h220430

h220430 is the design label Satoshi Itasaka launched on 30 April 2010, after twenty years of working as an architect; the name spells the founding date. The label sets out to raise the environmental damage and widening wealth gap of contemporary society as design questions, and to answer them with objects rather than argument.

Its products start from ordinary, available material. A chair series uses only Japanese hinoki timber in the 40 x 20 mm section sold for construction and DIY, a size that can be cut from thinned forest trees, so the project supports forest regeneration and wastes little in production. Work has been exhibited at galleries and art events in Japan and abroad and some pieces have entered museum collections; the label also publishes digital projects through OpenSea and Spatial. Itasaka founded the Tokyo studio the design labo in 2012.