Kuma Kengo’s advice to future architects on how to be an architect, the mind of an architect

Being an architect or architectural designer is a steadily preferred career choice among middle and high school students in Japan. With more programs for children’s architecture schools, interest in this more creative, artistic, and emotional profession continues to grow. However, there are few books available to guide these young people. In To You Who Wants to Be an Architect, Kuma Kengo, a world-renowned architect known for his design of the Tokyo National Stadium, the main venue for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, talks about the attitude of an architect and the mind of an architect. The book is a historical account of his failures and successes, growth and frustrations, evolution and stagnation from several perspectives, such as architecture, society, and thought, making it meaningful not only for general readers but also for university students currently studying architecture and practitioners working in the field.

Architects are not divine or special beings, Kuma Kengo says, but rather ordinary people who live ordinary lives and build extraordinary things with a human perspective. Therefore, they should live ordinary lives to the fullest. Kuma Kengo’s belief that architecture is a reflection of society and that those who can wait with a low profile are the best architects will resonate with readers as he shares his life of preparing, stepping back, failing, challenging, and waiting.