The pressures of sustainability are making it difficult to be a young designer starting out in the industry, Nendo founder Oki Sato told Dezeen in this interview.
At the presentation of Italian brand Paola Lenti's Hanarashi collection during Milan Design Week, Mr. Sato told Mr. DeZene that it has been exactly over 20 years since he first presented his work in Milan.
The designer, who founded architecture and design studio Nendo in 2002, presented his work in 2003 as part of Salone Satellite, a showcase for young designers at Milan's furniture fair Salone del Mobile.
“It's very difficult for young designers.”
Sato believes it would be difficult to get started in the industry today, as designers are increasingly being asked to focus on sustainable design.
“I think the responsibility of a designer is becoming much tougher every year. It's huge and I feel it's really difficult to start as a young designer at this time, because design is all about coming up with interesting ideas. Because we're not,' and we're making things,'' Sato told Dezeen.
“We have to think about materials and processes. We have to think about whether they are not just human-centric, but also for the planet, and how they will be recycled in the future,” he added. Ta.
“For young designers and small studios and workshops, it is very difficult to consider all these issues.”
While it's becoming increasingly difficult to start a career in design, Sato believes the sustainability challenge requires more designers to tackle it.
“It's much more difficult than when I started, but this is something we all need to figure out together, and we need to enjoy this process as well,” he said.
“The most important thing is that things should have a second life, not just reusing them, such as making a new table using scrap wood,” he added.
“I think the world needs more designers right now, because there are so many more problems to solve and we need to work together.”
“If Gendo can do it, so can we.”
Sato also believes that Nendo's work influenced young Japanese designers to exhibit in Milan.
“When I was exhibiting, there were only two or three Japanese designers.” [in Milan]And it was a little unusual for a Japanese designer to come and exhibit,” he said.
”[Now] I think many young Japanese designers think, “If Nendo can do it, so can we.'' ”
In addition to new product launches, Nendo is currently working on a number of large-scale projects, including the Japan Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka.
Mr. Sato will serve as the general producer and designer of the pavilion, whose architectural design is by Japanese studio Nikken Sekkei.
“This is the host country's pavilion, so it's the biggest, 10,000 square meters, so we have to work on the architecture and carefully select the interiors,” he said.
“It's kind of a nightmare because it's like 15 Salone del Mobiles happening at once,” he joked.
The pavilion will be constructed from cross-laminated timber (CLT) and will serve as the expo's own waste disposal and recycling space.
“We are trying to turn this into a waste disposal site. We are trying to collect waste from other pavilions every day and use it for energy, producing heat, electricity and water.” Mr. Sato said. .
“People can also enjoy the process. We will enter [the pavilion] When combined with waste, it becomes water, which can be used to create blueprints and create 3D printed objects. ”
The “highly conceptual” pavilion will introduce Japan's history and also introduce new technology. There are three entrances, and the main one changes throughout the day, offering different experiences for visitors.
“This is a huge deal and we expect millions of people to visit over the next six months,” Sato said. “This is the whole experience that we're trying to design. And I think that's what I tried to do from day one as his Nendo, which is to be very flexible.”
“Nendo means play dough, and we are trying to integrate not only the architecture but also the interior and the small objects inside. This is the kind of 'Nendo' pavilion that we are looking for.”
The studio also creates interiors for France's TGV trains, a project Sato said Nendo has been working on for “about seven years.”
“We are working on interior and bar carriage deliveries,” he said. “They were supposed to start running towards the Paris Olympics, but a lot of things happened because of the coronavirus. Hopefully it will be at the end of this year or next year.”
Mr Sati said he was looking forward to relaxing next year once Nendo's big project was completed.
“For Nendo, the Olympic cauldron, the TGV and Expo were huge projects for us,” he said.
“During Salone, it wasn't like designing something fun. It was a very complex project, with a lot of politics involved, budgets and schedules,” he added.
“So when that happens next year, I'm finally going to relax.”
The main photo is by Seiichi Saito.
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