Photographer: Masao Nishikawa | ArchDaily

Eternity House / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Miwa Negoro — Sun, 31 May 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Eternity is situated in a quiet, upscale residential enclave within central Tokyo. Occupying a 560-square-meter corner lot, the project was conceived as a hospitality-oriented residence where both the inhabitants and their guests can engage in creative pursuits. The exterior presents a rhythmic composition made possible by the corner site, with volumetric layers shifting and overlapping across each floor, while its appearance is defined by a closed facade designed with the utmost attention to security and privacy.

THE THIRD PLACE Mt.Fuji / Kubo Tsushima Architects

Andreas Luco — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:00:00 +0000

A composition of experiences and sensations in dialogue with Mount Fuji — Located on a richly undulating site at the foothills of Mount Fuji, this project consists of a cluster of three private villas. Each building is carefully positioned along a shared axis oriented toward the borrowed scenery of the mountain. While unified by this orientation, the three architectures embody distinct spatial conditions—floating, sinking, and enveloping—through which perception, bodily awareness, and the experience of time are reconfigured.

Jingu Studio / YNAS

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:00:00 +0000

The renovation of Villa Serena 204 began as a personal and professional mission to challenge Japan's "scrap-and-build" culture. Located in a historic modernist building designed by Junzo Sakakura, the project seeks to prove that aging architecture can gain value through thoughtful intervention. The core inspiration was the tension between the building's rigid 600mm structural grid and the fluid lifestyle of its occupants—an architect and a casting director. By embracing the "ambiguity" between work and life, the design breathes new life into a modernist relic, transforming it into a high-functioning home and studio.

Cities of the Dead: 10 Projects Exploring Burial Architecture

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Death is a certainty, but its architecture has never been stable. Every period and culture has invented a different way of placing the dead in the world (close or far, visible or screened, monumental or almost anonymous), and those choices have always carried social and political weight. Cemeteries are where that weight becomes legible in space, turning belief and regulation into boundaries, paths, and names.

Diamas Hayama / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Miwa Negoro — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 21:00:00 +0000

Morito Beach is the largest stretch of sand in Hayama, one of Japan's oldest coastal resort towns. The beach is a popular destination where local residents and visitors alike enjoy activities such as windsurfing and walking along the seaside while taking in views of Enoshima Island. Set directly on the shoreline, Diamas Hayama offers an ideal base for "workations" or a holiday home. Designed for sea lovers, this condominium development provides the rare luxury of a direct connection from the grounds to the beach.

Nishiogi Comichi Terrace / Naruse Inokuma Architects

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 07:00:00 +0000

This cluster of row houses is located about ten minutes on foot from Nishi-Ogikubo Station in a quiet residential area of Suginami, Tokyo, within a neighborhood of detached homes. While Nishi-Ogikubo is often associated with its lively backstreets, bars, and independent shops, a short walk away reveals a calmer landscape of narrow lanes, flourishing gardens, and a dense yet humane living environment.

STEALTH House / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Miwa Negoro — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Perched on elevated ground in central Tokyo, STEALTH is a private residence that brings the serene, exclusive atmosphere of a secluded resort villa to an urban setting. The design features a built-in garage that accommodates eight of the owner's prized cars, along with an infinity pool, ample greenery, and outdoor furnishings. The solid facade ensures the interior remains hidden from view, allowing for optimal privacy and security.

Element House / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Miwa Negoro — Thu, 15 May 2025 19:00:00 +0000

ELEMENT stands in a quiet residential area in the southern part of Kyoto. The L-shaped plot, which faces two roads, features a change in elevation and distinct facades on the north and south sides. The main facade is characterized by a large overhang with a wide southern-facing window, enclosed by a concrete wall imprinted with cedar-board formwork. The secondary façade is distinguished by its powerful cantilevered appearance, which allows for a pilotis-style garage area.

