NewNew architecture book explores nuances of eco living in Japanese design

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Layout of the Centre for Research of Environmental Technologies, by Kengo Kuma and Associates, located on a former horse breeding farm. Photo: SCMP Handout courtesy of Tuttle Publishing

Published: 4:13pm, 22 Feb 2016Updated: 5:22pm, 22 Feb 2016

Japanese houses seem to have a close connection with nature. Yet when architecture historian Deanna MacDonald was researching for her book on sustainable design in Japan, she found homes to profile surprisingly hard to locate.

“There’s lip service paid, but scratch the surface and it’s just as unsustainable as any other type of building,” says the Canadian academic, now living in Tokyo. Her book, Eco Living in Japan (Tuttle Publishing) – inspired by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami - focuses on architects in Japan “who are doing seriously sustainable work”.

The updated double-height open living/ dining/kitchen area in this old Japanese timber house renovation by Igawa Architects, echoes the flexibility of traditional interior space by using sliding and removable screens. Photo: SCMP Handout courtesy of Tuttle Publishing

“I was looking for people really trying to make a difference – not just [designing] another wow building, but homes that still have wow, but substance to as well,” said MacDonald.

Architect Kengo Kuma (of Kengo Kuma and Associates) gets a guernsey for his approach to combining the traditions of sustainable architecture, in a contemporary way. For his Meme Meadows project in Hokkaido – a climate known for its icy winters – Kuma reworked the native Ainu people’s technique of using thick layers of soil and dried grass as thermal insulation in their homes, and a central fire pit that radiated heat. Writes the author: “By mixing hi-tech materials and traditional know-how, [the architect] was able to produce an energy-efficient contemporary Ainu chise [house] that would not look out of place on the cover of a design magazine”.

The design of Meme Meadows, by Kengo Kuma and Associates, is inspired by Ainu chise-style buildings, which hold in the warmth of an ever- burning central fireplace. Photo: SCMP Handout courtesy of Tuttle Publishing

Miwa Mori, an architect with Key Architects, created an impression by bringing ideas of passive design from her studies in Germany. “She has been a kind of one-woman force in the Japanese market,” says MacDonald. Mori makes houses that are fully insulated, and use the passive properties of nature - which MacDonald says “sounds quite logical but oddly, most Japanese houses do not do this”.

Established architect Edward Suzuki (Edward Suzuki Associates) is featured for his House of Maple Leaves in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. Suzuki follows the notion of “borrowing space” from the surrounding landscape to enlarge and enrich a compact living environment. “There is a wealth of design vocabulary from the past that we could learn from and apply in modern design,” says Suzuki.

“Borrowing” the landscape to achieve a sustainable, healthy and comfortable home is doable even in a crowded city, he said. “Even a pocket garden of 1 square metre can bring in natural light and breezes, while pleasing the soul.”