Jo Nagasaka
Japanese Designer
Born 1971
Born in Osaka, Jo Nagasaka studied architecture at the Tokyo National University of Fine arts before founding his practice Schemata Architects in Japan’s capital in 1998.
His work ranges from individual products to large-scale installations, interactive interiors and entire buildings, and is characterised by an interest in bringing new life into old objects and ideas with modern solutions and techniques. Examples include the Sayama Flat, a groundbreaking renovation project in a post-war apartment block in Sayama-shi, and the Happa Hotel, an exhibition that temporarily turned a building of disused offices and galleries into a new type of hotel, with a workshop, bookstore, and cafe. Both showcased Nagasaka’s ability to repurpose and breathe new life into unloved spaces and objects. Recent projects have included the conversion of a Tokyo factory into an artist’s studio with an indoor garden, and a fashion boutique with an interior that is entirely visible from the street.
