This year alone, Oki Sato, founder and director of Nendo, has not one, but two major retrospective exhibitions of the design unit's work — one at the Design Museum Holon in Israel, the other at the Taiwan Design Museum. His acclaimed "50 Manga Chairs" installation for Friedman Benda, which first debuted at the Milan Salone del Mobile 2016, is also concurrently showing in New York. The prolific architect and product designer is only 39, but he says he has hundreds more design projects lined up, and there's no end in sight for him.

On the opening day of "50 Manga Chairs" at the Friedman Benda gallery, Sato spoke to The Japan Times about his current designs, his work ethic and what's next for Nendo.

What was your design process for the Friedman Benda show, "50 Manga Chairs"?