The International Architects Shaping Tokyo's Design Scene
Their Tokyo Adventure Begins
Klein, who was born in Italy, met British-born Dytham while studying architecture at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London. They encountered many talented mentors during their student days, and both name influential Scottish architect James Gowan as a particular source of inspiration.
"He told us, 'After you leave college, you could win a competition or get a major commission. Are you going to ring me up or come and ask me for advice? You have to decide things for yourself!'" recalls Dytham. Trusting their instincts and staying open to new possibilities has held the duo in good stead over the decades.
Following graduation, the two friends knew that Tokyo was where they wanted to be. "As young architects living in conservative London, we saw these magazines with amazing buildings in Tokyo and we really wanted to come and check it out," says Klein.
After arriving in 1988 and initially working for Tokyo-based architect Ito Toyo, they co-founded KDa in 1991. Two young foreign architects launching a Tokyo business was unusual to say the least, but Klein and Dytham have never shied away from taking on a challenge.
The launch of their business coincided with the bursting of the bubble economy in Tokyo. At a time when many projects were being canceled, the duo found some of their earliest success in an unusual quarter—designing architectural fences to camouflage large-scale construction sites.
One of these was a 274-meter-long fence to contain a huge construction project taking place along Omotesando Street. "We came up with a fence covered with greenery—almost like you were taking a walking through a park—and we were the first to develop a watering system for the greenery with mist dispensers," Klein explains.
Making Their Mark on Tokyo's Architecture
KDa has gone from strength to strength over the ensuing years. Asked about their signature style, Dytham laughs. "There isn't one! But we do always want it to be fresh and challenging. We are quite unusual in that we are pretty good at interior as well as architectural design, and I think the key is that we offer the full package."
A recent example is the Fender Flagship Tokyo building in Harajuku, which opened in 2023 as the first dedicated store in the legendary guitar brand's history of some 80 years. In contrast to typical guitar stores, which Dytham describes as often being "jam-packed with instruments", the four-story Fender Flagship Building provides an immersive retail experience in an inviting, stylish environment.
Trying to choose a favorite from among their myriad Tokyo projects is "a bit like trying to choose which child you like the best", but Klein says that the Daikanyama T-SITE has a special place in her heart. Built in 2011 for Tsutaya, the campus-like complex offers customers a comprehensive and comfortable approach to the bookshop experience.
Dytham cites Ginza Place from 2016 as one of his favorite projects. Sitting on a major intersection in one of Tokyo's most famous neighborhoods, the striking white building has gone on become a new symbol of the changing face of Ginza.
Tokyo is full of iconic architecture and Dytham particularly admires the Yoyogi Olympic Stadium, which was constructed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and then used again during the recent Tokyo 2020 Games. Klein's choice is St. Mary's Cathedral, a soaring Catholic church in Bunkyo Ward which was inaugurated in 1964. By coincidence, both buildings were designed by renowned Japanese architect Tange Kenzo.
From Tokyo to the World
In 1996 KDa welcomed Hisayama Yukinari into the company as a new graduate, and he has since become an indispensable part of the team. "We've slowly but surely grown together—and had a lot of fun along the way!" says Klein.
It was Hisayama who came up with the name PechaKucha for KDa's signature "show-and-tell" events, based around a simple premise where each speaker is allotted 20 slides and 20 seconds of commentary for each one. PechaKucha's roots lay in KDa's weekly office meetings for staff members to stay abreast of each other's projects. In what was originally intended as a one-off, in 2003 they organized a PechaKucha gathering for architects and design professionals from around Tokyo—and soon realized there was potential for much more.
Today PechaKucha has grown to include over 1,300 cities around the world. KDa manage the dedicated PechaKucha platform and still stay in close contact with the organizers of each event. Although the Japanese definition is "chit-chat", PechaKucha has entered the Cambridge Dictionary to mean a "20 x 20 story-telling format" in English, thanks to the enormous success of this concept that began in Tokyo.
Klein and Dytham have seen many changes since they arrived in Tokyo some 35 years ago. "What is interesting is that Tokyo has many outdoor spaces and is a very livable, walkable city. And now with Google Maps, you can find anything on your phone, and that, along with social media, has made Tokyo much more accessible to people," says Dytham. He also notes how eating alfresco has caught on, adding a new dimension to dining and entertaining in Tokyo.
As their projects have grown bigger, the ongoing challenge for KDa is retaining their hands-on approach with around 20 staff members. "We want to take responsibility for every project, paying attention to and taking care of every detail," notes Dytham.
Irrespective of the project or the client, the duo will continue to put people at the center of their work. "What makes architecture a welcoming space? We always care about human scale and that people feel comfortable in the spaces we create, and will want to come back," says Klein.
Klein Dytham architecture
Klein Dytham architecture
https://www.klein-dytham.com/Photos by Akiyoshi Yoko