Two years have passed since Japan was hit by a tsunami. Since then, architects and designers have volunteered their skills and expertise to help rebuild communities and make plans for the future.

Despite years of success at home and abroad, Kengo Kuma has resisted the lure of architectural showmanship and devoted his career to the quest for simplicity, combining tradition materials with technical virtuosity.

Icon 116 is devoted to Japan. Nearly two years after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the north of the country in March 2011, we revisit the disaster areas where architects and designers, including Toyo Ito’s KISYN group, are now helping to rebuild local communities. On the cover is Kengo Kuma, the master of “deceptive minimalism”, and we also talk to rising stars Takram Design Engineering.

Kengo Kuma has combined water, clay and light to create a museum in China that reflects the ancient Taoist tradition's affinity with nature.

Kengo Kuma’s cantilevered timber bridge pays passing tribute to Isozaki and postmodernism but sits comfortably in its traditional rural context.

Craftsmanship, devotion to material and the structure of a children’s toy are the inspirations behind Kengo Kuma’s design for a museum building in central Japan.