Photographer: Norihito Yamauchi | ArchDaily

From Tradition to Modern Living: The Versatility and Elegance of Timber in 12 Japanese Interiors

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 08 May 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Contemporary Japanese architecture continues to demonstrate how to adapt the evolving needs of modern residents to a rich building tradition and artisanal legacy. Wood has always been the soul of Japanese architecture. In many recent residential projects, this material transcends its structural role to become the primary finish for various surfaces — ranging from floors and ceilings to furniture and architectural elements. These environments strike a delicate balance between elegance and coziness.

Room 1101 / FORM / Kouichi Kimura Architects

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the renovation is to revive an urban apartment into a space as a second house. Responding to the client's request of 'living an extraordinary life in a versatile space', I put focus on the design of the opening in the beginning.

Folded Roof House / ISHIZAKI ARCHITECTS

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:00:00 +0000

This residence is located in a residential area of Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City. Low-rise houses and a three-story office building, with an elementary school across the road to the south, surround the site. The plan places an L-shaped building at the site's center, with a parking lot facing the southern road and a garden to the north. A large roof spanning both interior and exterior spaces was designed to envelop the entire site, aiming to create expansive and deep spatial qualities. The garden functions as an open "blank space" accessible to the neighborhood, guiding light and wind toward the surrounding homes.

Nakano Seiyaku Kusatsu Factory / TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000

This project involves the construction of a new factory for hair cosmetics and quasi-pharmaceutical products in the city of Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture. The design is centered around the themes of "beauty," a value NAKANO has pursued since its founding, and "water," the source of life that sustains beauty.

Osaka Expo 2025 Umi-Kuru Retaill Facility / TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers

Pilar Caballero — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 17:00:00 +0000

A structure built from marine plastic waste – This is a retail facility adjacent to the EXPO 2025 (Osaka, Kansai) Arena. Since the Expo site was constructed on coastal reclaimed land, it was proposed that an architectural structure be built by upcycling marine plastic waste. Marine plastic pollution severely impacts ecosystems worldwide and is recognized as a shared global issue. The aim of this architectural project is to promote the concept of a circular economy at the Expo site, where visitors from all over the world will gather. The building, including its foundation, is designed for easy assembly and disassembly with plans for relocation or reuse as furniture after the Expo concludes.

House K/T / tombow architects

Miwa Negoro — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 02:00:00 +0000

This is a renovation project of a 45-year-old detached house on a sloping site in the Tama Hills. This renovation will maximize the spatial appeal of the existing building without changing the overall form and layout of the building. The building will be developed to provide living space for a family of four and the designer's own studio. Most boundaries that divide spaces are defined by partitions that separate rooms and connect them with openings and fixtures.

Raw, Refined, and Resilient: 14 Projects Showcasing Concrete Block as a Design Language

Moises Carrasco — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Once seen as purely utilitarian, bare concrete blocks have increasingly become part of an architectural transformation. In regions where warm climates make insulation unnecessary, this material can be left exposed, free of cladding, finishes, or embellishment. In doing so, texture, bond, and form can define the building's character and simplify construction while creating new opportunities for expression and identity. This also creates a platform to explore the concept of material honesty. Beyond its aesthetic value, using a material "as is" can significantly reduce construction costs and minimize maintenance during the building's lifespan.

Renka Residence / raumus

Miwa Negoro — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 19:00:00 +0000

RENKA is a model house for renovating a 70-year-old rice mill in the center of the former Asakura Town in Fukuoka Prefecture. It was renovated to suit modern lifestyles and built to convey the appeal and possibilities of renovation.

KANEKA Wellness Center / Kengo Kuma & Associates + TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers

Hana Abdel — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

KANEKA Wellness Center is Kaneka Corporation’s welfare facility, which also functions as a medical facility. With its corporate policy including “wellness first,” Kaneka places importance on the reform of employees’ workstyles and their healthcare. In this facility, medical care and regular medical check-ups are provided to Kaneka’s employees, and various activities will be held to improve employees’ health awareness. In its construction plan, TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers provided the design, which used various environmental technologies developed by Kaneka under the supervision of Kengo Kuma & Associates.

