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MORRIS SATO STUDIO - PROFILE

Modern, spacious office with high ceilings and minimalist design.

ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

ARCHITECTURE

London born , Irish & US national—Michael Morris and Tokyo born, Japanese native—the late Yoshiko Sato, independently trained in the fine arts prior to studying architecture at The Cooper Union . Graduating in 1989, the pair began teaching at architecture and fine art colleges, completed their professional training, and pursued their post-graduate studies (in Ireland & Harvard GSD).

Following years of independent moonlighting, in 1996 the pair became the Morris Sato Studio in

New York City.

Futuristic escalators in a circular, yellow-lit tunnel with two people ascending.

PUBLIC ART

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

ARCHITECTURE

Widely recognized for creating 'otherworldly' projects, Morris Sato Studio infuses temporal and spatial dimensions with equal parts —material, light and air, into formally restrained, highly crafted and detailed work that seamlessly integrates innovative technology with advanced means and methods.

In 2006, while teaching at Columbia University the partners launched their Studio's cosmic research arm Space Exploration Architecture (now SEArch+ www.spacexarch.com ) to connect, investigate, and explore life beyond planet Earth.

People sitting on illuminated stools around a floor screen with blue dots and shadows.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

LightShowers, a touchstone of the Studio’s applied research, seeks to fuse lighting, material, technology, and fabrication into holistic experiences that support health and wellbeing. Sato Morris' immersive, interactive multimedia installation was inspired by cardiac care protocols of medical researchers at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, which integrated bio-feedback technology, LEDs, and video projection to align human breath at rest with the universal rhythms of nature. Presented internationally, LightShowers has been experienced by more than 200,000 visitors.

RESPONSIBILITIES & REUSE

Modern house with geometric design and large windows illuminated at dusk.

“Designing for a world already full,” Morris Sato critically engages in ground-up, adaptive-reuse, and conservation projects. In dialogue with the past and learning from the ready-made, the Studio works both intuitively and deliberatively—like a gardener—cultivating opportunities that inspire wonder and safeguard present and future ecologies. Through collaborative, multi-generational efforts, Morris Sato honour the social contract of giving something back.

Modern building with large illuminated windows at dusk, showing people inside.

PLACES & COMMUNITIES

INTERIORS

URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

CIVIC LANDSCAPES

Bright modern living space with blue sofa and large windows.

Morris Sato interior designs employ the Chinese-Japanese 'borrowed landscape' garden principle to synchapate light, air, matter, texture, and colour with the environments beyond.

CIVIC LANDSCAPES

URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

CIVIC LANDSCAPES

An outdoor circular amphitheater on a university campus with people sitting and walking nearby.

By extending the 'borrowed landscape' principle into the public realm, the Studio's work aims to engage all of the senses combining nature and man-made to celebrate the ephemeral.

URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

Recognizing our climate emergency, Morris Sato is committed to implementing The UN's Sustainable Development Goals in support of all life forms and communities around the globe.

MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

Parallel to their collaborative public art installations, Morris Sato has designed numerous permanent museum and gallery spaces as well as archival environments. Their independent art-architectural training, combined with a long-standing commitment to working with the fine and performing arts, has earned the Studio international recognition and critical acclaim for refined works that offer “persuasive evidence for the existence of aura.”

EXHIBITION DESIGN & INSTALLATIONS

CULTURAL

COMMERCIAL

Elegant museum interior with wooden ceiling and art displays.

Morris Sato's gardening tropes are most delightfully experienced in the Studio's extensive art museum displays, temporary installations, and exhibition designs.

COMMERCIAL

Futuristic tunnel-like exhibition booth with Corian and Zodiaq branding.

The commercial spin-offs of Morris Sato Studio's extensive museum work are their award-winning trade show pavilions, showrooms, medical and hospitality prototypes and facilities.

CORPORATE

COMMERCIAL

CORPORATE

For American Express Morris Sato narrated the Corporation's 200+ year economic history, infusing executive spaces with original artifacts, holography, interactive displays, and branding.

EXHIBITION DESIGN GALLERY

HEALTHCARE & WELLBEING

A medical professional in scrubs works on a laptop in an operating room.

Morris Sato Studio is committed to improving existing and innovating next-generation medical facilities to become increasingly humane, resilient, and sustainable spaces for healing.

Modern, minimalist operating room with black surgical table and white walls.

Balancing hygienic and healthy materials with functional design, Morris Sato equally strives to create purposeful and empathetic places that are accessible, inclusive, and welcoming.