Casa da Arquitectura presents, until March 8, the exhibition Kengo Kuma: Onomatopeia, which adapts projects developed by the architect to the Portuguese context. Kengo Kuma’s studio is responsible for the exhibition design and scenography, reusing existing structures as an exercise in sustainability and dialogue with the space.
Among the featured works is the Floating Teahouse (Fuan), which incorporates Amorim cork in its base. Inspired by the Japanese onomatopoeia fuwa fuwa, often used to express lightness, the piece also reflects the ambiguous relationship between people and their environment.
In this installation, Portuguese cork brings innovation and sustainability to the work while conveying a sense of softness, a choice that reflects Kuma’s philosophy: good architecture, like good sushi, depends on “choosing the best material, from the best place, in the right season.” Here, cork expresses Kuma’s vision, representing sustainability, humanism, and the cultural dialogue between Portugal and Japan, reinforcing the connection between architecture, nature and material culture.
The exhibition gathers 22 models, 67 photographs of 19 projects, 13 drawings and texts about onomatopoeias, as well as 7 installations and 21 publications, offering visitors a broad view of Kengo Kuma’s creative work.
About the Exhibition
Kengo Kuma: Onomatopeia stands out as one of the main highlights of this autumn’s cultural calendar, giving visitors the chance to explore the work of one of today’s most influential architects.
A parallel program of activities invites the public to discover different expressions of Japanese culture. Through guided tours, workshops, performances, concerts and traditional ceremonies, each event creates a dialogue between visual arts, music, the body and ritual.
The “onomatopoeias,” Japanese words that express sounds and movements, form the conceptual core of the exhibition. Inspired by these expressions, which convey physical and emotional sensations, the exhibition reveals the essence of Kuma’s architecture and invites visitors to experience it through matter, light and space, in a direct and sensory way.
Kengo Kuma, the Architect
Born in Yokohama in 1954, Kengo Kuma grew up during Japan’s post-war economic boom. He pursued postgraduate research at Columbia University, where he met architectural historian Kenneth Frampton in 1985. Frampton’s writings on critical regionalism, seen as the link between the universal language of modern architecture and the specific context of each place, helped shape Kuma’s architectural thinking. He returned to Japan in 1986 and, in 1990, founded Kengo Kuma & Associates, now an international firm with hundreds of projects across several continents.
@ Constança Soutinho