Miyagi Technology Innovation Center / TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers

Hana Abdel — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 02:00:00 +0000

An Open Design for a Center of Open Innovation - Research and development facility for the Tokyo Electron group, a leading semiconductor manufacturer

House H / Yoshimasa Kishimoto Architects Studio

Andreas Luco — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 21:00:00 +0000

A grid of four-and-a-half tatami mats was adopted as the unit for constructing the dwelling. The composition is based on the rule of arranging and dividing the area along this grid. This is an extension of the composition system of Japanese minka houses, which used to be called nimadori (two rooms) and mimadori (three rooms). It is a flexible form that can be arranged with simple rules, can be used as a small or large space, and can accommodate a variety of functions. 4.5 Tatami Mat Grid can be connected in any number of ways and in any direction, and the outer shell was designed to be free. Based on this premise, the site conditions and the client's requests were incorporated to create the overall vision of the house.

Floor and Roof of Haibara Township / SAI Architectural Design Office

Andreas Luco — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 01:00:00 +0000

The site is located in a rich environment with a rural landscape. Ruins of Osawa Castle and other ruins are scattered in the surrounding area, and people with the same family name continue to live in the village. Located in a mountain valley, a waterway flows in front of the house. There is a legend that a lake spread out in this area in ancient times. It is a strange and satisfying landscape, and in this project, we imagined an architecture that would mark a new time in this place that has a history of forming satoyama while fighting and cohabiting with nature.

House in Gakuenmae / KKAA YTAA

Hana Abdel — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000

The client is a newlywed couple who both work. We aimed for a compact life, a lifestyle that allows you to feel close to nature even on busy days. The site is located in a valley, and groundwater flows directly under the site from a large reservoir upstream.

House in Kohama / Shimpei Oda Architect's Office + Loowe Inc.

Hana Abdel — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 23:00:00 +0000

This is a renovation of a three-story steel-framed house. At the time of our first visit to the property, the interior had already been dismantled, revealing Etruscan reddish columns, beams, and deck plates. The building consisted of an open plan with a balcony on every floor. Each floor had windows in different positions and sizes; making it possible to imagine the small rooms each floor was once separated into. The light coming in from the various openings made the space very attractive in its unintentional style.

18 Interior Projects that Use Open Storage to Hide Clutter in Plain Sight

James Wormald — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Home spaces filled with clutter and mess can be mentally exhausting, making it impossible to relax with the weight of life visually bearing down on an interior. ‘Tidy space, tidy mind’ as the idiom instructs, and home environments that focus on clean lines – either with a minimalist lifestyle, decluttering, or expansive and well-organized storage systems – cultivate a more meditative mindset. Perhaps, however, the demonization of clutter and these are, characterless spaces it creates, can get a little, well, boring.

Hair Salons and Barbershops: Examples in Plan and Section

Fabian Dejtiar — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 04:00:00 +0000

In recent years hair salons and barbershops have begun to incorporate different activities - a programmatic hybridization almost necessary in today's service economy.

Wrap and Open House / SAI Architectural Design Office

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 22:00:00 +0000

Planning for a house on a corner lot located in a cluster of mountain villages. The client wanted the house to be a store and residence in the future.

Gangi House / SAI Architectural Design Office

Andreas Luco — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 20:00:00 +0000

A house where a couple of grandchildren and their five children live on the land where their grandmother used to live. The couple are entrepreneurs, actively working and interacting with a variety of people. We aimed to create a house that integrates living and work, and that can accommodate a variety of activities as a richness. Although there is a field on the south side of the site, the residential area is separated from the field to the extent that it cannot be seen from the street side. The gap between the building and the neighboring land was made into an outer earthen floor with an open space to the rear, as it was necessary to extend the eaves of the house due to landscape restrictions. A terrace on the farmland side, which can be accessed from both inside and outside, creates an outside gathering place for a variety of people in a house that often welcomes visitors.