KAWAII KOWAI


Academic research
Harvard Graduate School of Design, 2016
Tokyo, Japan

ARCHITEKTUR GALERIE, BERLIN, 2016
PLATFORM 9 EXHIBITION, HARVARD GSD, 2017
"SOLID" A+T PUBLICATION (COVER IMAGE AND ARTICLE), 2017
A+T “INTERIOR MATTERS” (PRINT), 2016

KAWAII KOWAI EXAMINES HOW PHYSICAL ARCHITECTURE REPLICATES DIGITAL BEHAVIORS. CENTERED IN TOKYO, THE PROJECT MERGES KAWAII (CUTE, INNOCENT) AND KOWAI (FRIGHTENING, DANGEROUS) TO DISSOLVE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL CULTURE. LAYERS OF CONCRETE FORM PRODUCT SHOWROOMS, WHILE VARIED APERTURES ENABLE DUAL PEEPSHOW-PANOPTICON INTERACTIONS. THE RESULTING SPACE INTENSIFIES SOCIAL PARADOXES, COMMODIFIES IDENTITY, AND ENGAGES A SIMULTANEOUS CYCLE OF CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION—A FEEDBACK SYSTEM KNOWN AS THE AFFECTIVE LOOP. IT CHALLENGES NORMATIVE ARCHITECTURAL EXPECTATIONS AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS OF SPACE.

ADVISORS: INAKI ABALOS, CRISTINA DIAZ MORENO, EFREN GARCIA GRINDA, ALEX ZAHLTEN