PRESS RELEASE

Architect Kengo Kuma and more trees will be exhibiting“Wooden Block” on the Grass Square at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi.

Architect “Kengo Kuma” and forest conservation organization “more trees” will be participating in “Tokyo Midtown DESIGNTOUCH 2015”. “Tokyo Midtown DESIGN TOUCH ” is the annual design event started in 2007 under the concept of “Enjoy
designs with all five senses”. Everyone from small children to adults can enjoy not only various design exhibitions andinstallations but also dining and shopping experiences related to design with the theme of “become connected to design!”.
Our exhibition focuses on the Grass Square in Tokyo Midtown where special wooden blocks are exhibited.
The wooden block has been made from Japanese timbers with various size of blocks,and the exhibition will also include
special art installation by 3 young emerging creators.

Date: 10.16 fri - 11.3 tue
Hours: 11:00 - 18:00
Place: Grass Square at Tokyo Midtown
Admission: Free
Organizer: Tokyo Midtown
Produce and Support: more trees inc. / more trees design inc.
Contact: more trees inc.

Phone:+81 (0) 3 5770 3969

Fax: +81 (0) 3 5770 3896

MAIL：kikuchi@miru-design.com

PHONE：+81 (0) 70 6971 6611

FAX：+81(0) 3 6701 2254

MAIL：nishiyama@more-trees.org

PHONE：+81 (0) 3 5770 3969

FAX：+81(0) 3 5770 3896

PRESS CONTACTMIRU DESIGN PR ：KIKUCHI
more trees PR：NISHIYAMA1PRESS RELEASE“Wooden Block Square”

Wooden blocks, designed by Architect “Kengo Kuma” and forest conservation organization “more trees”, all of the same
shape but of various sizes, lie scattered in a grassy square in the center of the city. Everyone from small children to adultscan enjoy creations such as the pyramid built from blocks made of Japanese timber.There is also an exhibition of wooden
block works created by the fresh imagination of three groups of young emerging creators. Visitors can enjoy the various
designs exhibitions and events at Tokyo Midtown DESIGN TOUCH and you will “become connected” to design.

KENGO KUMA

Kengo Kuma was born in 1954 in Yokohama (Japan).
He completed his masterʼ s degree inarchitecture at the University of Tokyo in 1979. From 1985
to 1986 he studied at Columbia University as Visiting Scholar. He established Kengo Kuma &Associates in 1990. He taught at Keio University from 2001 to 2008,University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign in 2008, and since 2009 he was installed as Professor at the Graduate
School of Architecture,University of Tokyo. Among Kumaʼ s major early works are Kiro-sanObservatory (1994),the guest house Water/Glass (1995, received AIA Benedictus Award), theNoh Stage in Forest at the Toyoma Center for Performance Arts (received in 1997 Architectural
Institute of Japan Annual Award), the Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art (2000,received The Murano Prize), Great Bamboo Wall in China (2002).
Recent works include Nezu Museum (2009, Tokyo), Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum (2010,Yusuhara), Asakusa Culture Tourism Information Center (2012,Tokyo), the Nagaoka City Hall
Aore (2012, Nagaoka), the theatre Kabukiza (2013, Tokyo), Kyushu Geibunkan (2013),SunnyHills Tokyo (2013). In France,the Besançon Art Center and Cité de la Musique (2012) andthe FRAC (Fond Regional dʼ Art Contemporaine) Marseille (2013), have been completed.

Statement from KENGO KUMA

“I made little blocks of Japanese cedar for you. You can build furniture, houses, or even parks by piling up
these blocks. You can create a world with such tiny pieces. Let’ s enjoy the wondrous experience together.”2PRESS RELEASE

Young emerging 4 Creators will be participating !
Keita Suzuki / Product Designer, CEO and founder of PRODUCT DESIGN CENTER
Born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1982. Inspired to become a designer at a young age by his grandfather, who was an antique collector.
After graduating the Product Design Department of Tama Art University in 2006, Keita was employed at NEC Corporation and Iwasaki
Design Studio, and launches PRODUCT DESIGN CENTER in 2012. PRODUCT DESIGN CENTER is a Product Design studio that
FUJIYAMA GLASS©Taro Hiranomanages projects from the initial planning to the engineering on an international scale, specializing in a variety of fields such as
electronics,industrial equipment, mobility & transportation, furniture,home decor, and art. Recent projects include FUJIYAMA GLASS,
3D PRINT LAB for KDDI, TEAR DROP CHAIR made in collaboration with E Television, and Bhutan in Bhutan with TARAYANA
FOUNDATION (Bhutan). He has been nominated various awards in and out of the country, and participated in the 9th Biennial
International Design Saint-Etienne 2015.

BIRD HOUSE STAND
A bird house stand that uses wooden block designed by Architect Kengo Kuma.
It used to be made timbers coming from the forest, then become anew house for their urban life.

