Ren Suzuki, architect

Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, and Jean Prouvé—these three figures, active in twentieth-century Paris, often worked together and left behind numerous works of modernist architecture and furniture. Ren Suzuki was a rare Japanese architect who had direct connections to each of them and used those experiences to fuel his own practice.

After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1950, Suzuki worked in the office of Kunio Maekawa. Maekawa himself had studied under Le Corbusier in Paris from 1928 and was by then a leading figure in Japanese architecture. In 1955, upon learning that Le Corbusier would design the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo, Suzuki went to France with hopes of being involved in the project. Through an introduction by Maekawa, he visited Le Corbusier’s atelier. Although he was unable to join the atelier at that time, he did secure a position at the office of Georges Candilis, who had just become independent after working under Le Corbusier. In 1958, Suzuki participated as a draftsman in Le Corbusier’s proposal for the Berlin urban plan competition. Though his time in the master’s office was short, the impression made on him was profound. At the same time, he remarked that “most of the elements in that urban plan were already known” to him, indicating that he had closely studied Le Corbusier’s past work, down to the smallest details. Maekawa, Junzo Sakakura, and Takamasa Yoshizaka are famous Japanese architects who studied under Le Corbusier, and Suzuki deserves to be counted among them.

Perriand was a designer who spent ten years, beginning in 1928, in Le Corbusier’s office and later visited Japan to promote industrial design. Right before Suzuki left for France, he met her in Tokyo through designer Sōri Yanagi. Perhaps thanks to that connection, they stayed in touch from just after his arrival in France until the end of her life. On the "Maison du Brésil" (1959)—a building by Le Corbusier with interior design by Perriand—Suzuki assisted her work. In 1960, Perriand, Sakakura, and Suzuki collaborated on Air France’s offices in Tokyo and Osaka. From the 1980s onward, Suzuki discussed Perriand’s exhibitions with Yanagi, culminating in the 1998 “Charlotte Perriand” exhibition in Shinjuku, Tokyo. For that exhibition, Suzuki visited her in Paris four times, oversaw the entire project, and was in charge of the exhibition layout.

Prouvé was also an early figure of admiration for Suzuki, and they worked on a number of projects together during Suzuki’s time in France. Prouvé had not formally studied architecture, instead honing his talents as a construction engineer; even Le Corbusier recognized his exceptional skill. Many of Perriand’s most iconic furniture designs were made in Prouvé’s workshop, which specialized in metalwork. Suzuki praised him as someone capable of designing everything “from a single screw to an entire city at once,” lauding him as “a master on par with Le Corbusier.”"

It appears that, during his stay in Paris, Suzuki naturally blended into the circle surrounding Le Corbusier—Candilis, Perriand, Prouvé, and others. In 1962, they formed a team to take part in an architectural competition for ski resort facilities in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, France. It was a large-scale project requiring accommodations for 20,000 beds and parking for 7,000 cars. Although their submission was not adopted, it was well-received and garnered something like an “honorable mention.”

Upon returning to Japan in 1964, Suzuki established Ren Suzuki + Ren Architects (later Cabinet Ren Suzuki) and, working initially in collaboration with architect Shōta Majima, undertook numerous architectural projects, including both residential and public buildings. In particular, many of the private residences he designed in the 1960s and 1970s featured characteristic skip-floor layouts connecting multiple spaces, and there were unique innovations in how the indoor and outdoor areas related. A representative public building from that time is the Kenchikuka Kaikan (1968). In the competition for that project, Suzuki’s proposal won first place, and design proceeded in line with the wishes of his former mentor Maekawa, who at the time served as president of the Kenchikuka Kaikan. This building clearly reflects Suzuki’s modernist approach.

One piece that draws the eye with its bold form is the Wacoal + Riccar Sewing Machine Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka World Exposition. For that Expo, Suzuki also submitted a proposal to the idea competition for the basic concept, and his proposal was selected among the 14 that received the Silver Prize. One can see there how he had broadened his thinking about cities and the future.

It is difficult to succinctly express what Suzuki accomplished as an architect. Certainly, he took into account the changes in cities over time and the development of technology, placed importance on both an international viewpoint and details, and persistently viewed architecture in relation to the human element. That draws on more than just what he learned from his French predecessors; it also reflects what he absorbed on his own by looking at the world and thinking it through. We can only wait for renewed attention to be turned to the architecture he left and for its full picture to be brought to light.

M Residence

1974
Design and supervision: Cabinet Ren Suzuki
In charge: Yasuo Hashiguchi
Structure: Yasuda Structural Design Office

Located in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, the M Residence is a single-family home completed in 1974, designed by Cabinet Ren Suzuki, led by Ren Suzuki. On the same site, there was a Japanese-style main house where the young couple’s parents lived. With a single story and a total floor area of over 132 square meters, it is not very large. However, it has retained its modernity and freshness and conveys the architect’s vivid originality even today.

According to Mr. Mogi, who commissioned this house, his request during the design phase was for a space with no feel of everyday life, one that would showcase art and furniture. While he wanted an atmosphere that would blend interior and exterior, he also mentioned that a Japanese-style room was unnecessary. Cabinet Ren Suzuki proposed a wall-based structure that offered a high degree of freedom in spatial composition, and he decided to accept it.

In the completed space, the largest and most distinctive area is the living room. There are openings on the south and west sides, and the black-slate flooring continues almost at the same level out to the terrace, providing an open feel. H-section steel is used visibly as the ridge beam of the roof, extending from the interior to the exterior. A skylight is discreetly placed above the H-section ridge so that daylight can reach deep into the interior during the day. The approach of not clearly subdividing the space, instead treating it as a continuous series of areas, appears consistent throughout the house’s design. Yasuo Hashiguchi, who was in charge at Cabinet Ren Suzuki, said they “expressed spatial continuity by minimizing the variety of materials and colors.”

The fireplace in the corner of the living room is positioned almost at the center of the entire house. Going up the two steps near it leads to the dining space, which further leads to the kitchen. On the other hand, the door on the north side of the living room connects to two bedrooms and a bathroom. In addition to the living space, there are many architectural points of interest, such as the fence on the site being designed as an integral part of the house, and the roof being kept low due to its relationship with the main house.

Mr. Mogi said, "I wanted this house to not have the smell of a Japanese house because there is a Japanese house next to it." Mr. and Mrs. Mogi, who loved modern art and music, and enjoyed the sophisticated lifestyle of Japan at that time, would have been influenced by Suzuki Ren's style. They were very impressed by the feeling of looking down on the dining space and the effective use of the picture window. The green mosaic tiles around the stove were used, based on the materials found in Europe, and the materials available in Japan were selected.

Among the residences designed by Ren Suzuki, there is no other place whose space everyone can experience. This house holds ample potential to become a new cultural hub in the future.

Ren Suzuki

Born in 1926. After graduating from the Department of Architecture, University of Tokyo, he joined Kunio Maekawa Architect & Associates in 1950 and went to France in 1955. He studied under Georges Candilis, Le Corbusier, Jean Prouvé, and Charlotte Perriand. He returned to Japan in 1963 and established Ren Architects in 1964. He worked on a wide range of projects, including Expo pavilions, public buildings, hotels, commercial facilities, and residences. He served as a lecturer at the University of Tokyo’s Department of Architecture, a lecturer at the Yokohama National University Graduate School of Architecture, and a professor at Tokyo Denki University’s Department of Architecture. He passed away in 2009.