Shin-ichi Okuyama (奥山信一) was born in 1961 in Tokyo, Japan. He is an architect and professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), where he has developed an extensive academic and professional career. He graduated in 1986 from the Department of Architecture at Tokyo Tech, received his Master’s degree in Engineering in 1988, and completed his doctoral coursework in 1992. That same year, he was appointed Research Associate in Descriptive Geometry, and in 1994, he obtained his Doctor of Engineering degree.
In 1989, he co-founded the architectural practice DESK5 with Hitoshi Wakamatsu, and in 2001, he established his own firm, Atelier Okuyama. His academic trajectory has been linked to various areas within architecture and social engineering. He was appointed Associate Professor in Social Engineering in 1995, in Architecture and Building Engineering in 1999, and in the Built Environment field in 2002. In 2007, he continued as Associate Professor in the same field. In 2011, he was promoted to Full Professor in Architecture and Building Engineering, and since 2016, he has been Professor in the School of Architecture at Tokyo Tech.
Alongside his teaching and architectural practice, Okuyama has conducted sustained research on the work of Kazuo Shinohara. He edited the influential book Aphorisms: The Spatial Discourse of Kazuo Shinohara (2004), which compiles and analyzes Shinohara’s own writings. He has also contributed critical essays to international journals such as 2G, delving into the evolution of Shinohara’s residential architecture. In 2025, he served as co-curator of the centennial exhibition dedicated to Shinohara at TOTO Gallery MA. His work bridges theory, design practice, and critical reflection on contemporary Japanese architecture.
