Gonkuro Kume studied advanced architectural technologies in Germany and established Kume Architects & Engineers in 1932. He came up with the Kume Earthquake-Resistant Wood Structure, which improved the earthquake resistance of wooden buildings in Japan, and was adopted in many buildings. His DNA of pursuing technologies and innovativeness has been handed down to us today.
In the 1930s, Kokusai Kanko Hotels was established under Japan's first International Tourism Policy to welcome foreigners. They were the foundations of the resort hospitality to design buildings that makes the most out of the characteristics of the regions, and which still attract tourists today.
In the 1950s, we put our efforts into the development of housing complexes for postwar recovery. “Let hills be hills. The best thing to do is to take advantage of landscapes as they are,” said Gonkuro Kume. His philosophy of creating enriched towns by understanding the land and utilizing existing environments has been passed down to us.
The Hilton Hotel opened its first hotel in Japan in 1963. Since then, numerous hotels that meet global standards have been built in Japan.
We constructed large public buildings that could serve as urban infrastructures around Japan. We pursued and carried out our mission to design buildings that make cities more attractive and improve people's lives.
The office building, hotel, commercial facilities, housing complexes, and gallery are organically connected to one another mainly in the plaza and open spaces to make an enriched town. It is still popular and bustling with activities as one of the first centripetal spots that have been developed through mixed-use development projects.
Based on our previous experiences in Asia, we established new companies in China and Vietnam to provide better services. Kume Design Asia (KDA) was established in 2009 and has offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Kume Design China (KDC) was established in 2011 and has offices in Beijing and Shanghai.