Taichi Saito / Gardener
Taichi Saito was Born in Iwate Prefecture, northeast Japan. His carrier of horticultural work is begun from high school age, thenestablished " SOLSO Architectural Plant & Farm" in 2011. He deal with works that concerned with green widely, designing works
from indoor green to landscape, direction works of the garden tools and the plants shops, and more.
LOG ROAD DAIKANYAMA©LOG ROAD DAIKANYAMA

Shops: BIOTOP NURSERIES (Shirokanedai, Osaka), SOLSO FARM (Kawasaki),SOLSO HOME (ISETAN / Shinjuku,TSUTAYA KADEN / Futakotamagawa)

Relax & Joy tsumiki garden
I provided the experience space which connects toArchitect Kengo Kuma's tunnel, related with our plants.

Mai Miyake / Artist
Mai Miyake creates works which seek to explore the true nature of things,whilst connecting past, present, and futureseamlessly by using techniques that combine the sensibility and profundity of Japanese traditional arts and crafts withthe artist’ s own unique spirit. Exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Gallery at Art Tower Mito, Shanghai Duolun Museum
Home Sweet Home
photo:Satoshi Shigetaof Modern Art, POLA Museum of Art, Mori Art Museum, and OPAM (Oita Prefectural Art Museum) She has also workedon commissioned works, such as for Ginza Maison Hermes,TOTO at Tokyo Designers Week, She received a scholarship

Xat Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts (Paris, France) from 2008-2009. Three books of her collections have been
published, including “Maku Meiro: Down the Rabbit Hole” (Hatori Press, Inc. 2012).

Fumihiko Sano / Architect1981 Born in Nara. At the construction company, dealing with traditional Japanese style . Studied technique , material,and culture as a carpenter.Participates in construction of a tearoom, a Japanese restaurant, hotel, the State Guesthouse,and etc. 2011 Established FumihikoSano studio PHENOMENON.Dealing with the design and installation by making theMIWA

best use of what learned as carpenter and Modern sence.

Can Not See the Forest for the Trees
Some things can only be seen from a bird’s-eye view, andsome other things can only be seen in close look.
You need to have both eyes but sometimes it takes time to see the truth.

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PRESS RELEASE“Wooden Block” will be connecting to shopping area !

Wooden Block City

designed by Kazunori Matsumura

This is an exhibition space that displays products from around Tokyo Midtown within a town built from wooden blocks.
The city is envisioned to gradually grow bigger as various elements connect with and fold over each other.
This work expresses such image by simply piling up almost 1,000 wooden blocks created by architecht Kengo Kuma.
By using the cedar blocks with delicate wood grains, and piling those up in varying heights with slightly differing surface directions,
I tried to create an engaging spatial atmosphere, a town, where heartfelt feelings are generated, and reveal the beauty
within the wooden block itself.If the kind of buildings that bring about kindness and warmth can find its own place,
I think that Tokyo, through such a large city, can also transform itself into a place where new visions for the future are generated.
Display Designer / Artist

Matsumura’ s work focuses on designing displays, exhibition, retail stores as well as commercial installationKazunori Matsumura

in his spatial design bases.His strengths lie in his ability to create an engaging spatial atmospherethrough formulating relationships between the site and objects. He also works as a visual merchandiser.

Komorebi

Nen-Rin

ANNIVERSARY-Milk

Stands and Panels are created by HOO.
HOO.

Recipe for the blessing from forest

A duo by Tomomi Takaoka and Shikino Nagamori.
After working for a landscape design company, Takaoka and Nagamori have been working together since 2012.
Their philosophy being “A distant landscape and a spoonful of soup. The world and the palm of my hand areconnected,” they look at food from the perspective of scenery, culture and society, and creates food installations
that people can only experience then and there.Their works also include various projects for corporations andmunicipalities such as conceptual food presentations, art projects, and designs.

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PRESS RELEASE“Wooden Block” designed by Kengo Kuma.

Photo̲Ikunori Yamamoto

Architect Kengo Kuma has designed simple triangle shaped wooden block called TSUMIKI in Japanese.
They can be combined, according to your imagination. You can challenge original formations to makeyour own toy or sculpture. There is no limit to the size of your creation!

Variety of formations

PackagingPrice: 7 pieces 4,860 yen(w/tax) 3pieces 8,424 yen(w/tax) 22pieces 13,932 yen(w/tax)
size for 1 piece：H11cm W12cm D4cm
*A part of the sales raised through this products will be used for the maintenance of forests.

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PRESS RELEASE

About “more trees”"more trees" is a foresty conservation organization founded by renown
musician Ryuichi Sakamoto with over 100 supporters from variousindustries. Our main theme is to ensure forests and promote woodthinning of domestic forests, with accelerating reforestation especiallyoverseas. Under the theme "Connect our urban lives with local forests,"
we work with local people and governments to find ways to make forest
sustainable and foster the growth of their communities.
Through our operations, we also strive to promote carbon offset byincreasing CO2 absorption and create original products using woodthinned in Japan. We believe these activities would help energize local
community and support creating forests globally.

Our reforestation area map

Structure
local people
corporate organization

都市法人 個人

ServiceValue

サービスの提供

対価

森の恵み

森づくり

Blessingfrom forest

森林Forest*It’ s been expanding since Nov 2011.

6Makingforest