Shin & Tomoko Azumi

Background

Tomoko Azumi (born 1966, Hiroshima) studied architecture and interior design at Kyoto City University of Art, worked in an architectural studio in Tokyo and moved to London in 1992, completing an MA in Furniture Design at the Royal College of Art in 1995. Shin Azumi (born 1965, Kobe) finished his MA at the Royal College of Art in 1994. Together they worked as the design partnership AZUMI (1995–2004).

Signature Style

Their work for Lapalma is about reduction: the LEM stool encloses seat, footrest and backrest in one thin, continuous strip of metal. Tomoko Azumi's studio says it starts every project from context and history, working closely with the client's fabrication methods and materials to improve the quality of daily life.

Notable Works

• LEM stool for Lapalma (2000), in the Victoria & Albert Museum's permanent collection since 2008
• ZA System seating for Lapalma
• Tomoko Azumi: interiors for The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom; furniture for Benchmark and other clients
• Shin Azumi: products for Magis, Desalto, Fredericia, Tefal and Authentics

Legacy

In 2005 each founded their own practice: Tomoko Azumi's TNA Design Studio in East London and Shin Azumi's a studio in London, which moved to Tokyo in 2016, where he is a professor at Hosei University. Their works are held by the V&A and the Stedelijk Museum.