Top Message

Architecture for All

The world is currently going through a major transition.
In addition to global challenges such as the climate crisis, the intensification of disasters, the loss of biodiversity, and the transformation of urban environments, technological innovations, including AI, are fundamentally changing the way societies and lives are lived. These changes are intertwined in complex ways and have an impact across regions, nations, and generations.
In this era, what is the purpose of architecture and who should it be created for? We are once again questioning that original question.
Sato Takefu, founder of the Sato Comprehensive Plan, left the following words.

"Architecture is inherently for everyone. I don't think the author should overemphasize their own individual style. Rather, they should be modest and serve as the catalyst for the atmosphere and the stage performed by the citizens."

Since our founding in 1945, we have carried on this philosophy, while facing the challenges of society, continuing to ask the question: "What is the public nature of architecture?" This philosophy has been adapted to the modern era and is our purpose: "Architecture for All."
In this context, "All" no longer simply refers to humans. It means "All Beings"—including not only humans but also diverse living beings, regions, cities, nature, the Earth, and future existence.
Humans, architecture, cities, and nature are all part of the larger cycles of the universe. I believe that re-evaluating architecture and cities as not just tools for human use but as foundations for all beings to interact and live together is what is needed for future architecture.
We take into account the demands of the times while carefully analyzing the unique culture, history, and traditions of each region, as well as the topography, climate, and geography of the area. We listen to the voices of the people who live there, and we also use our imagination to consider the impact on nature, ecosystems, existing architecture and materials, and even on future generations.
Our behavioral code that supports that practice is the “Art × Science” embodied in the name AXS. Art, which forms essential questions from intuition and insight, and Science, which tests hypotheses through data, research, and technology, and leads to realization. We constantly cycle between these two, creating value that does not yet exist.
The “×” in the space represents the intersection of different elements. Architects, urban planners, structural engineers, environmental specialists, and digital and AI experts will connect across departments, organizations, regions, and generations, transforming their differences into sources of creativity. By combining perspectives from domestic and international projects with knowledge from within and outside the company, they will create “unique” architecture rooted in the local community.

The architecture we aim for is not something that ends when it is completed. The connections between people, between people and nature, between life and place, between the past and the future are renewed, used, nurtured, and their value is updated. In this way, we call the diverse beings that support and continue this relationship “co-circles.” We envision architecture and cities as places where this co-circle is born and grows—a “co-circle place.”

Architecture for All——Architecture for the Living Together of All Beings

With this purpose, Art × Science serves as a code of conduct. Through this initiative, Sato Comprehensive Planning envisions the future of architecture and cities, and will continue to pass on a better society and a healthy global environment to the next generation.

President and Representative Director: Hokai Shugo