Nanako Umemoto joins Kent State University's College of Architecture and Environmental Design during the spring 2024 semester as the Elliot Visiting Professor. The John and Fonda Elliot Endowed Visiting Professorship was established to bring talented scholars to Kent State's CAED by supporting their appointment and research thanks for the generious philanthropy of John and Fonda Elliot.
Nanako Umemoto is a principal of RUR Architecture DPC. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Cooper Union in New York, following studies at the School of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture at the Osaka University of Art. Nanako has taught at various schools in the US, Europe and Asia, including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, EPFL in Lausanne Switzerland, Hong Kong University, Kyoto University, and the Cooper Union, and she has lectured widely at various educational and cultural institutions throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. She is a Professor of Practice at Washington University in St. Louis.
Reiser+Umemoto, RUR Architecture is an internationally recognized architecture office and design atelier. Since its founding by principals Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto, the firm has remained at the forefront of contemporary architectural design through its built and speculative projects, critical writings, workshops, lectures, teaching, and mentorship. Awards and honors include the Chrysler Award for Excellence in Design, the Academy Award in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Presidential Citation and John Hejduk Award from the Cooper Union, and the USA Booth Fellowship from United States Artists for Architecture & Design.