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      Ten Tokyo apartments with minimalist interior designs

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      Cleverly concealed kitchens and subtle wooden accents feature in our latest lookbook, which collects Tokyo apartments characterised by minimalist and serene interiors.

      These apartments in Japan’s capital are united by their muted colours and an abundance of wood – elements often associated with traditional Japanese interior design.
      As one of the world’s most densely populated cities, Tokyo homes often feature smaller floor plans or less natural light than those located in more spacious cities.
      Architects and designers have created plenty of understated solutions to these restrictions, such as inserting space-saving storage into open-plan living areas.
      From a flat informed by traditional Kyoto townhouses to an Airbnb dressed in subtle geometric furniture, here are 10 Tokyo apartments with minimalist interior designs.

      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring concrete bathrooms, cosy cabins and homes with elevators.

      Kinuta Terrace by Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design
      Two apartments within Tokyo’s 1980s-designed Kinuta Terrace apartment block were renovated by Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design to include more natural light.
      The studios reconfigured the floor plans to form fewer but larger living spaces, which are characterised by smooth concrete, timber fixtures and sheer sandy-hued curtains.
      “Nature feels integrated into the apartment from most rooms so that, when looking out into the courtyard, you can’t quite tell you’re in a city as immense as Tokyo,” said Norm Architects designer Frederik Werner.
      Find out more about these Kinuta Terrace apartments ›
      Photo is by Satoshi ShigetaApartment in Kitasando by Minorpoet
      This 1960s apartment contains a sleek kitchen counter and storage space concealed behind folding doors informed by traditional Japanese screens known as Byōbu.
      Design studio Minorpoet took cues from traditional Kyoto townhouses for the project, which features a hidden kitchen that cannot be seen from the living room.
      Minimalist furniture and finishes match the pared-back theme, including iconic Finnish architect Alvar Aalto’s stackable wooden 60 stool.
      Find out more about Apartment in Kitasando ›
      Photo is by Kaku OhtakiAirbnb apartments by Hiroyuki Ogawa Architects
      Local studio Hiroyuki Ogawa Architects renovated two Airbnb apartments in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward with completely contrasting designs. One has floors and walls clad in light wood (main image), while the other pairs a plush grey carpet with dark plasterwork.
      Neon lighting in the latter apartment was chosen to remind guests of the bustling city while cork stools, metallic kitchen cabinetry and charcoal-toned accents create a moody atmosphere.
      Find out more about these Airbnb apartments ›
      Photo is by Tomooki KengakuThe Life concept apartment by I IN
      The Life concept apartment is an understated residence set within a 1980s building by Tokyo design firm I IN. According to the studio, the project was created to encourage people to rethink renovated apartments in Japan, rather than favour newbuilds.
      An open-plan living space contains a kitchen, living room and bedroom characterised by reeded glass partitions, stucco walls and luxurious red walnut joinery.
      Find out more about The Life concept apartment ›
      Photo is by Toshiyuki YanoAkasaka apartment by FrontOfficeTokyo
      Almost all of the walls within this 50-square-metre flat were replaced with multi-functional box units and sliding partitions to make the space feel bigger and brighter.
      Local studio FrontOfficeTokyo stripped the apartment down to a single room, which features designated zones to lounge, cook, eat and sleep.
      Raw and simple materials emphasise the utilitarian interior design, including exposed ceilings, pale timber floors and a corner bathroom contained in a concrete box.
      Find out more about this apartment ›
      Image is courtesy of Snark ArchitecturesHouse in Chofu by Snark Architectures
      Snark Architectures renovated an apartment in Chofu – a city to the west of downtown Tokyo. Located at the base of Mount Takao, the dwelling intends to mirror traditional cabins.
      With an open-plan layout that references mountain huts, House in Chofu is characterised by lauan plywood cabinetry and floor-to-ceiling glazing that offers views of the surrounding scenery.
      “The house is the base camp connecting mountains and cities,” Snark Architectures director Yu Yamada told Dezeen.
      Find out more about House in Chofu ›
      Image is courtesy of G StudioTokyo Loft by G Studio Architects
      Located on one of the top floors of a 1980s housing block, Tokyo Loft is short-term accommodation that intends to balance home comforts with industrial finishes.
      G Studio worked with architects Teruya Kido and Suma-Saga-Fudosan to complete the interior look, which includes original sloping concrete walls that were illustrated with splashes of white paint in a nod to traditional Japanese washi paper.
      Rows of skylights were added to the walls to flood the apartment with natural light, while bright orange electrical wires and plumbing features were left exposed. A freestanding bathtub adds a playful touch to the main living space.
      Find out more about Tokyo Loft ›
      Photo is by Domino ArchitectsJ House by Domino Architects
      Wooden panelling creates “corners, blind spots and niches” in J House – a pared-back apartment renovated to maximise restricted floor space for a growing family.
      Japanese studio Domino Architects used low-cost exposed plywood for its simplicity, while rough concrete in the kitchen adds to the dwelling’s minimalist interior design.
      Find out more about J House ›
      Photo is by Shigeo OgawaMotoazabu Apartment sYms by Kiyonobu Nakagame Architect & Associates 
      Diagonally stepped floors and ceilings create a dynamic layout of triangular zones within a pair of apartments in Tokyo’s Motoazabu neighbourhood.
      Smooth, understated concrete defines the central interior spaces, which are surrounded by kitchen worktops and glazed bathrooms.
      “What we aimed to do with this structure was to create something that would blend with its surroundings and maintain absolute simplicity,” explained architect Kiyonubu Nakagame.
      Find out more about Motoazabu Apartment sYms ›
      Image is courtesy of Taka Shinomoto and Voar Design HausOpera Apartment by Taka Shinomoto and Voar Design Haus
      A material and colour palette influenced by the different shades of an Opera cake – a famed French dessert – informed the “layered” coffee-hued interiors in this apartment.
      The hallway features sliding geometric cupboard doors stained in various shades of brown while a mixture of glossy, matte and textured coatings cover the white walls.
      Find out more about Opera Apartment ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring concrete bathrooms, cosy cabins and homes with cleverly designed lifts.

