MODERN ARCHITECTURE: JAPAN

Architecture by TEZUKA ARCHITECTS
Location: Japan
Specialty: Residential, Educational, Commercial
Project Highlights: Floating Roof House
Interior Photography: TEZUKA ARCHITECTS

To view more images of their work, see slideshow.

This home is an amazing example of architecture meets engineering as shown in the design of the cantilevered floating roof. A private residence located in Okoyama Prefecture, Japan brings the translation of walls into a new light. Now if only Vancouver didn't have 44 inches of rain each year, this home could be a great example of architecture for a water front vacation home to take in an ocean view.

MODERN RESIDENTIAL - MILLIGRAM ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO

MODERN RESIDENTIAL DESIGN where the idea of "universal design" is taken to the next level within a home, design that accommodates the changing lives of its users. As we all age in place and with the challenge of mobility over the years - here is a modern interpretation of the timeless concept of a "ramp" as a means of traveling from one floor to another. The transition of walking through various levels in the motion of walking on a ramp, slows us down ... just as famous architectural monuments like the Guggenheim Museum in New York ... experience an interior in a new way by completely changing your means of travelling through the transitions between each floor level. I am inspired by the innovation of modern minimalist architect MILLIGRAM ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO

MODERN RESTAURANT - BY TADAO ANDO

It is the work of amazing minds such as those like TADAO ANDO that inspire us today to look at architecture and interior design in a new light. This month marked the one-year anniversary of famed restaurant MORIMOTO in New York's meat packing district . I was privileged to have the opportunity to experience his masterpiece interior of concrete columns flanking a freestanding wall is composed of 17,400 half-liter plastic bottles filled with signature Morimoto water from Whales. The interior offers a variation of casual seating in white on white leather and wood seating and the communal table where patrons can engage in conversation with neighbors. I share with you what inspires me in my work ...

MODERN MINIMALISM - JAPAN

I begin 2007 to the roots of why I do what I do and am inspired by the amazing talent we have privilege to witness in our world of design.


MODERN MINIMALISM is the "why" I continue to look at opportunities of working with those who appreciate quality and are open to seeing interior spaces and architecture in a new light. As I've said before in my past articles, I currently live in Vancouver, Canada where the idea and concept of modern minimalism is yet to surface the interior design industry as it does in places like Japan or London. Not that there is enough of us in the local industry who respect the principles of minimalism - it is the market we live in and the geography of our city that makes this amazing concept of design harder to familiarize with. I am an interior designer who wishes to bring "simple" into it's purist form whether in process or in the finished product - I hope that either through the experience of working with me or the result of my work ... I have somehow brought those I am fortunate to work with a better understanding of this process and aesthetic. In choice of color to the selection of materials to re-organizing ... "less truly means more" more awareness of our surroundings and the impact our interior environments have on our lives.

Japan is a highly populated nation where order and the understanding of space come hand in hand with the design process. European to Asian nations where property value, resources such as electricity or water are more regulated, seem to be more advanced with their technology and building techniques - this relationship is directly reflected in their lifestyle and holistic approach to architecture and design.

MODERN MINIMALISM to me is the honesty of materials and use of space that help transform our experience within an environment into its simplest form of appreciating the details.

Wouldn't it be an amazing concept to have the design process of making a “home” be translated into all types of environments as one of my mentors has once said "the guiding principal for the design of public or institutional spaces should be that people visiting the space feel as if they are being welcomed into a home. The experience of going to the doctor, dentist, or an event to school would be utterly transformed" - emh.

... thoughts on white space ... this is a start to a new year ... sometimes I have been known to speak words that may not make a lot of sense - I am still in the process of fine tuning my use of vocabulary and means of communicating personal philosophies in written form ... but those who know me well – I've always been able to source the images that best reflect what I'm thinking.

where written explanations are more challenging for some of us than others - a simple image can represent so much more than words

MODERN MINIMALISM - pure, honest, simple, refined, timeless, crisp, calm ... are a few words that come to mind … when I observe these …

I share with you the work of amazing japanese architecture and interiors by Akira Sakamoto Architect & Associates