Naomi Sato, JIA

President, Japan Institute of Architects

Principle, Naomi Sato Architets

Naomi Sato was born in Tokyo in 1955. He graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering at The University of Tokyo in 1979. Later, in 1988, he obtained a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

His professional career began in 1979 when he joined Kiyonori Kikutake Architects and Associates, where he worked until 1986. Following this, he moved to the United States and worked at I.M.Pei & Partners from 1988 to 1990, and Rafael Viñoly Architects from 1990 to  1996 serving as the project director for the Tokyo International Forum. After finishing the project, he established his own practice, Naomi Sato Architects, where he has been serving as the representative director since 1996.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in numerous notable projects, including Musashino Kichijoji Theater, Iwaki Performing Arts Center (ALIOS), and Aoyama OM Square. His work has been recognized with several prestigious awards. In 2010, he received the Building Contractors Society BCS Prize, the United Stats Institute of Theater Technology Merit Award for Iwaki Performing Arts Center (ALIOS), and The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Merit Award for the same project. Additionally, he was honored with The International Architecture Awards in the same year. In 2009, his contributions to architecture were acknowledged through the Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) Excellence in Architecture Selection and the Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan　for Iwaki Performing Arts Center (ALIOS). He also received the Illuminating engineering Society of North America Merit Award in 2009 for his work on Aoyama OM Square.

Through his extensive experience and innovative architectural designs, Naomi Sato has been elected the President of Japan Institute of Architects since June 2022, and continues to make significant contributions to the field of architecture.