Materials, Design & Salone Satellite: A Conversation with Nagasawa
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- 11 min read
On the occasion of the launch of REKH MAGAZINE PAPERS, titled THINGS THAT MATTER, the interview with Kazuki Nagasawa, the winner of SaloneSatellite 2025, and the emerging top designer from Japan, is no coincidence; it precedes, within the magazine, the dossier about Salone del Mobile 2026
By Primavera Fisogni
Materials are intrinsically related to design. This is particularly evident in the Utsuwa-Juhi series, which was created by Kazuki Nagasawa1, the founder of Super Rat studio, who won First Prize at the 2025 SaloneSatellite Award in Milan. Nagasawa uses palm bark (shuro) and natural materials to create vases that embrace circularity as a philosophy rather than a passing trend. By reinterpreting traditional Japanese crafted techniques and using natural materials such as wood and clay, Nagasawa ensures a low environmental impact.
For Nagasawa, sustainability is an inherent consequence of these deliberate crafting decisions, enabling materials to endure as resources even after an object's lifecycle has ended. The interview with Nagasawa, the winner of SaloneSatellite 2025, is no coincidence; it precedes, within the magazine, the dossier about Salone del Mobile 2026.
A deep investigation into materials also lies at the heart of the event taking place at Fieramilano in Rho from 21 to 26 April, entitled 'A Matter of Salone', which explores the role of matter in design.
Mr Nagasawa, the circularity of materials can be seen as the present and future of design. Are younger generations of designers aware of this?
When designing, I believe that material circularity is a necessary yet extremely challenging theme. From the point of view of a designer, circularity can be understood as a kind of philosophy—one that questions whether the materials used in a design can continue to exist as resources that may develop into something else even after the object has fulfilled its role.
This is purely my own impression, but while I understand the importance of circularity, I also feel that, at this stage, its evaluation is very much dependent on “time and circumstance.” This is because placing too much emphasis on circularity can potentially weaken the strength a design should inherently possess.
What I consider most important, first and foremost, is an awareness of what kind of new value a design can create and how that value can be implemented in society. Design approached from this perspective is fundamentally different from object-making that leads to unnecessary mass production.
At the current stage, rather than prioritizing circularity itself above all else, I feel that the role of designers today lies in expanding the range of methods and interpretations for reducing waste and environmental impact when an object reaches the end of its life.
You received the SaloneSatellite Award for your Utsuwa-Juhi series, which includes vases that reinterpret traditional Japanese craft-based techniques using sustainable materials and bark. Could you tell us more about this project?
Utsuwa – Juhi Series is a project I initiated independently with the hope that, by re-engaging with the values inherent in Japanese traditional culture, it could contribute to passing culture and history on to the next generation, revitalizing local communities, and allowing the aesthetic sensibilities cultivated in Japan to connect directly to the future. For this reason, before starting the project, I set two absolute conditions. The first was to create a design by applying techniques and skills that have traditionally been used in Japanese crafts, and to construct each object through those means.
The second was to select natural materials as the primary medium—just as in traditional craft—and to adopt handcraft as the method of production. I believed that if a design could be realized while fulfilling these two conditions, the environmental burden during the production process would naturally be extremely low, while simultaneously enabling the proposal of new values within a contemporary context.
Therefore, rather than viewing Utsuwa-Juhi Series simply as a collection that uses bark as a sustainable material, I see it as a project in which sustainability emerged as a result of consciously working through the conditions that I feel are necessary, as a Japanese designer, when engaging in design today.
You are very young, yet you have been creating objects, primarily out of wood, since childhood. What does it mean to you to create sustainable products within the framework of Japanese culture?
Because Juhi Series was the first body of work I presented under the name Super Rat, it is sometimes misunderstood that the studio primarily works with wood or bark as its main materials. In reality, it was simply that, for Juhi Series, I chose palm bark as the appropriate material, and this does not mean that I intend to incorporate the same materials into all future works. At the same time, within Japanese culture there exist countless objects that have been created from natural materials such as wood, clay, stone, textiles, paper, and iron. By applying a craft-based interpretation to such materials, Juhi Series came into being, and I believe it has, as a result, become one possible response to the idea of sustainable products.
For me, creating sustainable products within the context of Japanese culture does not mean adhering to specific materials or fixed methodologies. Rather, I see it as an attitude of expanding the interpretation of values that are often condensed into the single term “sustainability,” and of proposing alternative possibilities. Juhi Series represents one such proposal, and it is by no means the only correct answer. At present, I consciously choose to design within the context of Japanese culture as a young Japanese designer. However, if I were to arrive at new interpretations or clear answers in the future, I believe it would be entirely natural to consider forms of design that do not place excessive emphasis on Japanese cultural frameworks.
