Bio:
The great architect, Utako Tanebe is an architect and designer based in Cleveland, Ohio. She has experience of working on higher-ed and performing arts & cultural projects. Trained both as an architect and civil engineer, she sees projects through studio design to building completion. Utako is bilingual in Japanese and English and has worked on projects in Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Boston, Cleveland and in China and Morocco. Utako is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Canada.

How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?At school my favorites were art and math. I studied civil engineering at college, but craved for more freedom to design. I went back to study architecture and I liked the studio vibe, especially the rush of seeing designs turn into built work.

What do you do?
I’m interested in higher-ed and cultural buildings and ecologically conscious design. For the past 5 years I was a project architect for Samson Pavilion, the new health education campus for Cleveland Clinic & Case Western Reserve University.

What excites you in the work you do?
I really enjoy working with people of different expertise and solving problems together using design as a tool. I am especially motivated to create new spaces that makes a difference to the people who use them and its surrounding environment.

Who or what inspires you professionally?
I’m inspired by spaces and buildings that turn into beautiful ruins. A professor once told me that great architecture is defined by how it decays over time, whether it be physical or symbolic, and how it disintegrates with its environment.

What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
Last year I finished the last ARE exam, saw my first 5-year building project through completion and shared my story on Madame Architect website, all in one month. It was a tough path to licensure and I was proud to push through it.

Featured Project Name: 
Plastic Monuments Competition Entry Project - “WHALE WATCH: Urban Trash and Augmented 
 
Featured Project Location: 
Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, Italy
 
Featured Project Completion Date: 
Unbuilt

Role in Featured Project: 
Co-designer with Mika Yamaguchi
 
Featured Project Description:
Plastic waste has impacted ecosystems worldwide, particularly threatening marine life; animals who have swallowed garbage are regularly seen by ocean communities. This competition design brings a coastal reality to the urban center as a monument. Life-size whale structures made of wood & recycled plastic become sculptural trash receptacles. Visitors can use smartphones & AR technology to witness images of beached whales overlaid onto the site & experience the impact of global plastic dependence.

Photography Credit:
Vani Lazaari / Wikimedia Roberto Taddeo / Flickr