IEIE House / MASA Architects

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 19:00:00 +0000

In Japanese, "IEIE" generally means "a row of houses." The house named "IEIE" is for a couple with piano lessons, built in a land readjustment residential area in Urayasu. This is a house in which functions normally located outside the house, such as a piano school and telework, are included within the house. The house is not directly open to the neighborhood, but rather, like most houses, it is closed to the neighborhood, and we attempted to design a space where people can feel the town as our image in the house, and where the image of the town is continuously connected.

Morandi Apartment / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Miwa Negoro — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

The Italian furniture brand Molteni embodies an aesthetic of understated elegance. The high-quality craftsmanship and minimalist design that define the brand are also a hallmark of the work of APOLLO. Fittingly, we embarked upon a collaborative endeavor with Nicola Gallizia, an architect and product designer at Molteni, to design a residential space.

Kumagaya House / CHOP+ARCHI

Hana Abdel — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 23:00:00 +0000

The nuclear family structure, which the anthropologist George Murdock argued was universal, has been the predominant family structure in Japan since the postwar period.

Corte Apartment Complex / Hiroyuki Ito Architects

Valeria Silva — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 02:00:00 +0000

The site is situated between an alley and a shopping street. Despite the presence of low-rise buildings on the alley side, a 10-story apartment complex is currently under construction on the adjacent lot, while super high-rise condominiums are being erected behind it.

PRISM Inn Ogu Hotel / Hiroyuki Ito Architects

Anna Dumitru — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 02:00:00 +0000

PRISM Inn Ogu / A hotel for long-term stays - The project is located on a site close to the city center and is easily accessible from the airport. Traditionally, hotel rooms that can accommodate a group of four or five people together are relatively scarce in Tokyo and, if available, are often restrictively expensive. Here, the aim was to facilitate the accommodation of larger families and groups, particularly overseas visitors from Asia. The resulting design needed to be finely balanced so that each guest could feel equally comfortable when staying together as part of a large group of people or when staying in a smaller group.

Mikumizaka Flats / Hiroyuki Ito Architects

Andreas Luco — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 02:00:00 +0000

The project is composed of a series of detached rooms (of about 6 Tatami mats) connecting to form apartments inside a post and beam structure. Each apartment in the building was designed individually with consideration of the site’s conditions, orientation, and floor level. As a result, none of the apartments and floors are identical.

Meet Tree Store / Naruse Inokuma Architects

Hana Abdel — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 16:00:00 +0000

This design was for a store in Ginza, newly opened by the sweets and cosmetics brand Meet Tree. This brand is managed by a lumber company in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture.

Tenjincho Place Apartment Complex / Hiroyuki Ito Architects

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 02:00:00 +0000

The site is located along the approach to a renowned shrine and on the edge of a plateau in Yushima, Tokyo. In recent years, numerous hotels in the area have been replaced by apartment complexes, resulting from a rapid transformation of the area’s character. Two complexities of the site have been significant factors for the design–the shape of the plot and the lighting conditions resulting from high-rise buildings surrounding it from three directions. By wrapping a curved volume around a central void, each residential unit obtains light, wind, and views.

Washoku Itagaki Restaurant / Buttondesign

Anna Dumitru — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 20:00:00 +0000

This is a project to revitalize an old private house in Kita-Senju, Adachi-ku, Tokyo. The current owner's desire to preserve the townscape led to the renovation of an old private house, the "Former Itagaki Residence," built in 1938, into a new cluster of three types of restaurants. The project began in the summer of 2019 before the confusion caused by the new coronavirus began. It was triggered by a rumor that the former Itagaki Residence might be transformed into an apartment building.

Le49Ⅱ Residence / APOLLO Architects & Associates

Hana Abdel — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Le49 II is a residence situated on a corner lot within a serene residential neighborhood in the heart of Tokyo. The client purchased a plot of land close to their daughter’s elementary school with the vision of building a residence that would allow for luxurious and comfortable family living while also providing an environment conducive to remote work.