Yasushi Ishida received his MArch from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in 2004. He has over 15 years of professional experience, working for firms such as Atelier Hitoshi Abe, Gensler, Morphosis, and Michael Maltzan Architecture, serving a significant role in projects such as The Broad Museum (Los Angeles), Emerson College (Los Angeles) and Phare Tower (Paris, France). Ishida has been a visiting assistant professor at Woodbury School of Architecture from 2015 to 2018 and has taught at Cal Poly Pomona from 2018 to 2023.

Research & Creative Work

Flat-Pack Origami Tree Structure

Barcelona, Spain
2019
Architect Yasushi Ishida
Program Installation

This project was a collaboration with a structural engineer Trevor Stephen Lewis and a metal fabrication company Arktura. It was one of the winning entries at the IASS Symposium 2019 Expo in Barcelona, Spain. The project investigated origami as a means to construct 3-dimensional spatial structures in situ from pre-cut and pre-scribed flat sheet material composed of Aluminum. The approach relies on rationalizing a structure to origami node connectors connecting origami members. The method is intended to allow for efficient prefabricated construction of light-weight spatial structures.

Strange Flatmates

Tallin, Estonia
2019
Architect Yasushi Ishida & Casey Rehm
Program Pavilion

Our entry for Tallin Architectural Biennale 2019 competition took a broader view of the Primitive Hut, as a ground for investigating interactions between different kinds of intelligence. We questioned who or what the contemporary Primitive Hut should be designed for, by what forms of intelligence it should be designed, and to what ends. The project is designed to serve multiple kinds of inhabitants, and through interactions between these users, to challenge accepted notions of the boundary between the human and the environment. Built from a series of highly articulated, prefabricated, laminated timber structural panels, the project utilized artificial intelligence to allow for more precise control of patterns relative to structural performance. The proposal was chosen as one of the finalists.

Areas of Interest

Architectural Design
Construction
Systems
Materials

Licence(s)

Registered Architect, California (License #: C 38196)

Professional Experience

Atelier Hitoshi Abe, Los Angeles, CA
Gensler, Los Angeles, CA
Morphosis Architects, Culver City, CA
Michael Maltzan Architecture, Los Angeles, CA

Publications

Ishida, Y., T. Lewis, K. Kane, R. Gupta, & A. Heang, “A Method for Flat-pack Origami Construction of Spatial Structures,” Form and Force, Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2019 – Structural Membranes 2019.

Presentations

2017 Tulane University School of Architecture, New Orleans, LA – APX Lecture
2016 East Los Angeles College, Department of Architecture, Monterey Park, CA – Fall Lecture Series
2015 Woodbury University, Burbank, CA – Fall Lecture Series