Communiqué - Astrid Klein & Mark Dytham: My Design

Astrid Klein & Mark Dytham: My Design Life

Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham are the directors of Klein Dytham architecture (KDa), one of Japan’s most exciting young design firms. They studied together at the Royal College of Art in London and in 1989 travelled to Tokyo where they found work with Toyo Ito. Staying on in Japan, the pair established KDa and quickly gained recognition with a series of audacious and award-winning projects. Working freely across design disciplines including architecture, interiors, temporary constructions, furniture, installations and events, KDa’s output reflects the energy and freshness that Mark and Astrid find in Tokyo.

Mark and Astrid are frequent guests at international design events, and have taught at universities within Japan and beyond. In 2000 Mark was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) for services to British design in Japan. In 2003 Klein and Dytham put together the first Pecha Kucha Night as a one-off event at their event space, SuperDeluxe. A series of entertaining rapid-fire presentations in which each presenter shows 20 images up each for just 20 seconds, the Pecha Kucha format is now running in over 280 cities globally—there is now a Pecha Kucha event somewhere in the world every single day.