The Dwell 24: Kazuki Guzmán
The Chicago-based designer is using his Japanese heritage to reimagine hammers and mallets.
The Chicago-based designer is using his Japanese heritage to reimagine hammers and mallets.
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.
Photo courtesy of Kazuki Guzmán
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."
An alternative hammer design by Kazuki Guzmán
Photo courtesy of Kazuki Guzmán
Another object within the Hammer Study by Kazuki Guzmán
Photo courtesy of Kazuki Guzmán
See the full story on Dwell.com: The Dwell 24: Kazuki Guzmán
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