Initiative to Elevate Japanese Architectural Craftsmanship to Spatial Art Begins!

The maker's soul dwells in the space.

NEW KNOWS OLD Inc. (CEO: Kinuko Sekimoto), an interior construction company based in Tokyo, is launching its new business, "NEW KNOWS OLD Art Project," which utilizes the techniques inherited by Japanese architectural craftsmen and scrap materials from construction sites, for hotels, restaurants, and commercial spaces.

Following an exhibition last year, new connections were made with building material manufacturers and design architects, and dialogue with domestic spatial and design professionals is gradually expanding.

Futatsumikata, Maawai, ICHI RIN Photo by shuhei miyahara

There is a reason why some things endure through the ages. The creator's philosophy and consciousness reside in their form.

NEW KNOWS OLD's mission is to express the techniques of craftsmen involved in architecture as art in spaces, using scrap materials as much as possible.

Traditional Japanese techniques such as plastering, carpentry, and woodworking are reinterpreted as contemporary spatial art.

The aim is not only to "preserve and pass down" techniques that are being lost, but also to incorporate them into spaces as new forms of expression, allowing viewers to experience them, and to boost the morale of craftsmen and encourage more people to enter the field.

The maker's soul dwells in the space.

Futatsumikata

Towards an era where spaces are not satisfied by function alone.

Hotels, inns, restaurants, commercial facilities, clinics, galleries, showrooms. Many spaces have become functional and beautifully organized.

However, on the other hand, they are somewhat similar, neatly arranged but not memorable. They are sophisticated, but the spirit of the place is not conveyed.

What these spaces require is not superficial decoration, but an experience where one can feel the unique spirit and presence of the place.

NEW KNOWS OLD reinterprets "Ma" (space/interval), "in'ei" (shadow and light), "yohaku" (empty space), "sozai no kehai" (presence of materials), and "tegoto no aton" (traces of handwork) cultivated over long periods of Japanese architecture into contemporary spaces.

Not preserving old things as they are,

Nor simply creating new things as new,

We create beautiful spaces of the future in the "Maawai" (interstices) between past and present, materials and people, techniques and spaces.

KIZUKI

Designing architectural craftsmanship as a spatial art experience.

"NEW KNOWS OLD Art Project" is an art direction business that designs the techniques of architectural craftsmen not as individual works, but as an experience of the entire space.

The new expressions born from the texture of plastering and handwork, the carbonized wood grain of burnt cedar, and the metallic foil.

The light transmission and shadows expressed through carpentry and kumiko joinery. The memories of architecture remaining in discarded scrap materials.

These are reconfigured not as mere finishes or decorations, but as artistic elements to deepen the memory of the space.

The main contents are as follows:

- Organization and proposal of spatial concepts - Art proposals tailored to locality, materials, light, and circulation paths - Production direction with architectural craftsmen - Consideration of materials, dimensions, fitting, and construction methods - Planning and production of wall art, door/window art, furniture, objects, and installations - Design from exhibition and installation to post-introduction presentation

Leveraging our strengths as an architectural design and construction company, we can read the atmosphere of the place with architectural craftsmen and create unique spatial art. We can propose integrated design and construction without dividing architecture, art, craftsmanship, and spatial direction.

Giving "meaning" to discarded materials once more.

In construction sites, many materials are discarded for reasons such as dimensions, quantity, standards, and storage location, even though they are still usable.

NEW KNOWS OLD reconsiders such scrap and surplus materials not as mere recycled materials, but as materials that hold the memory of architecture.

Cut-off wood, unused boards.

Small fragments born from the site.

These are not unnecessary things, but lumps of potential whose appearance has not yet been refined.

By combining them with the techniques of craftsmen involved in architecture, materials that were supposed to be discarded are reborn as art pieces that create space and narrative.

Main art elements to be developed.

NEW KNOWS OLD develops the techniques of architectural craftsmen and building materials as art elements that open up the experience of the entire space. The main expressions currently are as follows:

Futatsumikata | Special coating using plastering x foil

A wall art that layers the texture of plastering with the light of foil. It is an expression where the tranquility of natural materials coexists with a subtle yet impressive flicker of light.

KIZUKI | Special coating using burnt cedar x foil

Art where the carbonized wood grain and the light of metallic foil emerge. The strength of the burnt wood and the slightly reflecting light create deep shadows in the space.

Maawai | Door/window fittings and kumiko joinery

An installation that expands traditional joinery techniques into experiences of light transmission and sound. It is proposed not as decoration for viewing, but as an element that changes the boundaries and presence of the space.

Products that are the origin of our activities.

Furthermore, as the starting point of NEW KNOWS OLD's philosophy, we also develop products born from scrap materials. These are the origins that connect to the current concept of spatial art.

KASANE | Scrap material art utilizing lamination.

By layering scrap materials, the beauty of the lamination stands out, and the memory of the material takes shape. A stool like a small building.

ICHI RIN | A single flower vase born from scrap materials.

A product where the existence of just one flower creates a quiet focus and resonance in the space. It conveys the beauty of emptiness and presence through the demeanor of small existences.

Maaawai

Futatsumikata

Intended installation spaces.

This project is intended for installation in the following types of spaces:

- Hotel and ryokan lobbies, lounges, guest rooms - Restaurants, tea houses, bars, private dining rooms - Historic buildings, traditional houses, community facilities - Commercial facilities, galleries, showrooms - Joint proposals with architectural design offices and interior designers

"The space is organized, but lacks memorable individuality." "We want to express regional characteristics and the story of materials." "We want to incorporate Japanese aesthetics in a modern way." "We want proposals that are sustainable yet enhance the quality of the space."

For such places, we propose a spatial art program centered on craftsmen's handwork.

We will also proceed with the development of products and installations using woodworking, plastering, foil, burnt cedar, kumiko joinery, carpentry, and scrap materials, as well as exhibitions and domestic and international promotion.

In the future, we are considering the establishment of permanent facilities where spatial art can be experienced, by rethinking architectural craftsmanship as contemporary art, and the development of spatial projects that utilize old resources dormant in Japan's regions.

Futatsumikata

Message from the Representative.

Original Japanese architecture possesses a subtle beauty, an aesthetic of wabi-sabi.

Soft light through shoji screens, shadows created by the unevenness of earthen walls, the aging of wood, the traces of craftsmen's hands. These are not flashy, but they possess the power to remain deeply in people's memories.

On the other hand, in modern construction sites, it is very regrettable that excellent craftsmanship and usable materials are often not presented in a way that fully demonstrates their value.

I feel that they are not without value, but simply lack a refined presentation.

We will shed new light on such techniques and materials and reconstruct them as experiences necessary for contemporary spaces.

Our goal is not to superficially decorate Japanese culture. We want people to feel true richness by naturally implementing the original Japanese aesthetics, emptiness, presence, shadows, and sense of time into our current lives and commercial spaces.

Architectural craftsmanship becomes the memory of the space. Discarded materials become the story of the place.

We will open such values to society as spatial art direction.

NEW KNOWS OLD Inc.

Representative Kinuko Sekimoto

ICHI RIN

Company Overview

Company Name: NEW KNOWS OLD Inc. Location: Osaki Bright Core 4F, 5-5-15 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Representative: Kinuko Sekimoto Business Activities: Design and construction of renovation for houses and stores,

Spatial art direction utilizing architectural craftsmanship, product development, space supervision.

URL: https://www.newknowsold.online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/new.knowsold/

Inquiries regarding this matter.

NEW KNOWS OLD Inc. Contact: Kinuko Sekimoto E-mail: sekimoto@newknowsold.com