You founded Super Rat, a successful design studio. If I’m not mistaken, your philosophy is to be immune to trends. How do you manage to achieve that?
First of all, I feel genuinely grateful to be described as a “successful design studio.” At the same time, I do not consider myself to be in a position where I can truly use that term yet. Rather, I see myself as having only just reached the starting line.
Regarding the philosophy of being “immune to trends” that you mentioned, my honest answer is that it exists and does not exist at the same time. When I founded Super Rat in 2024, one of the very first processes I undertook was to study and reflect on trends from the present back through the past, viewing them through a historical lens. I believe this process is extremely important for designers who have just become independent.
I see designers as fundamentally different from artists or authors. Design, to me, is the act of defining issues that exist within society, proposing responses to them, and ultimately offering a form of answer. In order to make calm and neutral judgments, it is essential to understand what kinds of trends have emerged in the past and how they have been consumed.
Without this understanding, there is a real risk of arriving at answers that miss the core of contemporary issues. That said, understanding trends does not mean accepting them all. As an individual designer, there are things I can and cannot do, and at the same time, I inevitably have personal preferences and emotions as a human being.
For this reason, at Super Rat, we place the greatest importance on understanding and anticipating trends and phenomena from the present into the future, while not being carried along by them. Instead, we focus on the question of “how Super Rat should exist today” and “how we should respond to the issues facing society, and we practice design with this attitude at the forefront.
Shuro trees are widespread in Japan. Why did they become the main material used in your products? What processes are applied to the bark to make it workable?
For this question, rather than explaining it again in writing, I would like to share a video that has already been produced by Super Rat. I believe that watching the video will most likely clarify all of these questions2.
As a young designer, how do you balance the development of artificial intelligence applications with research into traditional craftsmanship?
At this stage, I feel that it is still difficult to make a clear assessment of AI. However, if AI can help reduce the burden involved in the processes of creation and production, then I believe it is a technology that should be actively utilized. I see AI as a tool—one that demonstrates its value when used appropriately in the right context.
On the other hand, when it comes to researching traditional craftsmanship, I feel that relying on AI has clear limitations at present. Current AI technologies can recognize craftsmanship only as “information,” and nothing more or less than that. Certainly, learning about techniques and objects through books, the internet, or videos is an important process. However, when it comes to truly“understanding,” I believe this exists on an entirely different level. To fundamentally understand the work of craftsmen, it is essential to physically go to the site. The activities taking place there, the atmosphere, the environment, and the relationships between people are elements that AI cannot grasp. Even if such aspects were to be verbalized and explained, they would not remain in the body as lived experience. Information that is not acquired through the body, in my view, is difficult to fully internalize and digest.
For this reason, at the current stage, I do not consider AI and the research of traditional craftsmanship to be something I am “balancing” or “integrating.” To me, AI is simply one of many search tools used in research, serving a supplementary role. In contrast, the understanding of craftsmanship must always begin with being physically present at the site.
You work closely with craftsmen. Many traditional Italian skills are being lost in Italy today. What is the situation like in Japan?Reading in writing that many traditional techniques and professions are currently being lost even in Italy was, to be honest, somewhat surprising to me. I had understood that tradition inevitably fades over time regardless of the country, but being able to recognize that such awareness and reactions actually exist felt extremely valuable.
I believe the situation in Japan is probably very similar to that of Italy. While many people understand this issue intellectually, there is often a certain distance between everyday life and traditional culture, making it difficult to feel its reality on a bodily or experiential level.
I think design can play a role in giving a sense of reality to this awareness. However, I see design only as an entry point—something like a hook—and I do not believe that tradition can be preserved or revived through design alone.
At the same time, in Japan, I feel that in recent years there has been an increasing number of multilayered efforts aimed at reviving tradition, involving the media, various initiatives and businesses, and even political actions. Within this broader movement of society as a whole, I believe it is something designers should continue to explore: how design can engage with these dynamics and reconnect contemporary life with tradition.
If I recall correctly, you spent eight years working hard to bring original projects to SaloneSatellite. Has the award you won in 2025 brought you good fortune? What impact has it had on your career?
I founded Super Rat in 2024, and prior to that I worked at several interior design studios. For this reason, I had never exhibited at SaloneSatellite before the 2025 edition. However, the desire to one day exhibit at SaloneSatellite had been with me consistently for eight years, ever since I graduated from school and began building my career as a designer. I first decided to pursue a career as a designer when I was 18 years old. Looking back, it took eleven years from that point to reach this award.
