” and “BLANC BIJOU PARIS.”