wabi-sabi modern house

The idea we propose is "Wabi-sabi Modern house" which is the fusion of traditional aesthetics for Japanese nature and cutting-edge technology. It is expressed in detailed design with dozens of pendant light coverd with colored glass and traditional Japanese vintage furniture. The site is Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture where is famous for producing blown glass, so the blown glass used for pendant light will be manufactured by local craftsmen. In addition, it will be added with halogen used for 2way-lens and will be processed to enable it to change to three each different color of blue, green and orange in response to sunlight. Each color of blue, green and orange is intended to express the color of the sky, trees, and sunset. The space is designed to be filled with different colors depending on the season, weather and time, which is also able to recognize as the spirit of “Wabi” that cherish momentary experiences. The plan of lighting especially its layout is determined by the algorithms which is created by a young architect, Gen Karoji, who specializes in digital design. The position of the pendant light, the length of the wire, and the size of the blown glass were set as parameters, and generative design was conducted by using the value of illuminance and mutual distance as evaluation values. In his opinion, after the renovation of the house is completed, he will work with local college students to improve the algorithm and implement a program to maintain proper illuminance to adopt new space. The local university mentioned above is the University of Aizu, whose campus is located about 15 minutes on foot from the site. The University of Aizu is a science research institution which mainly specialize in computer science and has been training many excellent engineers. Since Fukushima Prefecture which is known as the city holding the Japan Mathematics Olympics is particularly focused on mathematics education, we hope that this project will contribute to improve the motivation of high school students as well.

Another idea is to provide space for installation of the traditional Japanese vintage furniture, "Kiri-tansu". For the past few years, traditional Japanese vintage furniture has become more knowable among sensitive collectors in Europe and America. However, there are not many opportunities to adopt these in a modern atmosphere and adapt it to the sensibilities of younger generations. A group of Japanese artists Hiroshi Sugimoto and NMRL who are early pioneers in tackling this challenge refurbished New York's high-end properties to a modern Japanese flair in latest project. On our project, the existing flooring will be partially dismantled and replace it for the mortar-finished “doma” to create an impressive modern sense by using a combination of fragile furniture and a strong material. We hope that our efforts will help kind of trend forming and contribute to the value enhancement of traditional Japanese vintage furniture, which is not an investment purpose.