Life With Keisuke Nakamura
Life With Keisuke Nakamura
Imagine this: Instead of vacant buildings in the city (you know them, they’re in every city) being just that – vacant, and therefore: useless – you have a group of wildly talented people filling them with meaning and life, creating new value in what’s otherwise just nothing? Now get this: They exist, and they’re called SKWAT. Here, we chat to Keisuke Nakamura, Tokyo-based co-founder and owner of SKWAT, whose own design studio, DAIKEI MILLS, carries out the spatial design and architecture of the projects. Keisuke talks about what he’s working on right now, public baths, children as a source of inspiration and a Japanese political documentary.
Text by Oliver Bodh Larsen, Photos by Ian Lanterman
Kei wears ANOTHER Shirt 6.0, Khaki Green (see more) & ANOTHER Jeans 1.0, Faded Black (see more).
In 2019, you launched SKWAT, an initiative where you aim to create new value in underused spaces – or ’voids’ – in the city. That’s a terrific idea. How did you come up with it?
“I felt that the city of Tokyo had been stuck in a state of stagnation for the past 10 years or so, and so with the Tokyo Olympics approaching, a time when the city was undergoing rapid transformation, I wanted to bring about a change in the city of Tokyo by launching a guerilla-style project that makes use of the many “vacant facilities” that have come into existence.”
What are you working on right now?
“We are working on projects not only in Japan but also in various other countries. In the Kameari area of Japan, we launched SKAC (SKWAT KAMEARI ART CENTRE) as a redevelopment project under the elevated railway tracks together with JR (Japan Rail Company).”
Kei wears ANOTHER Shirt 6.0, Khaki Green (see more) & ANOTHER Jeans 1.0, Faded Black (see more).
How’s Tokyo changing these years?
“As mentioned earlier, Japan's economy is really bad, and it has been a long time since new things have been created. Urban development in the center of Tokyo, in particular, is unbalanced, threatening people’s affluent lives.”
Let’s say you have a full Saturday. No plans. What do you do?
“It's a small joy, but I enjoy spending the day by myself at a super public bath in the outskirts of Tokyo.”
What’s something that has inspired you recently?
“As my child grows up day by day, the inconveniences that come with raising them are always stimulating for me, and they make me realize how to use my time meaningfully and the true richness of life. So maybe my child is a source of inspiration for me.”
You grew up in the countryside. Do you miss it? And if yes: How do you satisfy that need?
“It's true that I'm always looking for nature, but by encountering different places and people through my daily projects, I often find I can refresh myself from the hustle and bustle of the big city.”
These days, the rest of the world seem to have an unsatiable taste for Japanese culture. Can you name a film or a novel from Japan that everyone should check out?
“The film, ‘Mishima: The Last Debate’. It’s a strongly political documentary about the active student movement in Japan in the 1960s.”