Being given such an opportunity is without a doubt the most joyful experience of those eleven years, and I can say clearly that the emotion I felt at that moment is something I will never forget. If asked whether it brought me “good fortune,” then yes—this award was certainly a great stroke of luck for me. That said, rather than being a coincidence, it felt more like the result of years of accumulated thoughts, efforts, and choices finally being acknowledged and affirmed in a tangible form.
The impact on my career has been significant. Although Super Rat was established in 2024, before receiving this award I did not feel that I had truly reached the starting line as a designer.
Through this recognition, however, I feel that I was finally able to stand at a place where I could genuinely begin walking forward as a designer. This was not limited to a shift in my career alone; it also felt as though my past activities and even my way of living had, for the first time, been affirmed. At the same time, it was a moment in which I felt I had found a sense of purpose in my life.
I am deeply grateful for the many exhibition opportunities and projects that have come my way since then. More than simply increasing my work, this award has given me the courage to move forward with confidence in my future choices and the way I choose to live.
How have you furnished your own home?
To be honest, I have not applied any particular coordination to the place where I currently live. My daily life is almost entirely centered around two activities: working and sleeping. As a result, the layout is extremely simple and stripped down to what is necessary.
Before I realized it, I had been living in the same place for nearly five years. However, rather than feeling that this is a place where I truly “live,” I have a stronger sense that it is simply a place I am living in for now. Because of that, I don’t feel the need to actively project my personal values or intentions onto the space.
Perhaps one day, when I find a place where I decide to settle for the long term, I will finally begin to engage more deeply with the space itself and reflect various layers of intention within my everyday life. For now, I see this period as one in which I am deliberately leaving that space open.
Are there any Italian designers, either from the past or the present, who inspire your work?
If I were to name an Italian designer, many figures come to mind, but if I had to choose one, I would say that Ettore Sottsass has had a particularly strong influence on me.
I do not directly quote his designs, nor do I consciously reference his formal or aesthetic vocabulary. In fact, I feel that the works I propose and Sottsass’ designs are visually quite different from one another. However, the design language he developed, his attitude toward design, and the way he framed design as a form of thought are aspects I remain constantly aware of in my own practice.
In particular, I am deeply drawn to the way Sottsass treated design not merely as a matter of function or style, but as an attitude and a set of questions closely tied to society, culture, and the way people live. His ability to continue engaging with the world from his own perspective—without being absorbed by trends or market demands—feels especially instructive for practicing design today.
In my own work as well, I place the greatest importance on asking questions such as “Why am I creating this design?” and “What kind of question should I be posing to society at this moment?” I feel that the point of departure for this way of thinking is undoubtedly influenced by the ideas and attitude that Sottsass left behind.
Abstract
Questa intervista a Kazuki Nagasawa, fondatore dello studio Super Rat e vincitore del SaloneSatellite Award 2025, contenuta nel secondo numero di REKH MAGAZINE PAPERS, intitolato THINGS THAT MATTER, anticipa la sezione della rivista che contiene il dossier del Salone del Mobile 2026 ("A Matter of Salone"). Al centro della conversazione c'è la serie di vasi Utsuwa-Juhi, realizzata in corteccia di palma (shuro), che eleva la circolarità da tendenza passeggera a filosofia progettuale intrinseca. Nagasawa sostiene che la sostenibilità non debba essere un obiettivo isolato, ma la conseguenza naturale di scelte artigianali deliberate e dell'uso di materiali naturali come legno e argilla. Nonostante la giovane età, il successo professionale e la presenza da protagonista nel mondo, il designer rifiuta le logiche della produzione di massa, ispirandosi alla visione di Ettore Sottsass per porre domande profonde alla società attraverso il design. Nel bilanciare innovazione e tradizione, Nagasawa descrive l'intelligenza artificiale come un utile strumento di ricerca supplementare, sottolineando però che la vera comprensione dell'artigianato richiede un'esperienza "fisica" e corporea che la tecnologia non può replicare. Il suo lavoro rappresenta un ponte vitale tra le tecniche ancestrali giapponesi e un futuro in cui l'oggetto, terminata la sua funzione, torna a essere risorsa.
1 Kazuki Nagasawa is a Tokyo-based designer and the founder of Super Rat, a design studio established in 2024 specializing in interior, furniture, and product design. Born in Osaka in 1995, Nagasawa honed his craft at Kuwasawa Design School before gaining extensive experience at renowned firms like Super Potato, Hashimoto Yukio Design Studio, and Nao Taniyama & Associates. His work explores the inherent power of land and environment, seeking to maximize tradition and nature's perspective. This philosophy earned him the First Prize at the SaloneSatellite Award 2025 and the Elle Deco Young Japanese Design Talent award. He pursues enduring value that remains unchanged across different eras and settings.
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