'Old Is New' by Hiroshi Sugimoto & Tomoyuki Sakakida

“The oldest things are the newest” – this paradoxical idea is present throughout the oeuvre of contemporary Japanese artist and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. In 2008, Sugimoto and the architect Tomoyuki Sakakida founded the New Material Research Laboratory, an architectural firm that researches and develops “new materials” from known materials and techniques by applying a different approach and interpretation. The laboratory’s aim is to rethink the use of old materials passed on to us from ancient times, the Middle Ages and the modern period. It advocates for a reconnection of the present with a bygone era, and to extend that connection to the future through architecture.

'Old Is New' delves into the art and architecture, as well as the archaeological philosophy and contemporary practice, of the New Material Research Laboratory. Richly illustrated, the book shows the choice of materials for each project. The photographs in itself are compositions, presenting scenes that show a balance of the present and past. Sugimoto and Sakakida, discussing their practice and approach, wrote the principal texts of this volume. Additional text contributions delve into the origin of the laboratory’s design ethos rooted in Japanese tradition and aesthetics and their historical context. The book also includes an annotated index of materials and classical Japanese techniques with information drawn from the laboratory’s research.

Hiroshi Sugimoto was born in Tokyo in 1948. After graduating from Saint Paul's University, he moved to the United States and started his career with photography in New York in 1974. Sugimoto has received international recognition as a photographic artist through his solid technique and clear concept seen in series such as “Seascapes” and “Theaters”, and his works are collected by major art museums worldwide. In recent years he has expanded his field of activity to literary and architectural work. In 2008, he founded New Material Research Laboratory together with the architect Tomoyuki Sakakida. Sugimoto's works have won many awards, including the Mainichi Art Prize in 1988, the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography in 2001, and the 21st Praemium Imperiale in 2009 and Isamu Noguchi Award in 2014.

Tomoyuki Sakakida was born in Shiga in 1976. He studied architecture at the Kyoto Institute of Technology and worked for Nihon Sekkei Inc. before establishing his own practice, Tomoyuki Sakakida Architect and Associates, in 2003. In parallel with running the practice, he worked for Waro Kishi + K. Associates / EX from 2003 to 2006. In 2008 Sakakida founded New Material Research Laboratory with Hiroshi Sugimoto, and since 2013 Sakakida is the director. He is currently teaching at the Kyoto University of Art and Design. Sakakida won the 28th BELCA Award in 2019.