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      Trewhela Williams adds louvred oak facade to London mews house

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      Architecture office Trewhela Williams has completed a minimalist renovation of a mews house in north London, adding a bespoke timber facade to animate its street-facing elevation.

      The home, which is set in the Belsize Park Conservation Area, originally featured a disused garage that took up a sizeable portion of the floor plan on the ground floor and blocked off any connection to the street outside.
      Trewhela Williams has renovated a mews house in north LondonTrewhela Williams was brought on board to optimise the home’s ground floor and convert the garage to provide additional living space.
      The project focused on opening up the dark and insular interior to views of the quiet mews at the front and a small private courtyard in the rear.
      The studio created bespoke timber louvres to animate the home’s exteriorExisting walls enclosing the garage were removed to allow this space to be incorporated into an open-plan living area that now extends across the full depth of the property.

      The former garage door was replaced with a facade crafted from white-oiled oak that retains the proportions of the old door but provides greater visual interest when viewed from the mews.
      The oak louvres were angled to provide privacy while also letting light into the house”The existing garage doors along the street create quite a closed and guarded frontage,” Trewhela Williams told Dezeen. “We wanted to create something that’s visually animated and provides a more open and engaging elevation.”
      Angled oak fins positioned in front of the large window function as a brise soleil, allowing daylight to enter and providing limited views of the street from inside while maintaining privacy.
      A small courtyard is located at the rear of the propertyFrom the entrance to the mews, the fins appear to form a solid wooden volume covering the window. But their geometry seems to shift and becomes more permeable as people approach the house.
      The bespoke joinery forms a pared-back structure comprising simple planes, volumes and edges that was influenced by the minimalist wooden sculptures of American artist Donald Judd.
      The interior has a minimal material paletteTrewhela Williams specified a frameless glazing unit with concealed fixings to enhance the sculptural simplicity of the carpentry.
      The windows include an espagnolette mechanism that allows them to tilt to facilitate cross-ventilation through the house or pivot open so the family’s pets can go outside.

