Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Nao Kono is an award-winning architect who studied architecture at Kyoto University. In 2010, he co-founded Tsumiki Design & Construction with his partner, Momoko Kono, a firm dedicated to participatory renovation, skill-sharing, and the preservation of Japanese timbercraft. In 2023, he joined forces with Bryan Ortega Welch to establish The Red Dot School, an international design/build school located on the small island of Sagishima, conducting deconstruction and reconstruction of vacant wooden houses. Currently, he teaches a design studio and conducts research on participation in construction at the University of Tokyo while raising three daughters in a small city just outside of Tokyo.

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