Kana Arioka

FOLD UN FOLD, by Kana Arioka

With her alter ego FOLD UN FOLD, architect Kana Arioka explores the careful gestures of folding and unfolding as an open process for designing spaces without contours. Through this clear method - at once defined and boundless - she (un)folds paper and textile models for furniture, objects, clothing and graphic designs. By transposing those models to plywood furniture or by adding holes and fasteners to larger pieces of fabric, her final designs are not final; they transform and dialogue in an evolutive user experience of the simple ritual gestures that make a space into a home. Wearing, talking, reading, positioning, celebrating – by requiring interaction from the user, Kana aims to facilitate a more conscious way of life, not framed by walls but opened up by bodily experience. Her residency period will be dedicated to experimentation, finding production partners, composing a catalogue of possibilities and showcasing the FOLD UN FOLD universe in the public realm through installations and performances.

Beyond the boundaries between architecture, fashion, product and graphic design is where you can meet Kana Arioka. She obtained a degree in engineering in Tokyo in 1996 and in architecture in Venice in 2003 before moving to Brussels in 2011. She has worked as an architect for Atelier Bow-Wow in Japan and for 51N4E in Belgium. For architecten de vylder vinck taillieu she has worked as an architect and curator for exhibitions in VAi/deSingel Antwerp and TOTO Gallery MA Tokyo. Kana also has extensive experience as a researcher, lecturer and jury member at universities in Belgium, Japan and the US. Today, her independent practice takes a turn under the name FOLD UN FOLD.