Toshiko Mori: Balancing Act

Architects often work to cross boundaries, territories and expertise to gather and unite communities– and buildings often work as elements of connections, transitions, integrations, and a gathering of diverse people, culture, and opinions. When our work becomes dynamic and breaks free from its static fate, we can witness these convergences- and these interactions are often invisible yet vital for the continuous occupation and programming of architecture.

Toshiko Mori is founder and principal of Toshiko Mori Architect. She is the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and was chair of the Department of Architecture (2002–2008). Her firm’s work includes libraries, museums, universities, workspaces, master planning, and residences. Mori has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2016 and the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 2020, where she is currently vice president of architecture. As a member and former chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Design, Mori addresses scarcity-driven design, the future of cities and urban information systems, and the role of the arts in improving communities. She has participated in symposia at MoMA, The Guggenheim, and the G1 Summit, and most recently was the Royal Academy’s inaugural speaker for “Introducing Architecture,” an architecture summer youth program. Mori has received numerous awards, including the Asia Society Asia Arts Game Changer Award (2024), the Philip Hanson Hiss Award (2023), the Isamu Noguchi Award (2021), and the AIA/ASCA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education (2019), among others. Her projects in Senegal, Thread Artists’ Residency and Cultural Center and Fass School and Teachers’ Residences, won the AIA Architecture Award, and her work on the Brooklyn Public Library–Central Library won the 2022 MASterworks Award for best restoration. Architectural Digest has featured Mori in its annual AD100 list since 2014 and named Mori to the AD100 Hall of Fame in 2023; she was also named an Elle Decor A-List Titan. Mori was guest editor of Domus magazine for 2023.