Authour List

ADF

ADF

NPO Aoyama Design Forum

ADF was established in 2009, as a nonprofit organization(NPO), with the aim of contributing to the improvement of education and culture related to design by building a wide range of networks with domestic and international organizations and citizens through collection of various information related to design and information dissemination.

Akihiro Yamamoto

Akihiro Yamamoto

Artist

Graduated from Onomichi City University, Department of Fine Arts. Both his works and arts are related to the old buildings; He makes art installation from abandoned houses and also works as a renovator of old Japanese houses and small businesses.

Amanda Joy Calobrisi

Amanda Joy Calobrisi

Artist and Freelance Writer

Amanda Joy Calobrisi is a painter living and working in Chicago, IL. She received a MFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Post-Baccalaureate degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston and a BA in Art with a minor in Psychology from University of Massachusetts at Boston. She is currently a lecturer at The School of the Art Institute where she teaches painting and drawing.

Aya Kawabata

Aya Kawabata

Artist, Art Director, Designer

Aya is a designer, and artist from Tokyo, Japan. MFA in Design at Cranbrook Academy of Art. She currently splits her time between her job in NYC and traveling to speak at design festivals throughout Europe. From ages 3 to 18 she studied classical violin; this early and extensive study of music continues to be a big influence on her process.

Chinatsu Ikeda

Chinatsu Ikeda

Artist, Art Educator, Freelance Writer

Chinatsu is an internationally exhibiting artist and an art educator living in Berlin.  She received her BFA and MFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Aside from her studio work, she is also working as a curriculum builder and an art director for an international school in Japan. 

Ellen Boonstra

Ellen Boonstra

Content Creator & Social Media Specialist

Specializing in content creation, social media management and PR, Ellen is an experienced journalist, editor and business-event planner. With over two decades of expertise in the media, her career has taken her to Europe, Australia, Thailand and Japan, collaborating with a wide network of international clients. Ellen’s interest in art, contemporary design, travel, photography and architecture channels into her authentically creative approach.

Enza Migliore

Enza Migliore

Designer and Researcher

Designer and Ph.D. from Italy, JSPS Post-Doctoral Fellow at Tokyo Metropolitan University. Working internationally between Italy, China and Japan, she explores meaning, impact, and the relative public information of products and materials, through a critical perspective and with an approach on the boundary between Design, Science and Art. She collaborates with chemists to experiment material scenarios, meanings, opportunities, and knowledge.

Enza Migliore and Amedeo Martines

Enza Migliore and Amedeo Martines

Design Researcher and educator

Enza Migliore is a design researcher, practitioner, and educator. She holds a Ph.D. in Design and Innovation from the Second University of Naples and a Post-Doc at the Metropolitan University of Tokyo, funded by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science. Amedeo Martines is an interdisciplinary practitioner working at the intersection of curatorial practices, craftsmanship, and photography. He holds an MA in Contemporary Design from Aalto University, Finland. They focus on materials exploration through interdisciplinary collaborations and experimental practices between Italy, China and Japan.

Filippo Esposito

Filippo Esposito

Architect

Italian architect based in Paris, graduated from University of Ferrara, Department of Architecture. In parallel to his professional activity, he is currently active as a lecturer at Istituto Europeo del Design in Rome and as a Wikipedia article editor.

Hiroyuki Ito

Hiroyuki Ito

Urban Planner

Hiroyuki Ito is an urban planner and public policy expert educated in Australia, France and Japan, specialising in built environment including urban design. Currently based in Europe, working as a programme manager for a development agency supporting preparation of strategies for cities in emerging economies.

Kei Okamoto

Kei Okamoto

Artist, Writer

MFA in Fine Arts from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in New York. She also studied cultural anthropology related to art and Japan. She is interested in nature and people, people's mental landscapes, education, etc.

Keith Tolch

Keith Tolch

Artist and Freelance Writer

Keith is an artist living and working in Los Angeles, California. He studied Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he received his MFA in 2015.

Kumon

Kumon

Artist, Freelance Writer

B.1981 Osaka, Japan. School: MFA in painting and drawing at School of Art Institute of Chicago. Hobby: Fishing

Matteo Belfiore

Matteo Belfiore

Architect and Researcher

Italian licensed architect and researcher based in Tokyo. Founder and CEO of the International Architecture Firm MBA+D specialized in flexible and sustainable workplace design. Alongside professional practice, he is active in architecture criticism and organizer of events on architecture and design.

