In 1969, I ventured to Europe from the Kiyoshi Seike Research laboratory of the Graduate School of Tokyo Institute of Technology. I was fortunate enough to take part in the architectural design team of Piano Rogers' Pompidou Center project in 1972. After its completion in 1977, I became involved in establishing Piano's design office and began working for the firm. I am proud to say that I clicked with the environment, Renzo, along with other colleagues, to the point where I found myself contributing to the firm as a senior partner to this day. I recall my first encounter with Arakawa in the early 1990s, when a group of industrial designers led by Matteo Piano, Renzo Piano's second son, were developing lighting fixtures in collaboration with an Italian lighting fixture company, I Guzzini. Since they were creating a product that required wires, I introduced ARAKAWA GRIP to Franco Nibaldi, an engineer at I Guzzini. I found Arakawa's parts to function precisely well for lighting installations. I learned about ARAKAWA GRIP from Fumihiko Maki, the founder of Maki and Associates, as information about exceptional products is passed on from within the knowledgeable inner circle. Needless to say, ARAKAWA GRIP is widely recognized today as a high-end products in Italy. text by Masaaki Takahashi
