Tokyo-based Klein-Dytham architecture (KDa) have built a global reputation for eye-opening design, cutting-edge curation, and socially innovative creative events. Their many award-winning buildings include Daikanyama T-Site, Ginza Place, the Leaf Chapel, PokoPoko, the Toggle Hotel, and many others. In 2003 they created PechaKucha, a global storytelling platform that has spread to over 1300 cities worldwide. Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein join author/designer/activist Azby Brown for a wide-ranging discussion about how architects and planners can instigate inventive change that preserves and enhances the aspects that make Tokyo such a desirable place to live.

Speakers:

Astrid Klein

Astrid Klein was born in Italy in 1962, educated in France and the UK, and since 1988 has lived and worked in Japan. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in London, Astrid was drawn to Japan by the simplicity of design, attention to detail, and the freedom from traditional constraints. In Tokyo she began working for Toyo Ito and in 1991 she co-founded Klein Dytham architecture with Mark Dytham. Astrid is a sought-after speaker internationally. She has been a visiting lecturer at Berkeley University, and has taught at Nihon University and Musashino University in Tokyo. Currently, she is teaching at Toyo Ito's Architecture School for Kids. She is a board member of HOME-FOR-ALL, an initiative to build community hubs in earthquake- and tsunami-affected areas of Japan, and co-founder of DESIGNART, a design and art festival in Tokyo.

Mark Dytham MBE

Born in the UK in 1964, Mark studied architecture at the University of Newcastle and the Royal College of Art in London. In 1988, he travelled with his business partner, Astrid Klein, to Tokyo, and together they found work with Toyo Ito. They soon established Klein Dytham architecture, working freely across 1 disciplines, including architecture, interiors, furniture, installations, and events. He is a board member of HOME-FOR-ALL and co-founder of DESIGNART. Along with Astrid and Hisayama, they devised Pechakucha Night in 2003, which is now a ubiquitous presentation format for creatives globally. Mark is a frequent guest speaker at international design events, has taught at universities in Japan and beyond, and in 2000 was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to British design in Japan. Klein Dytham architecture’s new 344 page monograph “to Tokyo and Beyond” is published on 4th November. www.klein-dytham.com | www.pechakucha.com | www.home-for-all.org/

Azby Brown

Azby Brown is a native of New Orleans, and has lived in Japan since 1985. A widely published author and authority on Japanese architecture, design, and environment, his groundbreaking writings on traditional Japanese carpentry, compact housing, and traditional sustainable practices of Japan are recognized as having brought these fields to the awareness of Western designers and the general public. His books include The Genius of Japanese Carpentry (1989/2014), Small Spaces (1993), The Japanese Dream House (2001), The Very Small Home (2005), and Just Enough: Lessons from Japan for sustainable living, architecture, and design (2010/2012/2022). In 2003 he founded the KIT Future Design Institute in Tokyo, which for 15 years focussed on cognitive and cultural issues surrounding the human hand and its use in the creative process, conducting collaborative research with neuroscientists and perceptual psychologists. His creative work has been widely exhibited at galleries and museums internationally, and he is co-curator of Utopienale, an art and environment festival held yearly in Germany. Since the start of Fukushima Nuclear Powerplant disaster in March 2011, Azby has been a core member of Safecast, a highly successful global volunteer-based citizen-science organization devoted to developing new technology platforms for crowdsourced environmental monitoring which promote open-source and open data principles. He is Safecast’s lead researcher, closely involved with assisting affected communities and analyzing and reporting the issues they face.  https://azbybrown.com/ | https://safecast.org/ | https://www.utopienale.org/utopienale-2025-2/
 

Moderator: Kyle Cleveland, ICAS Co-director and Associate Professor of Sociology, Temple University Japan