Design Without Pretense Creates Something New
Keisuke Nakamura（DAIKEI MILLS/SKWAT） Interview with Keisuke Nakamura of DAIKEI MILLS/SKWAT
The projects exhibited at alter. are selected through screening by committee members. Committee members include curators from world-renowned institutions like MoMA and Centre Pompidou, directors of cutting-edge design media, and designers active across various fields. On this website, we will publish interviews with committee members to provide transparency into alter.’s process.
Our third committee member is Keisuke Nakamura, who serves as representative of the design firm “DAIKEI MILLS,” involved in designing numerous spaces and facilities, while also developing various initiatives through his own project “SKWAT.” Through this interview with Nakamura, who has recently been teaching at Tama Art University, we explore the approach to design that will be required of future creators.
Taking Initiative as Designers
– Could you tell us about the work and activities you’ve undertaken so far?
I established the design firm “DAIKEI MILLS” in 2011, and have been involved in designing various spaces including stores for brands like ISSEY MIYAKE and LEMAIRE, as well as hotels like NOT A HOTEL ASAKUSA. For LEMAIRE, we created fixtures using reclaimed materials from old traditional houses in Osaka, and for NOT A HOTEL ASAKUSA, we created a space where guests could experience being inside speakers, inspired by the original owner’s love of music. I’ve consistently focused on understanding the background and unique character of each location, rather than imposing my own interests.
Then, from 2020, I independently launched a project called SKWAT, and based at “SKAC (SKWAT KAMEARI ART CENTRE)” in Kameari, I’ve been developing various initiatives including not only architecture and interior design, but also publications and radio programs. People who resonate with our philosophy have commissioned us for design work, and opportunities for collaboration have emerged, creating an expanding network of activities.
— Why did you independently launch a project like SKWAT?
When I began considering launching this project, society was starting to move toward the Tokyo Olympics, and Tokyo’s landscape was about to change in both positive and negative ways. Rather than just waiting for clients, we wanted to create a platform where we could actively share our message with society.
— In this alter., we also value having people launch projects based on their own sense of urgency, just as you launched SKWAT. What impression did you have when you were contacted about participating as a committee member?
I found it interesting that rather than individuals exhibiting products, multiple creators would come together to form groups, and I felt that you were trying to shake up the design industry. To be honest, I haven’t had very good impressions of typical “design events” in the past. Even large-scale events tend to be insular and don’t expand beyond the industry. I sometimes questioned whether design events had any real significance, which is why with SKWAT as well, rather than simply planning events, we emphasize creating interesting communities that involve local people. I think you reached out to me because alter. also wants to dissolve various boundaries.
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“SKAC (SKWAT KAMEARI ART CENTRE),” which opened in 2024, is a complex facility created under the elevated tracks in Kameari
Software Over Hardware
— What challenges do you think the current design industry and creative industry are facing?
Across all genres, I feel that creators have become conservative and are shrinking back. Many people are passive, not taking action themselves. Japan especially has an established domestic market, so it’s possible to survive without actively expanding activities and making announcements, but if this continues, the gap with overseas will only grow larger. Now there are many tools available for communication without relying on media, and I believe the role of future creators will be to take initiative themselves, gather supporters, and build community-like structures.
— So Japanese creators especially should be more proactive.
In design and art education too, Japan tends to emphasize technique, while communication is very weak. I’m currently teaching at Tama Art University myself, and I feel that overseas art schools properly consider the importance of communication. Of course technique is important, but looking at Japanese creators, I feel like there are increasing numbers of people who have real ability and produce high-quality work but can’t successfully get it out there.
Even when interacting with students, those who are motivated are actively engaged and sometimes inspire me, but many cases involve people who can’t communicate about themselves well. Looking back at history, there have been creators like Issey Miyake who made sensational impacts overseas as well, but the reason young creators and new generation creators get less focus might be because they face challenges in communication.
— In this context, are there any movements you’re currently paying attention to?
This is exactly what I’m telling students in my Tama Art classes now, but the importance of software thinking over hardware thinking is increasing. For example, when designing architecture or interiors, rather than starting from the design of hardware like spaces and fixtures, I think it’s better to focus first on the softer elements—context, philosophy, and people—rather than starting with hardware like spaces and fixtures. Rather than immediately thinking about furniture materials, design, and form, it’s important to look at what lies dormant in that place or what is necessarily there. Looking at movements not just in Japan but overseas as well, I feel like cases focusing on software over hardware are increasing.
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The “A Tree” project at GINZA SIX presents from multiple angles the process of “one tree becoming furniture and architecture.”
Finding Expression in the Everyday
— What do you expect from the creators participating in alter.?
Creating work that feels natural and unforced. Young creators often try to achieve something beyond their means, but what you consider ordinary might be exactly what’s fresh and uniquely powerful to others. I’d be happy to encounter projects where I can properly feel each individual’s sense of what fits their true size.
— alter. focuses on products within design, but in your screening, what do you consider important as “product function”?
For any product, not being unpleasant is important. Now when we say “product,” there’s everything from items full of functionality to things close to art pieces, and you could say the boundaries of the product category are dissolving. I think this expansion itself is a wonderful phenomenon, but if something is to be used by someone as a product, I think it’s required that people don’t feel unpleasant when confronting it.
— In recruiting projects this time, alter. hasn’t strictly defined “product,” and I feel that the definition and conditions of products are diversifying.
In the first place, I don’t think we need to define exactly what constitutes a product. This is also something I discuss in my Tama Art classes, but while strict definitions and narrowing genres makes communication with others smoother and easier to understand, it often results in confining ourselves within set frameworks.
As creators, I think it’s fine to not be bound by detailed genre definitions and leave interpretation to the users. Some people might recognize something as a product, others might not. The name might change depending on the person. I feel like the zeitgeist is moving in that direction too.
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In the TTT/MILANO project, they collaborated with photographer Daido Moriyama to design public restrooms at Milano Duomo station.
— alter. will have not just product designers in the narrow sense but diverse creators participating, and perhaps genre and role boundaries will continue to dissolve.
When interacting with students too, I often say they shouldn’t be bound by categories. Many people enter art universities thinking they want to become “architects” or “product designers,” but being too focused on professions limits your activities. Even if you don’t become an architect, there are various ways to relate to architecture like structural engineering or development, and being able to shift activities in various directions should actually be creators’ strength.
— As the nature of products and design diversifies, what points will you focus on as you approach alter.?
Overlapping with what we’ve discussed, I intend to focus on “whether it’s expression that fits one’s true size,” “whether there are points I can empathize with,” and “whether the creator’s aesthetic sensibility exists.” Whether the work feels natural and unforced—meaning creators have drawn from their daily experiences without straining for effect.
Points of empathy means whether there’s interaction. Just because there’s no definition of products doesn’t mean I’ll judge everything based on individual preferences, so for example, when looking at a product, being able to make someone think “this looks comfortable to sit on,” or being able to generate some kind of interaction between creator and user is important.
At the same time, though it should go without saying, I want things to reflect the creator’s aesthetic sensibility. There can be various expressions from minimal and beautiful to grotesque and avant-garde, but I hope to view various projects while valuing that the creator’s own aesthetic sensibility can be clearly felt.