Yo Shimada founded Tato Architects in 1997, after he graduated from Kyoto City University of Art. As a student, he completed a number of designs and build architecture projects at the school.
Based in his home town of Kobe, Tato Architects undertakes projects throughout various locations in Japan. The projects are mainly private houses; however, in recent years the office has taken on assignments for interior and installation work as well. The ideology of the practice is to formulate positive outcomes through understanding the subtle conditions and constraints of everyday life, which exist within notions of place, culture and the ongoing history of architecture.
These ideas have been further discussed in publications such as, 7iP #04 YO SHIMADA（7inchproject, 2012）and Everyday Design Everyday : Yo Shimada (Contemporary Architect’s Concept Series 22,2016)
The name Tato (タト）is derived from the decomposition of the kanji character 外(outside), which can be read in multiple ways. Tato Architects is interested in the process of continuous exploration, in order to achieve a kind of ambiguity in its architecture; an architecture that renews itself through the perspective of people's everyday experiences. Furthermore, the practice aims to create an architecture that quietly alters people's consciousness.
YO SHIMADA Profile
1972 Born in Kobe Japan
1995 Graduate, Kyoto City University of Arts
1997 Postgraduate, Kyoto City University of Arts
1997 Established, Tato Architects
2016 Visiting Professor, Kyoto University of Art and Design
