Kouichi Kimura was born in Kusatsu-City in the Shiga Prefecture of Japan in 1960. In 1991 he establised FORM / Kouichi Kimura Architects, a design firm specializing in domestic architecture. Kimura's main influence is the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, famous for his integration of glass and landscape. Kimura's "Promenade House," located in Shiga, Japan, was the centerpiece of the December 2013 issue of MARK, a Dutch architectural magazine. “His [Kimura's] works, mainly residences, are characterized by a poetic and functional minimalism in which a sense of openness and privacy is achieved through careful slicing and layering of wall elements, light and shadows, volumes and spaces.” - Richard Meier