SHOHEI SHIGEMATSU
Architect
The prolific architect and OMA partner has refused to adhere to a singular style and injected a sense of play into long scoffed-at retail design. This has made him one of his discipline’s most interesting storytellers.
WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE?
Chaplin, Kurosawa, and Kubrick movies. I
IF YOU COULD ATTRIBUTE YOUR SUCCESS TO A SINGLE QUALITY OF YOURS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
A sense of humor and capacity for self-criticism.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE?
I feel fortunate that my work gives me opportunities to engage with diverse cultures, exchanging ideas and perspectives through design. Beyond buildings, I try to contribute to culture by finding different avenues to share and shape conversations around architecture—giving lectures, teaching, exhibitions, and writing.
“More open-ended spaces, less preconceived notions of architectural typologies”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR INDUSTRY? LESS OF?
More open-ended spaces, less preconceived notions of architectural typologies.
WHAT’S COMING UP FOR YOU IN 2025?
The New Museum expansion. It’ll be our first public cultural building in New York.
WHAT QUESTION DO YOU ASK YOURSELF MOST OFTEN WHILE YOU’RE MAKING WORK?
Do I truly believe in the design, or am I just trying to sell it?
WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?
Zoom calls.
in your life?
