japanese designer shigeru uchida dies aged 73

designboom is sorry to hear of the passing of japanese leading designer shigeru uchida at age 73. known for diverse design projects worldwide, uchida’s work includes architectural interiors, furniture, industrial design products, and urban planning. during his career, the yokohama-born designer created a series of boutiques for yohji yamamoto, the hotel il palazzo in fukuoka, the kobe fashion museum, the team rooms ‘ji-an, so-an, gyo-an’, the mojiko hotel, AVIAMO series for fujitsu general, and oriental hotel hiroshima. he will be missed by everyone who met him and who followed his work.

read our interview with shigeru uchida here.

‘l’uovo’ floorlamp for yamagiwa

‘I’m interested in something beyond the visible or touchable, that is, the existence within the invisible. throughout the 20th century, we have placed too much emphasis on the visible, considering that they are only concrete things,’ commented shigeru uchida on his interests.

knife by shigeru uchida for ‘sámi knife II’ exhibition, presented at the saint-étienne biennale 2010
see designboom’s feature on this product here

held in permanent collections at the metropolitan museum of art, the san francisco museum of modern art and the conran foundation amongst others, shigeru uchida’s work will remain part of our cultural heritage.