Maple-Modulo design studio Japan

About　（ → 日本語）

Maple‑Modulo

Maple-Modulo is an independent furniture workshop based in Japan.
Its activities span across three interconnected fields: furniture design, prototype development, and woodworking education.

Furniture and wooden products

In 2025, Maple-Modulo launched a new initiative focused on furniture design.
By handling everything from structural design to prototype production in-house, the studio develops products that balance beauty and functionality.

Future plans also include collaboration projects with Japanese manufacturers for mass production.

Woodworking class

Established in 2010, the woodworking school currently has around 80 members.
Students travel from a wide area of Japan, ranging from Kagoshima to Shimane Prefecture.

■ Learning Through Logic — From “Watch and Copy” to “Understand and Create”

Drawing on many years of corporate experience, the instructor has developed original curricula and teaching materials rooted in logical thinking and management skills.

The program is carefully structured to help students acquire woodworking skills efficiently and systematically, while clear explanations and a logical approach provide a comfortable and supportive learning environment.

■ Another Form of Learning: Understanding Quality

As the quality of a piece improves, it begins to possess a unique sense of strength and presence.
However, the ability to perceive differences in quality exists on an entirely different level of skill. Developing this sensitivity is a far more delicate and difficult process than simply mastering techniques with saws or chisels.

We carefully articulate what “ideal quality” means and guide students step by step so they can gradually develop that sensibility for themselves.

→Student Work (auto‑translated)

This website introduces works created in the woodworking school.

Hiroshi Hanada

Woodworker / Furniture Designer
Founder of Maple-Modulo design studio Japan
Winner of the iF DESIGN AWARD 2026

Exploring quiet harmony and organic form
through the integration of structure, form, and prototyping.

■ An Integrated Woodworker Across Craft, Design, and Business

Without formal training at woodworking institutions or experience working for furniture manufacturers, I have built my own distinctive approach through extensive experimentation and trial and error, developing a style that integrates technique, structure, and form.

At the same time, drawing on the logical thinking and management skills cultivated through many years of corporate experience, I approach design, production, education, and project management as an integrated practice.

By crossing the boundaries of “woodworker × designer × corporate experience” and personally handling even the prototype-making process, I continuously move between thinking and making, integrating structure and beauty with a high level of precision.

■ Design Philosophy

The Japanese cultural value of harmony lies at the core of my creative practice.

For me, “stripping away” is not simply about simplification.
By quietly removing unnecessary elements, I believe that space, material, and human movement naturally come into harmony, allowing the essence within to emerge.

Another interpretation of harmony is the expression of organicity.
Using forms and flows found in nature as a guide, I explore shapes that embody the subtle fluctuations and curves through which people instinctively feel comfort.

Furniture should not assert itself excessively; rather, its presence becomes complete when it quietly blends into a space.

Beautiful objects are treated with care, while functions that are intuitive and naturally fit into daily life continue to be accepted over time.

I believe that when beauty and functionality coexist, furniture deepens in value over time and becomes something that continues to be used for many years.

■ Profile
・2007 — Left a career in the energy infrastructure industry and became an independent woodworker
・2005–2011 — Pursued creative work at Mojiko Art Village
　(currently the Mojiko Institute of Arts & Crafts)
・2008 — Founded the wooden furniture workshop Maple-Modulo and began producing custom furniture
・2010 — Established the woodworking school

■ Qualifications
・First-Class Certified Furniture Maker
・Vocational Training Instructor License (Woodworking Department)
・Interior Coordinator

■ Exhibitions / Awards
・2009 — Solo Exhibition
(Former Moji Customs Building, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan)
・2005–2013 — Participated in various exhibitions
・2011 — Featured in the book Chair & Table Design
・2026 — Winner of the iF DESIGN AWARD
(Product Design / Score: 330 / Folding Stool)

What’s New in the Workshop