      Echlin uses broken-plan layout to create spacious interiors within London mews house

      The studio applied a pared-back material palette with a focus on tone and texture to create a minimalist interior scheme.
      Walls and ceilings are rendered with a subtly textured Danish plaster that is complemented by the warm Douglas fir flooring and terrazzo tiles speckled with marble aggregate.
      Textured plaster walls and Douglas fir flooring finish the interior spacesA worktop made from cloudy white Mugla marble extends along the full depth of the property – from the entrance hall and storage area at the front to the galley kitchen, dining space and snug towards the rear.
      “Whilst the interior is pared back and displays the traits of minimalism in its simplicity, there is real harmony and beauty in the details,” Trewhela Williams explained.
      “There are very few materials and details within the home, so each one has been meticulously chosen to harmonise and create a space that feels warm and calm rather than being cold or sterile.”
      The kitchen worktop is made from cloudy white Mugla marbleAn existing courtyard at the back of the house is now visible and accessible through an enlarged opening, which fills the full height and width of the rear elevation.
      A minimal pivot door can be opened to create a seamless connection between the interior and the courtyard that also functions as a lightwell drawing daylight into the adjacent living spaces.
      The courtyard is paved with large-format concrete tiles and is enclosed by walls covered with natural clay plaster, harmonising with the textural palette of the interior.
      A pivot door opens onto the external courtyardThe courtyard houses a simple linear bench and a cylindrical plant pot, with their geometric forms providing visual structure while a lone acer tree adds a burst of colour.
      Despite being situated in a conservation area, the bold design for the new facade was complimented by the local planning authority, which said it provided a positive precedent for neighbours considering similar conversion projects.
      A bench and circular plant pot add geometric forms to the courtyard”It was a big relief,” said Trewhela Williams. “A lot of conversion and extension projects focus on the rear of the property but here we were working on the front so we had to tread very carefully.”
      “Thankfully the planners were very supportive,” the studio added. “We’ve also been contacted by some of the neighbours about doing something similar with their properties, so there is an appreciation for what we’ve achieved here.”
      Previously, the studio has created an extension to an Edwardian house in north London featuring a brick wall that extends out from the kitchen into the garden.
      The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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      Jialun Xiong balances contrasts at “retro-futurist” restaurant in Los Angeles

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      LA-based furniture designer Jialun Xiong has completed her first restaurant interior in the city for 19 Town, achieving a retro-futurist look by pairing soft hues and metallic surfaces.

      Serving Chinese fusion food, the 19 Town restaurant is located in an industrial area close to Downtown LA.
      Upon entry to 19 Town, diners are met at a stainless steel and Formica counterThe name is a play on words from a phrase in Mandarin, signifying a venue that has food and wine according to Xiong, who is originally from Chongqing.
      She used a variety of materials and her own furniture designs to give the space a sense of “lavish restraint”, through the combination of minimal forms and rich details.
      Designer Jialun Xiong aimed to create “high-drama interiors” through the use of contrasting materials”Crafted with rigorously minimal forms balanced by rich materials like Venetian plaster, silver, and leather, the restaurant’s high-drama interiors create an elevated dining experience where connection around food takes centre stage,” said a statement on behalf of Xiong.

      The 4,200-square-foot (390-square-metre) restaurant is divided into five areas, which include the main dining space, a bar and lounge, and three private rooms.
      Glass block partitions define the spacesEach space is designed with its own identity, including the entry, featuring a custom brushed stainless steel and Formica reception desk.
      Behind, the wall is covered in Venetian plaster and plywood cabinets offer storage, while a series of circular Vibia pendant lights hang above.
      Xiong used multiple pieces from her Building Blocks collection to furnish the restaurantGlass block partitions define the perimeter of the main dining area, comprising a central seating area with round tables, and custom banquettes made from brushed stainless, green leather and vinyl.
      “Overlooking an open kitchen, the main dining space evokes an aura of retro-futurism,” said the team.
      The main dining room features custom stainless steel banquettesThe lounge is located on one side and the screened bar is situated on the other – both continuing the same design language as the central room, but with their own twist.
      Xiong used multiple pieces from her Building Blocks collection to furnish these spaces, such as a silver powder-coated metal bench with off-white leather upholstered seats.

