Virtual Tour #1: A History of George Nakashima

Join us on our first virtual tour narrated by Mira Nakashima as she provides an overview of the life and career of her father George Nakashima, internationally renowned woodworker and a leader in 20th century American design and the American studio craft movement.

Mira, the Creative Director of Nakashima Woodworkers, and President of the Nakashima Foundation for Peace, is presenting the history of George Nakashima and the creation of the compound which has become a National Historic Landmark, including the experimental architectural treasures that he built onsite, such as the Conoid Studio, Arts Building, Reception House, and others. The buildings combine the International style and Modernist influences with Japanese carpentry tradition, and feature innovative shapes, like thin shell conoidal and hyperbolic paraboloid roofs. Mira highlights the career of George Nakashima, his work in Europe and Asia, the Nakashima family life, the lifelong spiritual influences that came about during his architectural work on the Sri Aurobindo Ashram dormitory in Pondicherry, India, the Nakashima experience during the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the eventual move to Bucks County, Pennsylvania where he set up a woodworking shop in 1945 that remains the site of an active business.