Shigeru Uchida
Interior Designer

Born in Yokohama in 1943.
Graduated from the Kuwasawa Design School in 1966.
In 1970 Uchida started his own firm, Uchida Design Studio and later in 1981 established Studio 80 with Toru Nishioka. Uchida received the Mainichi Design Award, the Best Store of the Year Special Award, Shokankyo Design Award Grand Prize, the First Kuwasawa Design Award and others. As the leading Japanese designer, Uchida has been engaged in a wide range of design projects such as a number of interior works, furniture, products and urban planning in Japan and abroad.
His major works are the Wave building in Roppongi, the series of boutiques for Yohji Yamamoto, the Japanese Government Pavilion for Tsukuba Expo. '85, the Hotel Il Palazzo in Fukuoka, the lobby of the Kyoto Hotel, the Kobe Fashion Museum, the tea rooms 'Ji-an, So-an, Gyo-an' and the Mojiko Hotel. His works became a part of permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, the Denver Art Museum and others.
His publications include 'Bounds of Privacy', 'Japan Interior vol.1 - 4', 'Interior Design Uchida, Mitsuhashi, Nishioka & Studio 80 Vol. II', 'A City Stimulated by Architecture Hotel Il Palazzo' and 'Mojiko Hotel Aldo Rossi Shigeru Uchida'.

Alessandro Mendini
Architect

Born in milan in 1931.
he was a partner in the nizzoli associati practi until 1970.
he was a founding member of the school for individual creativity 'global tools'.
alessandro mendini was editor in chief of several Italian magazines of architecture and design : from 1970 to 1976 'casabella', from 1977 to 1981 'modo' and 'domus' from 1979 to 1985.
he was a (founder and) partner in the 'alchimia' studio.
mendini cultivates a particular interest in neo-modern and contemporary design. he designs objects, furniture, interiors and installations. he collaborates with international companies such as alessi, philips, swarovski and swatch. he is the artistic consultant to various manufacturers - some in the far east - , providing direction for design- and brand identity strategies. besides his architecture and furniture design, mendini has organized a multitude of exhibits and seminars in italy and abroad.
he has authored several books on design (paesaggio casalingo, architettura addio, il progetto infelice) and is on the advisory panel of the 'domus academy'. his critiques and essays appear in the chief international trade journals.
alessandro mendini is an honorary member of the 'bezalel academy of arts and design' of jerusalem and has been awarded with the italian prize for design and architecture compasso d'oro. he holds an honorary title from the architectural league of new york as well as the title of 'chevalier des arts et des lettres' from the french republic. his work is represented in museums and private collections all over the world.
with his brother francesco, he opened the 'atelier mendini' in milan, italy in 1989. within the atelier, he proceeded to take on such projects as a memorial tower for the seaport of hiroshima, japan; the groninger museum in the netherlands; the arosa casino in switzerland and other buildings in europe.

Johanna Grawunder
Interior designer

Born in 1961, she has worke d in Italy with Sottsass Associati since 1985, and in 1989 became a partner. In addition to her design work with the firm, she works extensively on her own in interior and lighting design and collaborates with Salviati in Venice and Christofle of France.
She was responsible for most of the firm’s major international architectural projects, including:
the Wolf House in Colorado,
the Olabuenaga house on Maui, the Nanon House in Belgium,
26 Pierce Road in Singapore,
the Zhaoqing Golf Club and resort complex in China,
and The Birdhouse (the Mourmans residence) at Lanaken in Belgium.

Ross Lovegrove
Industrial designer

He was born in 1958 in Wales and completed his master of design at Royal College of Art, London in 1983.
In the early 80's he worked as a designer for Frog Design in West Germany on projects such as walkmans for Sony, computers for Apple Computers. Later he moved to Paris as a consultant to Knoll International. He was invited to join the Atelier de Nimes along with Jean Nouvel and Phillipe Stark, consulting to - amongst others - Cacharel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Dupont. Returning to London in 1988 he has completed projects for many furniture, industrial, and product manufacturers. He is the winner of numerous international awards and his work has been published and exhibited internationally including the MOMA in New York, the Guggenheim Museum NY, Axis Centre in Japan, Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Design Museum in London.

Shunji Yamanaka
Industrial designer

1982 B.Eng. (Mechanical Engineering), the University of Tokyo, Japan
1982-1987 Exterior Designer, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
1987 Freelance Industrial Designer
1991-1994 Associate Professor, the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, Japan
1994 Founder, Leading Edge Design
1994- President, Leading Edge Design

[Awards and Honors]
INFINITI Q45: Good Design, MITI, Japan, 1989
Ecru: Selected in the Innovative Design in Germany, 1992
Tagtype: iF Product Design Award, Germany, 2001

[Affiliation]
Regular Member, Japan Society for the Science of Design, Japan
Board member, Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Japan
Judging committee, Good Design Award, Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization, Japan
Board member, Human-Network Research Group, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, Japan