Akira
Hirano

Volunteer

Akira has travelled to every south asian country to understand the different contexts of Asian homegrown architecture. Silent, hands-on and full of great stories, he is determined to explore the West next.

Akira's tryst with India began with the movie 'The Fall' which he fell in love with. On a mission to visit every place in the movie, Akira booked his flight ticket from Japan to India, stopped at Nepal due to an airport mishap and finally made a 24 hour bus ride to Varanasi only to realise that he had arrived bang in the middle of Kumbh Mela. After an eventful first experience, Akira came back to India to intern at urbz because he wanted to see, understand and work in Dharavi. He had previously spent 6 months in an Indonesian homegrown settlement where he built a house. Akira is a doer and loves making things. Akira attracts experiences that make the best stories to tell.