︎ABOUT:
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︎ Steven is an Architect born in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. He goes by his middle name, Akira in Japanese.
After a self-education in philosophy, design and arts he wanted to create social connection within the urban planning sprawl of suburban America.
Influenced by philosophers and writers of the modern age, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Architects like Paolo Soleri, he combined their visions of the future with the inspiring product design vision of Steve Jobs in an aspiration to create an architecture for a new era.
He moved to New York City in 2011 to learn from contemporary architects and gain exposure to the profession. After receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute, he began working under a former Director of Design of SOM New York in a two person practice on a Glass House in Colorado.
He gained knowledge of mathematical and technical rule-based design from lead Architects under the SOM umbrella and constructed his first built project by winning a competition- a 3D concrete tile.
He later worked at larger design offices in New York on public housing and medium to large scale buildings to gain knowledge in construction and later, adaptive re-use for historical projects such as armory buildings, office lofts, and urban parks.
He joined SOM Chicago in 2018 to learn from the innovative structural engineers of the supertall towers and to gain insight in a city where the birthplace of steel in architecture was formed. On his free time he studied Mies van der Rohe’s buildings in detail and gained inspiration from Bertrand Goldberg’s expressive concrete public housing buildings.
By photographing America, the hidden sides of Chicago and New York he began to deepen his understanding of the country through writing and background explorations.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he reconsidered his primary focus in architecture and began working on interdisciplinary skatepark projects in New York City to bring people together in the public realm.
Since then he has restarted a mission to create places that connect people through innovative social architecture in the modern world.
In 2023 he moved to Tokyo to create work in a new environment- a place rooted in an ancient culture hidden by a modern skin. He is looking to translate the sustainable architecture of social connection to local projects in Japan.
︎ Steven is an Architect born in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. He goes by his middle name, Akira in Japanese.
After a self-education in philosophy, design and arts he wanted to create social connection within the urban planning sprawl of suburban America.
Influenced by philosophers and writers of the modern age, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Architects like Paolo Soleri, he combined their visions of the future with the inspiring product design vision of Steve Jobs in an aspiration to create an architecture for a new era.
He moved to New York City in 2011 to learn from contemporary architects and gain exposure to the profession. After receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute, he began working under a former Director of Design of SOM New York in a two person practice on a Glass House in Colorado.
He gained knowledge of mathematical and technical rule-based design from lead Architects under the SOM umbrella and constructed his first built project by winning a competition- a 3D concrete tile.
He later worked at larger design offices in New York on public housing and medium to large scale buildings to gain knowledge in construction and later, adaptive re-use for historical projects such as armory buildings, office lofts, and urban parks.
He joined SOM Chicago in 2018 to learn from the innovative structural engineers of the supertall towers and to gain insight in a city where the birthplace of steel in architecture was formed. On his free time he studied Mies van der Rohe’s buildings in detail and gained inspiration from Bertrand Goldberg’s expressive concrete public housing buildings.
By photographing America, the hidden sides of Chicago and New York he began to deepen his understanding of the country through writing and background explorations.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he reconsidered his primary focus in architecture and began working on interdisciplinary skatepark projects in New York City to bring people together in the public realm.
Since then he has restarted a mission to create places that connect people through innovative social architecture in the modern world.
In 2023 he moved to Tokyo to create work in a new environment- a place rooted in an ancient culture hidden by a modern skin. He is looking to translate the sustainable architecture of social connection to local projects in Japan.
︎S2A STUDIO:
Steven Akira Shimamoto Studio,
D.B.A. S2A Studio [EST. 2020] is an online platform dedicated to creative research and design.
︎EXPERIENCE
Steven Akira Shimamoto Studio,
D.B.A. S2A Studio [EST. 2020] is an online platform dedicated to creative research and design.
︎EXPERIENCE