Text by Hiroshi Sugimoto, Tomoyuki Sakakida, New Material Research Laboratory. Photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Lars Muller Publishers. May 2021. Hardcover, 416 pages, 300 color. "The oldest things are the newest." This paradoxical idea is present throughout the oeuvre of contemporary Japanese artist and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. In 2008, Sugimoto and the architect Tomoyuki Sakakida founded the firm New Material Research Laboratory. Together, they research "new materials" from known materials and old techniques, and advocate for a reconnection of the present with a bygone era. Old is New delves into the art and architecture, as well as the archaeological philosophy and contemporary practice, of New Material Research Laboratory. Numerous photographs of their projects show a balance of the present and past. In the principal texts, Sugimoto and Sakakida discuss their approaches, while additional contributions delve into the origin of the laboratory's design ethos, rooted in Japanese tradition and aesthetics.