Meiling

Meiling

Creative Director / Musician

Half Japanese, half Malaysian (Chinese). Graduated from Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) Department at Art Institute, Ceramics Design Major. From May 2018, she moved her base to Guangzhou, China. She also began her music and reading activities in Guangzhou again. Her hobby is traveling. She still loves Thailand although having visited in various countries.

Nader Sammouri

Nader Sammouri

Nader Sammouri is a Lebanese architect with an MBA from Kyoto, Japan. Currently, he is cultivating his passion for writing from his small office fenced by books in Osaka. He tries to merge an appreciation for aesthetics with an eager seeking to understand and grow, and words spill out in the process.

Rika Ito

Rika Ito

Writer, UX Designer

Born in Japan and raised in the U.S. After she graduated from University in Tokyo, she worked at a Japanese organic brand and experienced overseas sales, sales strategy, and marketing. To get knowledge of design, she went to New York to learn UX design and content management since the U.S. is a country developing in its industry. She currently worked as a content writer at U.S. company in Japan and freelance writer focusing on design in the broad sense and sustainability.

Riley Yaxley

Riley Yaxley

Development Writer

Riley Yaxley is an arts professional and writer living and working in Chicago, IL. They hold a Master and Bachelor of Arts in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse at DePaul University. Their writing aims to examine and challenge systems of power. They work as the Resource Development Manager with the National Performance Network

小野寺匠吾 / Shogo Onodera

小野寺匠吾 / Shogo Onodera

Architect

Shogo Onodera studied architecture at Hosei University in Tokyo. In 2010, after working several types of design offices in Tokyo and Paris, he joined SANAA in Tokyo. With over 10 years of those experiences, he built a diverse design base with leadership roles for developing and executing projects around the world. In the end of 2017, he established Office Shogo Onodera.

Sumire Skye Taniai

Sumire Skye Taniai

Artist and Contributor

Born in Japan and raised in the United States, Skye Taniai is an internationally exhibiting artist who is based in Chicago. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. Her work deals with anxieties related to time and the female experience. When she is not making art, she is a conversational English teacher and you can find her hanging out with her dog and two lazy maine coons.

Takafumi Tsukamoto

Takafumi Tsukamoto

Architect

Registered Architect in Japan. After graduating from university, he worked at Tokyo's atelier architectural design office and acquired a licensed architect. After that, he used a working holiday to spread knowledge and he went to London. Currently working as a freelance architect in Berlin, working with German contemporary artists, he is also working as an architect of the designer team aty-p.

Tenten Shiraga

Tenten Shiraga

Cultural Writer, Coordinator

After spending more than 10 years studying and working abroad, Tenten has returned to Japan and joined a Pritzker prize-winning architect office as PR specialist. She followed her passion for culture and art which eventually led her to work as an art coordinator. Alongside her career, she enjoys writing, coordination and PR projects.  

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Tsutomu Yoshikawa

Lead Architect

Born in UK. Graduated Master of architecture degree in California. Programmed with strong computational designing and fabrication. Achieved the scalability in design. Working at an architecture office in London. Projects of Masterplan, office building, hotel, museum, concert hall, products. Personal projects: Working on houses, product, rings and jewelry.

Valentina Cannava

Valentina Cannava

Architect

Italian architect in Tokyo. Her career focus on event, interior and landscape design.  Moved to Japan in 2014, she worked with architecture firms such as Sou Fujimoto Architect, Riccardo Tossani Architecture and others. Since 2017 she focused mainly on the event industry, working as space designer for the event companies Sivans and K2 Japon, designing events for several luxury brands.

Virginia Alluzzi

Virginia Alluzzi

Product Designer

After humanistic studies, she majors in Industrial Design and starts collaborating with institutional channels like Fuorisalone, to promote emerging designers through a brand new event, Illuminazioni. She is passionate about Italian Furniture Design and is fascinated by the aesthetics of everyday things.

Von Chua

Von Chua

Chartered Architect & Founder

Von Chua is a London-based project manager and architect registered in the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Architects Registration Board (ARB). Von's interests lie in injecting life back into existing buildings, art, branding and interiors