THE PAPER LOG: SHELL AND CORE

From by-product to project: ISSEY MIYAKE and Ensamble Studio transform waste paper into works of art. In Tokyo, from 13 August to 13 September 2026

There is something poetic in the idea that the most peripheral material in a production process could become the starting point for a research project. That is exactly what happened with the Paper Log — the compressed roll of ultra-thin pleated paper that protects fabrics during ISSEY MIYAKE‘s pleating process, then compressed and set aside. A by-product, until Satoshi Kondo, design director at MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO, began to see something else in it.

The resemblance to a tree trunk is immediate: the circular marbling recalls growth rings, marks of passing time. Like raw timber, the Paper Log carries the potential to be cut, unrolled, and treated.

Kondo halved the rolls to create stools, which were used as seating during the ISSEY MIYAKE Spring-Summer 2025 collection show in Paris.

From there, the research opened outward, drawing in Spanish architecture studio Ensamble Studio.

Two approaches, one material

The exhibition The Paper Log: Shell and Core, on view at Gallery 3 of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Tokyo from 13 August to 13 September 2026, presents two complementary and contrasting series of works.

Shell is Ensamble Studio’s contribution: memory objects created by shaping sheets obtained from peeling the Paper Log rolls — formed freely or wrapped around existing forms — and treated with hardening agents that crystallise every fold, crease, and ripple. What was ephemeral becomes permanent. The paper retains traces of its previous life and carries them into a new form, a new scale, a new function.

Core is the work of the ISSEY MIYAKE project team: furniture prototypes — stools, a chair, a table — treated and processed to explore the materiality of the Paper Log through different methods: submerged in wax, painted with glue, bound together. Everyday objects in which pleated paper becomes structure, presence, a second skin.

Ephemeral and concrete, delicate and robust: the two series speak to each other, revealing how much a single material can hold within it entirely opposite directions.

Process above all

Ensamble Studio and ISSEY MIYAKE share a fundamental conviction: in creative work, process comes first. Not a direct exchange of knowledge, but parallel work — each approaching the same material from their own discipline, fashion and architecture, bringing different sensibilities and different questions.

ISSEY MIYAKE’s deep understanding of pleating and the relationship between body and material informed the architectural exploration of form and spatial presence. Architectural processes of fixing and stabilisation, in turn, opened new possibilities for the paper beyond its original use.

At the intersection of design and architecture, the project operates as a form of art: defined not by disciplines, but by process. A shared territory where experimentation, memory, and transformation become a common language.

“We aim to create something that goes beyond recycling, becoming joy and poetry for everyday life.” Satoshi Kondo

About Ensamble Studio

Ensamble Studio is an interdisciplinary architecture practice founded in 2000 and led by Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa. Working at the intersection of art and science, the studio operates as a research and prototyping laboratory, treating design and construction as inseparable processes. Their work approaches architecture through experimentation with typologies, materials, and fabrication methods. Through their startup WoHo, they focus on improving architectural quality, accessibility, and sustainability, integrating industrialised logic with craft intelligence. Both principals are deeply engaged in academic roles: Débora is Professor of Architecture, Art and Technology at ETH Zürich, and Antón is Professor of Architecture at MIT.

About MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO and ISSEY MIYAKE

Designer Issey Miyake founded MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO (MDS) in 1970. Since then, starting from the ISSEY MIYAKE womenswear line, MDS has been responsible for defining the various brands — from design through to research and development — based on the concept of “a piece of cloth”, a cornerstone of Miyake’s approach to clothing creation. Its work also includes creative consultancy for the group’s various companies, and collaboration with external partners on conceptual design and product development. ISSEY MIYAKE was founded in 1971 by the designer of the same name. The company operates through an integrated process encompassing the creation and distribution of clothing and accessories. Guided by the philosophy of “creating something original and unprecedented to make everyday life easier”, ISSEY MIYAKE fulfils this commitment through products conceived with an eye on society and the future, ensuring a lasting culture of innovative design and making.

The Paper Log: Shell and Core

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Gallery 3, Tokyo

13 August – 13 September 2026