Based in Tokyo and Milan, Nendo is the name of the studio founded by Oki Sato. Born in Canada in 1977, he earned an architecture degree from Waseda University in Tokyo in 2002. The studio has created many award-winning products and its conceptual designs have been produced by Cappellini, Guzzini, Oluce, Tod’s, Cartier, Puma, Camper, Starbucks, Lexus, and BoConcept.
He is known for The Cabbage Chair, an answer to the challenge posed by fashion designer Issey Miyake to create a futuristic object that would convey how man will live in the twenty-first century. Handcrafted from the folded paper rolls used in Miyake’s own pleat-making process, the chair makes use of a product that would otherwise be thrown away. The chair is part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Les Arts Décoratifs museum in Paris. It was also included in the inaugural exhibition at the Design Museum Holon in Tel Aviv in fall 2009.
The studio has received many awards, including the Good Design Award, the German Design Award, and the Elle Deco International Design Award. In 2012, it was named designer of the year by Wallpaper* magazine. Sato has participated in Milan Design Week and created a Rain Bottle installation at Maison & Objet 2014.
Awards
/ Good Design Award, Japan
/ Japan Commercial Environmental Design Association (JCD) Award Gold Prize
/ Japan Interior Architects, Designer’s Association (JID) Award Grand Prize
/ I.D. Annual Design Review Best Product
/ Red Dot Design Award, Germany
/ iF Products Design Award, Germany
/ Furniture Design Award Grand Prize, Singapore
/ Wallpaper Best Domestic Design
/ Compasso d’Oro Honorable Mention, Italy
/ Elle Decor Internation Design Award, Best Young talent Japan Nomination
/ Good Design Award, Award Winner
/ Tokyo Designers Week, Design Premio
/ Cuusoo ‘Shitsunai’ Design Competition, Grand Prix Award
Literature
2011
/ Barbara J. Bloemink, The State of Things. Design and the 21st Century. Israel:
Design Museum Holon, 2010
2010
/ The state of things. Design and the 21st century. Israel: design museum holon, 2010. Illustrated
p. 126
2008
/ Thomas, Amanda and Yasue Miyagi, eds. Nendo. Cologne: daab, 2008
/ 21_21 Design sight. Xxist century man. Japan: 21_21 design sight, 2008 Illustrated pgs. 82-85
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21_21 Design Sight/Issey Miyake, Tokyo, Japan
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal
Design Museum Holon, Holon,Israel
IsraelMuseum, Jerusalem,Israel
High Museum of Art, Arlanta
Lake St. Louis Historical Society, Montreal, Canada
MondriaanFoundation, Netherlands
Musée des Art Decoratifs, Paris, France
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Triennale Design Museum, Milan, Italy
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Denver Museum of Art, Denver
Museum of Modern Art,New York, NY
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
Museum of Fine Art, Houston
