As an architect, I meet with clients to discuss their visions, create design concepts and drawings, select materials, and collaborate closely with carpenters throughout the process. At SOBOKUYA, we handle everything from design to construction in-house, so I continue to follow each project through completion, also taking care of administrative procedures such as building applications. Since last year, I’ve also been serving as the Director of our Tokyo office, which means I manage the staff as well as oversee operations of the restaurant we run downstairs — including shift scheduling and sales management.

I’ve been fascinated by architecture since childhood. I was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and when I was about 11 years old, my family spent five years building our own house. Without hiring an architect, my mother and I created the design ourselves and worked alongside the craftsmen. That experience shaped who I am — I discovered the joy of translating ideas from my head onto paper and then into real form. After finishing high school, I moved to Belgium to study architecture at university and graduate school. Later, I worked in the fashion industry in Canada, but I couldn’t let go of my dream of becoming an architect — and that dream eventually brought me to Japan.

One of my professors at university had a strong connection with Japan — he held workshops there and often spoke about the country. Through his stories, I gradually became interested. After completing graduate school, I first came to Japan as a traveler, and I was deeply moved by an indescribable sense of comfort and aesthetic harmony. I was drawn to Japanese design sensibilities — not only in traditional architecture but also in modern buildings and even in the way streets are made. Everything, even things not created by professionals, seemed to hold beauty and intention. I felt that Japanese design carried a kind of freedom and flexibility different from what I had learned before.

Exactly. After arriving, I attended a Japanese language school while job hunting, and during an online job fair with multiple companies, I came across SOBOKUYA. After a two-day internship, I joined the company in 2022 upon graduating from language school and was assigned to the Yamanashi headquarters as an architect.

At first, I struggled to learn the rules of wooden architecture — it was completely different from the concrete structures I had studied before. As a foreigner, it was also challenging to understand Japanese architecture from the same cultural viewpoint as a Japanese person. For example, even if I was told what a tokonoma or washitsu meant, it took time to grasp it in a bodily, intuitive way rather than just intellectually. But at the same time, I believe my international background allows me to bring ideas and perspectives that didn’t exist in Japan before — and that’s one of my greatest strengths.

In most design firms, architects rarely go to construction sites, but SOBOKUYA is unique — we are both an architectural firm and a builder. The fact that we handle everything from design to construction makes this company very special. Being able to be involved in every stage of a project is the most rewarding part. Normally, basic design, detailed design, and construction management are handled by different people or companies. Here, I can oversee the entire process — from concept to completion and handover — which is quite rare.

When I first joined SOBOKUYA, most of our projects were small-scale residences. Recently, we’ve been receiving inquiries for larger-scale projects such as hotels, which is very exciting. I look forward to seeing how far we can grow and what we can build next. This year, we’re also establishing a new office in Dubai. My dream is to have SOBOKUYA architecture on every continent in the world. Wooden architecture has a long life, and I imagine a future where buildings crafted by SOBOKUYA continue to stand wherever you go.

The SOBOKUYA of today is not the same as it was yesterday. And the SOBOKUYA of tomorrow will be something entirely new. That’s why we welcome people who enjoy change — who can thrive in an ever-evolving environment. We want to work with those who can think freely and aren’t bound by conventional ideas. Let’s take on challenges together and step into new territories we’ve never explored before.