Name: Mark Dytham, Klein Dytham Architecture
Hometown: Old Stratford, England
Title: Co-founder and Director, Klein Dytham Architecture
Website: https://www.klein-dytham.com/
Time in Japan: 37 years
Were you interested in design from a young age?
Three generations of my family were employed at the railway works in a place called Wolverton, which is halfway between London and Birmingham. My father was what they called a pattern maker, so he carved things in wood that would then be cast in metal. I had a real interest in not only in what he was making, but also in the accuracy and precision. And if we got on a train, my grandfather would say, “This train was made in York” or “That one was made in Doncaster.” He could tell because the screws in the trains were all set to slightly different angles, depending on the factory.
What inspired you to study architecture?
Milton Keynes was one of the “new towns” designed by the British government, and it was being built almost on our doorstep in the 1960s. My family would drive out to look at it, and this really got me interested in architecture. Then I started working for the town’s local development corporation as a teenager during my summer holidays. I was doing technical drawing at school and I could draw pretty well. I actually got to work on a very small building — a cricket pavilion — and so I had a portfolio with a finished job before I even went off to study at the Royal College of Art in London.
How did you and your business partner, Astrid Klein, come to work for Japanese architect Toyo Ito?
Astrid and I met as students, and then we both happened to get scholarships around the same time after graduation. We got connected with a Japanese architect called George Kunihiro, who knew everyone, and he helped us set up meetings in Tokyo. Toyo Ito had just won the worldwide ticketing office project bid for Japan Airlines, so he was going to be building offices in New York, London and in Paris. He just had a small company with maybe eight or nine staff. When we arrived, it seemed like a match made in heaven!
Tell us about starting Klein Dytham Architecture
We set up our own company in our third year in Japan. Looking back, what surprises me is how the path sort of makes itself for you. It just was just one thing leading to another, but it has all seemed very natural. I think the most important thing is that we’re still a 20-person office. Astrid and I don’t necessarily do the all of the drawings or come up with all of the ideas, but this setup lets us keep an eye on things and helps maintain quality.
Any words of advice for young people just starting out?
I always tell young people, “Be positive and you attract positive people.” And it’s very important to love what you do!
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