Tsutomu Kurokawa: Space and Product Designs

Tsutomu Kurokawa’s designs have a sense of humour and warmth, even those with the hardest industrial surfaces; a poetic, delicate sensitivity flowing through. He never forgot the role of the user, the conforming of their viewpoint and the creator’s dream a test he relished – taking issue with the complacency of designers who simply follow set ‘rules’ without questioning them. When making space designs, Kurokawa said, I propose a space to the client based on the needs the client has, but which he has not yet imagined. I believe this is true design. Before his death in 2005, he created what he called, ‘space which is free, comfortable and full of potential’, merging different elements into one place or piece of furniture, proposing and testing design ideas every day. Tsumotu Kurokawa possessed a unique vitality, coming as close as one can to what we might call the truth of design. Text in English and Japanese.