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Construction has begun on the OMA-designed Harajuku Quest project in Tokyo. The 84,000-square-foot mixed-use scheme will contain commercial and cultural functions set within a building form shaped by two differing urban contexts that interact with the site. Concept diagram. Image credit: OMA... View full entry
Junya Ishigami + Associates has completed a residence and restaurant for a French restauranter in the city of Ube, Japan. Asked by the client for a space that "has to look as if it has been there and will continue to be there for the longest time," Ishigami responded with a cave-like structure... View full entry
Work has been completed on the Kengo Kuma and Associates-designed KAI Yufuin, a hot spring hotel on the Japanese island of Kyushu. The resort sees a landscape of rice terraces enclosed by several buildings containing public functions, a bathhouse, guest rooms, and villa suites. Exterior. Photo... View full entry
As private lodging, a maximum of seven individuals can stay per night, and they can use the kitchen to cook. [...]
Kurokawa used the building, called Capsule House K, as a villa residence. His son, Mikio, started offering it for private lodging in May.
“I hope visitors will spend a leisurely time here and enjoy being in one of the few existing Metabolism buildings,” said Mikio.
— The Asahi Shimbun
The "sister" of Tokyo's recently-demolished Nakagin Capsule Tower was finished the year after the erstwhile apartment building and is now maintained by architect Kisho Kurokawa's son Mikio and an outside company which manages the bookings. Pets are not allowed, but interested parties... View full entry
Snøhetta has shared designs for its largest structure in Japan to date with the Shibuya Upper West Project. Made for Tokyu Corporation, L Catterton Real Estate, and Tokyu Department Store, the roughly 1.26 million-square-foot mixed-use development will add a cultural complex, retail, a... View full entry
A few months removed from their grand House of Music debut in Budapest, Sou Fujimoto Architects has just unveiled concept renderings and a project website of an undulating coastal resort design on Okinawa’s Ishigaki Island for the Japanese hospitality brand NOT A HOTEL. The circular... View full entry
Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a nine-story, timber-structure department store in Tokyo, presenting an elegant retail space that features several green-building practices. Called the Shibuya Marui Department Store, the space is set to become a new showcase for sustainable lifestyle... View full entry
As reported by The Washington Post and other outlets, some of the 140 surviving capsules will be transformed into rentable apartment units, with others traveling to public collections abroad such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which has expressed interest along with many other international... View full entry
Tokyo Disney Resort has revealed that one of its most iconic rides, Space Mountain, will be closing for a major renovation. The overhaul will commence in 2024, and by 2027, the rebuilt cosmic attraction is promised to offer enhanced performance and immersive special effects. The reported cost of... View full entry
Construction has been completed on the structure of Japan’s second tallest building, the 330m Toranomon-Azabudai Project A District tower, which will be second only to the Tokyo Tower. — Global Construction Review
The tower is part of the larger Toranomon-Azabudai District Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Project, which will include two other buildings, all designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, that will host offices, residences, a hotel, an international school, retail shops, restaurants, and cultural... View full entry
On April 12, work on the demolition of the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo began after well over a decade of preservation efforts. With its disassembly ongoing, an Instagram account dedicated to honoring the famed metabolist structure has posted updated images of scaffolding rising... View full entry
The fate of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, one of the founders of the Metabolist movement, has sustained a strong following since the announcement of its proposed demolition in 2007. At first glance, it checks all the boxes of a futuristic... View full entry
Architect Kei Endo has a fascinating hobby: While traveling, she measures and sketches her hotel rooms, including the furniture and objects within them, in great detail……draws them up with a Rapidograph……and renders them in watercolor. — Core77
Endo, a graduate out of the Tokyo University of the Arts with experience as a practicing architect, currently works at an environmental color planning office. Her work as an illustrator has gained acclaim, though, as she’s produced an array of incredibly detailed drawings of the hotel rooms she... View full entry
Last year Japan’s Serendix Partners caught our eye with its concept for spherical, 3D-printed houses. Not only do they have a stylish, futuristic appeal, Serendix wants them to be low-priced enough to make the cost of buying their 3D-printed houses comparable to that of a budget-friendly new car. — Japan Today
From start to finish, the small, egg-shaped dwelling, called the Sphere, took 23 hours and 12 minutes to build. The home, which won NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge in 2015, was designed by Japanese architect Masayuki Sono. It was constructed in the city of Komaki in Japan’s Aichi... View full entry
Ryuichi Sasaki/Sasaki Architecture has returned to the international spotlight with its winning entry for the mixed-use portion of this year’s Architecture MasterPrize that adds an iconic new touch to one of Tokyo’s oldest neighborhoods. Located in the city’s Minato ward, the... View full entry