Jan22686 F eFbe2b22523386 9 APAC Insider- Business Awards 2023 cities having a clear-cut vision of the future, designs are in demand all over the world. We plan to broaden the scope of our projects expanding into larger-scale architecture and urban planning. We’d also like to get some commissions overseas. Right now, we’re excited about the future of architecture and cities.” Contact: Yoshitaka Uchino Company: YDS Architects Web Address: www.ydsaa.net Founded in 2004, Tokyo-based creative design agency, YDS Architects (YDS) develops ideas and concepts to improve lives. The practice aims to create beautiful, innovative spaces where people can feel at one with nature by unifying architecture with its surroundings. We chat with company founder Yoshitaka Uchino to find out more. Bringing together a group of architects, urbanists, thinkers, scientists, and engineers, the team at YDS Architects works together to unite beauty and science. The practice, driven by a shared vision to create and build new and innovative designs, aims to break down boundaries between architecture and the natural world. Yoshitaka tells us, “We are visionaries of art and science with philosophy. We’re driven to create unique and original designs and pursue every possibility to ensure we get it right. Realising a new vision is the value our practice focuses on most.” The offices of YDS are in Chiyoda City. Home to the Imperial Palace, numerous parks, and museums, one can only imagine the location as a perfect source of inspiration for the designers and creative thinkers at YDS. As lead designer, Yoshitaka produces many sketches and models of a project concept before opening up discussions with the rest of the team. Despite the volume of work involved in creating a final design, YDS aims to offer outstanding service at a reasonable cost. The practice takes a holistic view of its designs ensuring that they are functional for occupants, and also integrate well into the cityscape. Yoshitaka explains, “We aim for our designs to live in harmony with the public spaces that surround them. We design many different types of buildings including houses, apartments, kindergartens, and offices. We’re not interested in designing something ‘cool’. We want to create spaces that show a deep understanding of human life. For example, when we’re looking at a kindergarten, we’ll consider how children will want to play and how spaces can help to nurture their minds during learning.” At the moment, YDS is designing new nurseries for a project which is due to roll out in several areas across Tokyo. Named ‘Nursery Wrapped in Woods’, the sensitive and aesthetically-pleasing openplan spaces are perfect for play, dance, and learning activities. Construction of the project is due to begin in 2024. Meanwhile, ask Yoshitaka about the economic climate in Japan. He says, “The situation in Japan is improving. The construction industry is booming. There have been very few changes in politics and society, and that means there’s a strong tendency to follow the old ways. Innovation is at a lower level than in other Asian countries. That’s one of the reasons we’re so motivated to pursue worldleading innovation and bring designs based on ideas from the APAC region to the world.” To showcase YDS’s ideas, ideology, and philosophy, Yoshitaka and business partner Mana Muraki have created a second website: https://a-voyage.net/. The architecture travelogue offers a unique perspective on design as well as inspirations such as travel and history. Yoshitaka says, “We’re aware that architectural ideas and concepts can be difficult to understand. As most of our clients are not architects, we thought it would be a good idea to explain our thinking and how we work. That’s why we created the website. We’ve written these articles with the general public in mind. We hope it’s a valuable resource for many.” Looking to the future, YDS Architects has several projects in the pipeline including hotels and factories. Excitingly, the company has recently had patents granted for its designs in the US and Japan. Yoshitaka closes by telling us, “With more and more Most Innovative Global Architecture Design Practice 2023 Oct23451
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