URUSHI Toyo Ito Architects

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿

Urushi lacquer carries centuries of history. That weight is part of its beauty, but it can also pull a material back into the past.

Working with architect Toyo Ito and lacquer master Yasuhiro Satake, we tried to make urushi light. Not thick and glossy, but thin, almost transparent—applied in fine layers, just enough to let the wood grain show through.

The plates were suspended in acrylic, like leaves drifting on still water. They moved with the air. The traces of Satake’s hand stayed visible, but the heaviness was gone.

Client
Toyo Ito Architects
Lacquer master
Yasuhiro Satake

Year
2015
Photo
Makoto Fujii

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿 | Atelier: Yasuhiro Satake — Atelier: Yasuhiro Satake

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿 | Six studies, two directions: glossy gradients against carved grain. The gradients were seductive—but the grain was closer to the question. We took away instead of adding. — Six studies, two directions: glossy gradients against carved grain. The gradients were seductive—but the grain was closer to the question. We took away instead of adding.

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿 | Where it starts: the wood, stacked and waiting, long before lacquer. — Where it starts: the wood, stacked and waiting, long before lacquer.

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿 | Placing the blocks—six pairs of hands for objects that look like air. — Placing the blocks—six pairs of hands for objects that look like air.

NaoTamura_Urushi04 | Suspended in acrylic: the plates held mid-drift, weight turned into stillness. — Suspended in acrylic: the plates held mid-drift, weight turned into stillness.

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿 | Urushi sanded back until the rings of the tree come through—the layers thin enough to disappear. — Urushi sanded back until the rings of the tree come through—the layers thin enough to disappear.

NaoTamura_Urushi00, nao tamura, naotamura, nownao, urushi, japanese, plates, craft, art, design, designer, toyoito, 伊東豊雄、田村奈穂、田村なお、デザイナー、女性デザイン, NewYork designer, NYC, Female designer、デザインプロセス、スケッチ、design process, sketches, craftsmanship、漆、工芸、中田英寿 | Atelier: Yasuhiro Satake — Atelier: Yasuhiro Satake

Selected Projects