A conversation about two studios, one set of drawings and nine hours of time difference.
Kenji Arai leads our Kyoto studio. We talked with him about working on the same drawings from two cities, with nine hours of time difference.
The conversation has been edited for length.
How the two studios work
Kyoto draws in the morning, Lyon reviews in the afternoon.
Every project keeps one shared set of drawings, never two versions.
Partners meet on site, not on screen, at every key phase.
The time difference is a gift. Every drawing gets a second look while its author sleeps.
What Kyoto brings
Kenji speaks about precision in joinery, and about the patience of craftsmen who will not start until the drawing is right.
In Lyon, that patience has changed the way we detail timber, and the way we talk to builders.