Kazuhide Takahama (1930–2010) was a Japanese architect and designer. He was born in Nobeoka, Japan, in 1930. He studied architecture in Tokyo and after graduating, he joined the studio of Kazuo Fujioka. In 1957, he came to Italy to oversee the architectural installation of Japan’s pavilion at the XI Triennale di Milano. It was during this time that he met the designer and entrepreneur Dino Gavina (1922-2007), marking the beginning of a lifelong professional collaboration.

Takahama moved to Bologna in 1964 and began working as a furniture and lighting designer at the San Lazzaro facility. In 1968, Dino Gavina sold his company, Gavina SPA, including the Foligno factory designed by Achille Castiglioni, to Knoll International. Gavina then founded Simon International together with Maria Simoncini (1927-2010), which was later acquired by Cassina. The following year, the Marcel Duchamp exhibition and commercial center was established in Bologna, with the participation of the renowned Dadaist painter and photographer Man Ray.

In these new environments, Takahama had the opportunity to collaborate with the famous architect and designer Carlo Scarpa. Over the subsequent years, he engaged in a prolific professional career that resulted in the creation of various types of furniture and lamps, which still stand as works of art. His designs were characterized by their simplicity, formal cleanliness, and often a strict, Zen-like composition.

Despite being described by colleagues as exceptionally quiet and often referred to as the “stone man,” his presence was profoundly perceptible. Takahama continued his work as a designer until his passing in 2010.