Build Less, Build Better: Modernist Restraint and Japanese Design in North London.Not every renovation needs to get bigger to get better. Studio Hagen Hall's Heion House in Islington proves that the most considered move is sometimes the one you don't make. By working entirely within the original footprint of a Grade-II...
Nice Projects Turns a Historic Kyoto Teahouse Into a Cutting-Edge Research Lab.Nice Projects have transformed a historic teahouse in Kyoto's Gojo district into the Artificial Life Institute—a 145 square metre research lab for scientists exploring the intersection of science and art. The London and Sydney-based...
What do Family Restaurants and Workplace Design Have in Common? More Than You’d Think.When Kokuyo commissioned DDAA to design a workplace centred on learning, the Tokyo studio faced a key insight: you can't manufacture curiosity. Their solution drew from Japanese family restaurants—those 24-hour establishments where...
Tokyo Studio we+ Develops Natural Pigments from 2.7-Billion-Year Old Algae.Japanese design studio we+ continues their research-driven approach with SO-Colored, a project investigating microalgae's untapped colour potential. The initiative explores these 2.7-billion-year-old organisms as alternatives to synthetic...
Master Ceramist Yoko Ozawa’s ‘Awaken’ Exhibition at MARS Gallery Explores Seasonal Transitions.In a captivating solo exhibition at MARS Gallery, Japanese-born master ceramist Yoko Ozawa presents 'Awaken', a collection of intricate stoneware pieces that capture the subtle transformation from winter to spring. Drawing on the Japanese...
A Floor Lamp Inside a Pizza Box by Kazuhiro Yamanaka.Japanese designer Kazuhiro Yamanaka has designed Pizza Box Lamp, a polyester floor lamp that nods to Ingo Maurer’s 1980 Lampampe. Made out of 100% recycled polyester fibre, each layer is crinkled to create a unique pattern and add...
Futurism and Footwear: Ura Tokyo by Insideout.An innate sense of tranquillity comes to the fore at Ura Tokyo. A veil of fluorescent lighting, pierced by a mirrored obelisk-like mass breaks the boundary between inside and out. Insideout’s key consideration was playing with extreme...
Yuma Kano Transforms Forrest Debris into a Sustainable New Material.Tokyo-based designer Yuma Kano has developed ForestBank, a unique and innovative material that looks to find new value in our forests. Yuma repurposes twigs, leaves, and branches, bound by a water-based acrylic resin, transforming them...
A Masterclass in Subtleties and Intention: Sando Burger Bar by Sapid Studio.In this Japanese inspired burger bar in Geneva, Switzerland, Sapid Studio reference the Japanese concept of “boro boro'', a process of utilising materials that have been repaired or stitched back together to create a multi-layered...
