OnDesign Partners

Founded in 2003 and led by principal architect Tsukasa Nishida, OnDesign Partners has established itself as one of Japan's most innovative architectural practices, operating from its Yokohama headquarters. The firm's distinctive approach centers on exploring diverse architectural "languages" derived from organic movements of creating, learning, opening, testing, and living, generating what they term "collective knowledge" through the intersection of these varied dialects.

OnDesign's practice spans multiple scales, from intimate residential interventions to comprehensive urban regeneration projects and institutional commissions. Their portfolio demonstrates particular strength in community-oriented design, evidenced by award-winning projects such as the Yokohama Apartment, which garnered the JIA Newcomer Award in 2012, and the Kanagawa University International Student Dormitory, recipient of the Good Design Best 100 and Japan Spatial Design Award Gold Prize in 2020. The interior design team for the LiSH Studio1 project comprises Miki Nagahori, Masayuki Hamamoto, and Norihiro Nishioka, all core members of OnDesign. The project also brought together Taiji Fujimori Atelier for furniture design, Chiharu Ozawa for furniture selection, Mantle for lighting design, hokkyok for signage design, and SOLSO for landscape design, demonstrating comprehensive cross-disciplinary collaborative strength.

The firm's commitment to flattened hierarchies in thinking about people, cities, and architecture has yielded recognition across two decades, including the 2022 Yokohama Culture Award for Cultural Arts Encouragement and representation at the 2016 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition. Their methodology emphasizes dialogue, whether with residents in urban contexts or inhabitants in residential projects, positioning architecture as a participatory medium that responds to and catalyzes human interaction.

OnDesign's design philosophy centers on organic "movements", exploring, designing, and continuously disseminating various "languages" such as "creating", "learning", "opening", "testing", and "living". Through the overlap of these languages (collective knowledge), the firm values thinking about "people" and "towns" and everything related to architecture in a flattened manner. This philosophy manifests in projects ranging from temporary community hubs to permanent cultural facilities, consistently prioritizing spatial generosity and programmatic flexibility.

The firm's design scope encompasses architectural design, supervision, operation planning, and urban planning, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of architectural practice. Their portfolio includes not only architectural projects but also participation in broader architectural discourse through hosting various workshops and events, exploring the role of the built environment in shaping society. Through their interdisciplinary methodology, OnDesign integrates technical precision with conceptual rigor, producing work that demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of materiality, spatial organization, and environmental performance, believing in the transformative power of architecture as a tool for improving quality of life.