Niki Club Stage KAGAMI, Hiroshi Naito

This is a stage design made with seven stones and connected with steel mirror panels. These mirrors reflect the nature visually and the stones reflect the sound of nature. This piece is located in Nasu Kogen, which has cool summer and severe winter. This piece is only visible during summer since it will be covered with snow in the winter.

I like this piece because it is so simple but it still provides complicated experience. I have not seen it in person yet, but I would love to when I get a chance.

Toraya Kyoto, by Hiroshi Naito

Toraya is a 450 year old sweet company in Japan. They make and sell Japanese traditional sweets, Wagashi. Toraya always existed on this site for 450 years. This building was built in 2009 to reflect Japanese life style, taste, literature and art. The main goal is to coexist with history and new era.

My favorite part of this building is the terrace and garden. This is very common in traditional Japanese architecture, however in here, there are no columns in order to emphasize the relationship to the garden with the terrace. This building is completely surrounded by vegetation, even in the smallest little pockets. Japanese always existed with nature.

Penguin House - More with Less

Japanese Micro Houses

Many Americans would consider a parking-space-sized lot as an adequate site to build a house. But in Japan, homes are rising on odd parcels of land, some as tiny as 300 square feet.

Penguin House

The Penguin House uses very innovative engineering and architectural design to achieve a better use of space. Through creative channeling of light, and specializing designing of walls, hallways, and windows, the home is illuminated using natural light rather than being dependent entirely on artificial lighting. Expanding the maximum potential of the small space has been a key issue in Japan for a really long time. Penguin House is very successful in that sense.

I like the coexistence of efficiency and aesthetic.

Figures, Doors and Passages

Architecture encompasses everyday reality and provides a format for social life, which is shown in a plan as the nature of human relationships.Evans states that in the history of Western architecture, the manner of working is not concentrated as much as style and signification. The drawing should be looked at as a place of excuses and pretenses that gets around in a society. In another words, architecture is a form of society.

This is idea is revolutionary because plans can now be used as a tool for historical researches. People design spaces for people, so spaces reflect ways of people.

Inbetween Western Architecture and Japanese Architecture

What I love about this picture...
material, lighting, furniture, sunroof, reflection of the trees, and the framing of the landscape

It is interesting that this is not a typical traditional Japanese house, but it still has the essence of it. This room also coexists with Western furniture and Shoji screens in a perfect balance.

Japanese window seat

I can feel the experience of this room. The warm sunlight, smell of the tatami mats and the warm wood wall and the ceiling, and hearing the tea cattle... this is my ideal nap room.

Window Seat

This is a picture from an old house in Massachusetts that I took during co-op. What I love about this picture is that I just want to sit on that chair and read a book all afternoon. Sunlight from the big window is so warm and comfortable. The height of this room also provides beautiful views.

Chaya in Kyoto

Chaya (茶屋)　Kyoto (京都) Japan

As I grew up in Japan, I was fascinated by Japanese traditional architecture. This is a picture of Chaya in Kyoto. Chaya means a 'tea house'. Many travelers stopped by to have a cup of tea at these places. There are very small number of traditional Chaya left in Japan.