[No. 46] Takashi Suo

For some reason, I was recommended by Professor Tatsuya Kishimoto, who I was most indebted to as a student, and have been given the opportunity to write here. After accepting the request, I looked at the website of the Faculty of Science and Technology for the first time. Then I opened the page listing the Keio University alumni interviews. Seeing the renowned individuals who have been featured, I honestly thought I had taken on a formidable task. That said, since I had already accepted, I decided to treat this kind offer as a good opportunity to look back on my student days and give it a try.

My job is primarily to create architecture. Looking back on why I wanted to become an architect, I can't recall a clear reason. However, perhaps because there were many books on architecture at home, I had a vague desire to design buildings since I was little. When it was time for me to take university entrance exams, the Faculty of Science and Technology did not yet have an architecture course, and I had no clear goal for what I wanted to do in college. Nevertheless, for some reason, I decided to enter Keio University. About the only thing I knew at the time was that a certain fashion designer was a graduate of Keio. I thought that if there are people who graduate and become designers, then Keio must be a place where anything is possible. Even if I were to pursue architecture, I vaguely felt that simply enrolling in an architecture department as a matter of course was not for me. So, sensing a somewhat free atmosphere, I decided to enroll with a light heart, naive as I was back then.

After enrolling, I heard a rumor from a senior student that an architecture course would be established the following year. I thought it was a good opportunity and decided to give it a try. I then proceeded to the architecture course in the Department of System Design Engineering. However, my extreme personality got the better of me, and I lost interest in almost everything other than architectural design. As a result, until the design classes began in the latter half of my third year, I lived a life where I didn't actively go to school, spending my days as I pleased. Looking back, I spent most of my time going wherever I wanted and searching for fun things to do. Despite this, I managed to make it to my fourth year and joined the laboratory of Kazuyo Sejima, who is also the boss at the architectural firm where I now work. Through various activities with Ms. Sejima, I feel I was shown the proper attitude to have when creating things. I've only just realized it now, but I think the truly wonderful thing about this university is not the content of the classes or the curriculum, but the fact that people who are trying to create new things in various fields are part of your ordinary daily life, and you can live alongside them through different activities. You don't necessarily learn something directly by spending your daily life together, but I believe you can naturally acquire things that are important for craftsmanship. Later, Ms. Sejima invited me, and as a graduate student, I spent much of my time at the architectural firm where I work now. I worked on many things, including competitions and actual architectural designs.

The work I do, architectural design, is built on collaboration with clients. I have the opportunity to work with people from various professions and with different values, such as young couples, company presidents, and artists. Unexpected ideas and new forms emerge from these interactions with clients. Depending on the exchange, what we create can become endlessly interesting or, conversely, dull. The firm I'm at now may be a bit unusual among architectural firms, but we create all sorts of things, both in Japan and abroad, regardless of the building's scale or even whether it's architecture. We create a variety of things like museums, schools, office buildings, houses, furniture, and tableware. When it comes to creating, it doesn't matter what it is. We pour the same amount of energy into it, whatever it may be. We think desperately, pouring the same energy into a large building as we do into a small piece of furniture. For this reason, our daily life is like an extension of our activities in the research lab. It's common for all of us to pull all-nighters together. Age and nationality don't matter much; we all pool our wisdom every day, debating this and that. During meetings, interesting ideas are adopted and take shape. An idea isn't adopted just because it comes from someone in a high position. An intern's idea could become a crucial one that brings a project together. Perhaps that is the appeal of working in a place like an architectural firm.

When trying to create something new, you sometimes fail. There are many things that don't go as planned. The act of creating is a repetition of very painful work, and it's truly exhausting. When a project is completed and I look back, I genuinely think at that moment that I never want to do something so hard again. Nevertheless, it is a great joy to see what I conceived take actual form as a result of that struggle, and to see people grow fond of it. It feels as if all the difficult days are rewarded in an instant. Every day is a struggle to get through, with one perplexing problem after another, but as I continue in this profession, I hope to create beautiful buildings the likes of which have never been seen, buildings that excite people, and new, beautiful landscapes that feel as if they have always been there.