UUFIE

UUfie is an award winning multidisciplinary architecture studio spanning from the fields of art, architecture, landscape, furniture, and product design. After founding the studio in Tokyo in 2009, the studio is currently based in Toronto. There, architect-designers Irene Gardpoit and Eiri Ota have gracefully articulated buildings and landscapes, fantastical products and surreal installations that have been featured around the world. Ota, born in Paris and raised in Tokyo, while Toronto native, Gardpoit, based their practice on celebrating experimentation, diversity and the site specific. Often inspired by nature and what surrounds them, they aim to create “experiences of transition” in all of their work. At their studio filled with concept models and prototypes, it is highly representative of their investigative ethos.

Standout architectural projects include Ports 1961 Shanghai; Printemps Haussmann; and Lake Cottage, a two-story family home along the lake that references a tree house. Notable furniture and object designs include Yin Yang; Echo; Whiteout; and Peacock. While they honor local traditions, Ota and Gardpoit always strive to find newness in materials and their process. Their Peacock chair is a good example of where they developed a method to heat and mold the material, stretching it into a lace-like chair evocative of a peacock’s fanned tail.