Rafael A. Balboa, architect PhD.

He has lived in Tokyo for 20 years. He received his Master degree from the University of Tokyo (Chiba Manabu Lab, former Tadao Ando Lab) and PhD Degree in the same institution under the guidance of Prof. Kengo Kuma.

He was a Senior Associate Researcher at The University of Tokyo and currently at Keio University. He has been a visiting lecturer in other architecture institutions in Japan and abroad.

From 2012 until 2019, he was the correspondent for Italian architecture magazine Domus based in Japan.

His ongoing research is related to the implementation and speculation of urban metaphors and diagramatic thinking, with specific focus on “Prostho-Urbanism” and “Urban Teratology”.

Member of the JIA (Japan Institute of Architects), he co-founded and runs since 2013 his architecture and urban design practice STUDIO WASABI, having developed projects from urban to domestic scales in Jakarta, Latvia, Mexico and Japan.

In 2024, his studio won the Japan Wood Award in the category of housing and is involved in the interior design and curation of the Polish Pavilion for the Osaka Expo ‘25.

From 2017 he became Director of Casa Nano, an art residency in Tokyo part of Casa Wabi Foundation. The main building of the Foundation, designed by architect Tadao Ando, is a NPO receiving artist from all around the world and supporting local communities.

studiowasabiarch.com