Aimai. This Japanese word – meaning ambiguous, in-between, unclear – captures a range of concepts, from subtly indirect communication to the softly blurred boundaries of spaces. It’s one of many only-in-Japan perspectives that resonates strongly with Claesson Koivisto Rune (CKR), a Swedish design and architecture office that has balanced a deeply influential creative path in Scandinavia with inspirations from around the world for more than three decades.
And for CKR, Japan is ‘an endless source’ of such inspiration. Its Japan journey began in the early 1990s, when co-founders – Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune – visited separately on student scholarships, each spending a month exploring architecture across the country. Their first encounter with Japan – its aesthetics, philosophies, appreciation of beauty, craftsmanship, natural materials – left a rich creative imprint. Today, CKR cites Japan as a signature influence in a jigsaw puzzle of inspirations, alongside other elemental ingredients such as Italian modernism and American minimalist abstract art.
