Shuntaro Yahiro (‘Hiro’)
“Landscape has transformative power: I believe that great ideas and design are powerful, and can make a big difference regardless of the project type or scale.”
Hiro is a designer, creative thinker, and storyteller, with a unique Japanese and U.S. design/cultural background that drives his curiosity. He studied Japanese garden design and environmental planning design in college, where he developed an appreciation for the way nature engages the imagination through sensory experience. He finds conceptual and poetic beauty in simplicity and details.
The beauty of subtraction is valued in the Japanese aesthetic, with the Ikebana being a prime example. Design requires organization, and this principle can be seen in many aspects of Hiro’s design approach. Taking the client’s needs, vision,and goals into consideration, he begins with research, and then locates connections among various factors. As he applies his imagination toward presented programs and situations, these connective lines become more refined, creating timeless designs, desirable spaces, and memorable places for people.
Hiro’s designs not only create aesthetically beautiful places for people and the future environment, but also emphasize the beauty of nature with innovative solutions and functions, based upon understanding of site-specific cultural influences and the geological and hydrological environment.
EDUCATION
Master of Landscape Architecture, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 2011
Bachelor of Environmental Planning, Osaka University of Arts, Osaka, Japan, 2004
AFFILIATIONS & REGISTRATIONS
Registered Landscape Architect, Japan
Member, American Society of Landscape Architects
SELECTED AWARDS
ASLA Northern California Chapter, Design: Merit Award, Sun City Tower Kobe, 2020
AIA Design for Aging Review Merit Award, Sun City Kobe Tower, Kobe 2019
AIA Design for Aging Review Special Recognition Award, Sun City Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, 2019
Senior Housing News Best CCRC Design, Sun City Kobe Tower, Kobe Japan, 2017
Senior Housing News Best International Design, Sun City Kobe Tower, Kobe, Japan, 2017
ASLA Northern California Chapter, Design: Honor Award, Dai Nippon Printing Ichigaya Forest Redevelopment, 2017
ASLA Northern California Chapter, Research, Planning, and Communication: Honor Award, Rule Lake Metropolitan Park, 2017
MIPIM Asia Best Future Mega Project, Gold Award, Dai Nippon Printing Ichigaya Forest Redevelopment, 2013