Project Brief: This was a renovation project for a private flat of the reinforced concrete building. The owner’s request was to live with greenery, secure two separate rooms with a high regard for privacy and have a living space where friends can gather.

I looked at the entire space from a communication point of view and designed it with the concept of “connection” with people and greenery that will develop a new connection.

The “connection” means that someone or something is related to someone or something else and I found it as an internal behaviour. I saw the similarity with the concept of the “labyrinth” where you lose the sense of direction and do not know the positions of the entrance, the exit and even yourself.

I made the upper wall and walls of private rooms to multiple levels in order to create more connections. These connections and the structure of private rooms offered the sense of the labyrinth for visual effect.

Through the conversation with the owner, I understood that plants were not for appreciation but for communication. I therefore set the botanical area for the whole wall. It will offer another sensation once it is covered with full of green. I applied the glass to the south wall so that it offers sufficient light and this space can also be used as a drying area. The frosted glass also separates the space from the living area offering privacy.

I arranged adjustable boxes in the communication space that can be freely arranged depending the occasion. It can be used as a backrest, a chest, a table, etc., which offers a “connection” with people and things at the time.

I applied the mortar to the kitchen and other utilities in contrast to organic wood and plants. I also used the mortar for the pillar so that the space maintains objectivity and it also separates from the sense of the labyrinth. As a home where the “connection” was taken into consideration, this pillar is not only for the structure but also the stability of the space.

information: Design: kräf•te, Yukio Kimura Sign Graphics: kräf•te, Yukiko Yamamoto Collaboration / Lighting: Fukunishi Electric Corporation, Yoshino Higashi Constructi+on: Up Life Photo: Kiyotoshi Takashima