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Photo © Kai Nakamura
 
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Photo © Kai Nakamura
 
Here is the latest from Atsushi and Mayumi Kawamoto (mA-style). It’s good to know that the recession hasn’t stopped them from designing more new houses Continue Reading…

In fact, this is a low-cost housing design, but it is a great example how imagination and creativity can accomplish surprising results even with a very limited budget Continue Reading…

This is another house designed by Atsushi and Mayumi Kawamoto. The house from outside has a minimal and simple appearance of a low-cost housing, but wait till you see the inside. The client, a young couple with three children, apparently had a modest budget to build their new home, but their imagination was as big as their surrounding environment with hills of green tea plantations, tangerine trees and rice fields.

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What is absolutely unique about this house is the way the staircase is set in the middle of the house Continue Reading…

The nostalgic atmosphere of a small village captivated Atsushi and Mayumi Kawamoto when they visited the site for a new house they were to design last year. There was a big tree on top of the nearby hill, and next to the tree was a small shrine, overlooking the entire village. The setting of the village would likely remind Hayao Miyazaki fans (including movie director James Cameron whose depiction of the huge Hometree and the sacred Tree of Souls in Avatar are still fresh in our memories) of My Neighbor Totoro, an animated film in 1988 by Miyazaki. In their statement, the architect couple explain the concept wonderfully, and I rather not butcher the beauty of words with my poor translation. By the way, if you have children and happen to like this house, I encourage you to rent the film Continue Reading…