The Dwell 24: Kazuki Guzmán

Kazuki Guzmán has called many countries home—Chile, South Korea, and, most recently, the U.S. But the traditional craft of his native Japan led Guzmán to devote his Chicago-based practice to how technology might augment and sustain ancient art forms—"how they could cohabitate," as he puts it. 

This May he unveiled a series of reimagined hammers and mallets, some of which combine patinated 3D-printed steel heads with lathed or CNC-machined handles. It’s design by way of anthropology: "When we lose these traditions," Guzmán says, "we’re losing part of our history and part of ourselves."