KOPPA began in April 2019. Tamotsu was thinking about a plan for an exhibition in Osaka (*) for autumn of that year. At that time, he was based in Switzerland and was wondering how to create display furniture with a limited budget remotely. Moreover, he did not want to make something that wouldn't be needed after an exhibition was over. "I wanted to make something that can be used again and again," says Tamotsu. Together with Moe and Shokichi, the three of them were on the same page and KOPPA was born.
*"Under 35 Young Architects Exhibition"

Tamotsu:
When I asked a friend if he knew anyone who could help my exhibition in Osaka, he introduced me to Moe. I vaguely described my idea over dinner at an Italian bar in Osaka. Later on, Moe introduced me to Shokichi, saying that it would be fun to work together with him. At that time, neither the name "KOPPA" nor the idea of using scrap wood had yet existed.

Moe:
Tamotsu’s initial idea was that he wanted to make effective use of the display shelves even after the exhibition was over, while using the leftover materials instead of buying new ones. Since I have visited Maeda Bunka (the base of Shokichi) many times, I thought that their materials could be used. Tamotsu really aims to have fun while working and I thought that we could make it happen together with Shokichi.

Shokichi:
I am a carpenter, and I also work on a lot of projects producing display furniture and event stages. I was feeling conflicted about using lots of wood for events that would only last a few days and then be thrown away afterwards. Moe felt the same. She introduced me to Tamotsu, and then it just flowed from there: we started making display furniture together. KOPPA was created using the leftover wood from our daily carpentry work. We were trying to figure out a way to solve our own conflicts in the carpentry work by ourselves, rather than thinking too much about something good for the environment. That was the beginning of KOPPA.

Nobu:
I didn’t know that the display furniture was the origin of KOPPA. When Rita and I saw it, it was in the form of a bookshelf. I actually thought it was a piece of home furniture. It also had something that reminded me of Wacom’s exhibitions. We also make stages with display furniture then take them apart in the end, which I also have felt a conflict somehow. I noticed that our starting points were strangely connected.

Tamotsu:
My heart hurts when I see buildings being demolished. Since I saw many structure and finishes being dismantled altogether and thrown away, I often wondered if there was a better way. Maeda Bunka made deconstructing the work fun and they try to dismantle the pieces carefully to reuse the different materials again. When I was studying in the US, I learned that there are people who actually do such activities. Knowing this helped me envision the possibilities even more clearly and create a project based on these principles.

KOPPA uses wood usually for hidden bases or substructure in architecture, which we hardly see when the construction is done. Shokichi told us that KOPPA is designed on the basis of materials which are calculated to be standard sizes in the market.

Shokichi:
We use two types of materials on site – one for finish and the other for the base. For KOPPA, we are using the wood that’s not usually seen since the wood was originally used inside a wall or under a floor. In economic sense, we’re required to use the standardized sizes of materials in the Japanese construction industry. Tamotsu designs KOPPA pieces based on the sizes of our leftover materials that were intended to be thrown away.

Moe:
We first made a list of the stocked leftover materials. After visiting Maeda Bunka, we counted how many wood pieces of the same thickness we have and noted all the details. Tamotsu created designs to yield the best possible results by utilizing these materials.

Tamotsu:
That was why our first bookshelves were 90 cm wide.

Nobu:
Does the Traveling KOPPA use the same materials as well?

Shokichi:
Yes, exactly the same materials. They are made with the materials I stocked. We rarely buy new materials, except for the metal parts to connect wooden pieces. These wood pieces are normally inside the walls.

Nobu:
Interesting! Travelling KOPPA was planning to visit San Francisco, Milano, and Beijing, but unfortunately, they were all cancelled. (*As of April 2020)

Shokichi:
It was out of our hands.

Nobu:
Now our Travelling KOPPA is taking a break in Shinjuku. Once things settle down, we will travel together again.

Shokichi:
I will stock as much material as possible by then.

Tomatsu says that one of the best things about the KOPPA team is that each member loosely shares the same vision while bringing different ideas to the table. We like it this way. Each one of us respects the others’ ideas, while still being connected to KOPPA as a whole. The story of the Traveling KOPPA continues...