TOTO GALLERY·MA is pleased to announce the exhibition TORAFU ARCHITECTS: Inside Out. This is a solo exhibition of TORAFU ARCHITECTS, the design studio of Koichi Suzuno and Shinya Kamuro that has produced a broad range of work including buildings, interiors, and furniture.

TORAFU's roots go back to a project called TEMPLATE IN CLASKA (2004), in which they remodeled guest rooms of a 35-year-old hotel in Meguro, Tokyo. The spaces created by what initially was intended as a one-time project team featured a single wall designed to house and display the room's various utilities and appliances and guests' belongings in picture-frame-like openings. After earning a high reputation for their novel idea, the pair went on to produce more than 200 designs for houses, shop and showroom interiors, exhibitions, theatre sets, furniture, and even jewelry. The "airvase", a product that was originally born out of the Tokushokushikou Exhibition held at the AXIS Building in Roppongi, Tokyo, in 2010, has become one of their most internationally sought-after designs. They have produced numerous versions of the product in collaboration with various artists.

TORAFU designs their work consistently through the same eyes without drawing a distinction between the realms of product, interior, and architecture. With this approach they are able to bring out the maximum potential and appeal of sites, spaces, and materials. At times, it even gives them the power to transform the movements and behaviors of people and the character of entire cityscapes.

Inside Out lays out the full spectrum of TORAFU's work, from their earliest designs to their exhibition designs, product designs, and latest residential design, called "Big T" (2016). By showing not only the final designs but also the materials from which they drew their inspiration during the design process, the exhibition aims to provide visitors with the opportunity to look into the minds of the designers who find joy even in the creative process itself and to trace their unique thought processes. We would be most pleased if visitors exposed to TORAFU's way of thinking are inspired to explore the possibilities of tomorrow's architecture and cities themselves.

The works featured in this exhibition will spill out from TOTO GALLERY·MA's exhibition spaces (3F+4F) and into CERA TRADING's showroom (B1+1F) and Bookshop TOTO (2F). Additionally, TORAFU will give lectures in Tokyo (Iino Hall) and Kanazawa (Kanazawa Institute of Technology) and hold gallery talks with four guests they have worked with on various projects. Furthermore, an original TOTO GALLERY·MA version of the "airvase" designed specially for this exhibition will be released for sale.