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      Other items also combine industrial and natural materials, creating a balance between soft and hard, shiny and matte, and heavy and light.
      A variety of lighting designs with disc-shaped elements are installed throughout, adding to the retro-futurist appearance.
      The restaurant has three private dining rooms, all with a restrained aestheticThe private dining spaces are decorated using a monochromatic palette and a restrained approach, with green providing a subtle injection of muted colour.
      The overall result is a series of “balanced spaces where furnishings, lighting, and spatial volumes are considered together as a total composition”.
      The bar also features custom furnishingsMinimalism has become an increasingly popular style choice for Chinese restaurants, both in China and around the globe.
      Others include a hotpot restaurant with thick stucco walls in Qinhuangdao, a muted monochrome space in Ontario, and an eatery featuring stainless steel, brass and polycarbonate in Manhattan.
      The photography is by Ye Rin Mok.

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      Snøhetta combines clay and oak in minimalist Holzweiler store

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      Architecture practice Snøhetta stuck to natural materials for the fit-out of the Holzweiler boutique in Copenhagen, incorporating subtle references to the fashion brand’s Norwegian heritage.

      Snøhetta is a long-term collaborator of Holzweiler’s, having designed the company’s flagship store and showroom in Oslo, as well as a number of its pop-up shops, runway sets and its digital identity.
      Snøhetta has designed Holzweiler’s Copenhagen outpostFor Holzweiler’s first international outpost in Copenhagen, Snøhetta followed the concept of “tracing” – devising an interior scheme that shows traces of the brand’s Norwegian roots alongside the minimalist aesthetic found in its previous retail spaces.
      “Reminiscent of a memory or feeling that remains, the idea of ‘traces’ evokes an emotional sense of the brand’s beloved heritage as it travels to a new city,” the practice said.
      A clay sculpture by Ingeborg Riseng sits at the heart of the storeAt the centre of the 100-square-metre store is a tall, hollow sculpture by Norwegian artist Ingeborg Riseng, which shoppers can step into. Its undulating outer walls are fitted with display shelves and coated in a smooth layer of clay, while the inside has a rough, craggy surface.

      An oakwood display plinth winds its way around the periphery of the store, eventually connecting to a curved timber partition at the rear of the floor plan.
      Around the edge of the store is an oak display plinthBehind the wall lies a changing area with cubicles and curtains created by Danish textile design studio Tronhjem Rømer.
      The fabric is digitally printed with subtle yellow and pale blue stripes, designed to evoke the shifting shades of the Norwegian sky.

      Snøhetta to restore and renovate Lille’s 19th-century Natural History Museum

      To contrast the store’s largely natural material palette, Snøhetta added some industrial-style finishing touches like metal clothing rails and custom strip lighting, developed by Swedish brand Ateljé Lyktan.
      Both the floors and ceilings were preserved from the store’s previous fit-out.
      Garments hang from steel railsOther recent projects by Snøhetta include Bolder Star Lodges, a quartet of wooden cabins that overlook a fjord in Norway.
      Meanwhile in Denmark, the practice employed boat construction techniques to create a timber community centre in Esbjerg.
      The photography is by Magnus Nordstrand, courtesy of Snøhetta and Holzweiler.

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      Eight neutral home interiors that prove beige doesn't have to be boring

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      A residence for retirees in Tel Aviv and a stripped-back Barbican apartment by minimalist architect John Pawson feature in this lookbook of beige interiors designed to bring a sense of calm into the home.

      To compensate for their desaturated colour palette, these spaces rely on a varied material palette – ranging from pale timbers and limestone to textured plaster – in order to add visual and tactile interest.
      Accompanied by plenty of storage, this helps to create peaceful, decluttered spaces even in tight urban areas.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring cosy cabins, save-saving pocket doors and Spanish apartment renovations with eclectic tiles.
      Photo by Ståle EriksenDollis Hill Avenue, UK, by Thomas-McBrien

      British architecture firm Thomas-McBrien used pale bricks and whitewashed oak joinery to create a “calm and relaxing” atmosphere inside this house extension in London’s Dollis Hill.
      In the pursuit of continuity, the timber was used to line everything from the kitchen cupboards and the floors to a newly added partition wall, which conceals a hidden utility room on one side and forms a cosy reading nook on the other.
      Find out more about Dollis Hill Avenue ›
      Photo courtesy of Makhno StudioMureli House, Ukraine, by Makhno Studio
      Completed just two months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this home near Kyiv was designed to celebrate Ukrainian craft traditions and is finished almost entirely in beige.
      “All materials in the home are natural,” architect Serhii Makhno told Dezeen. “The team used almost all Ukrainian brands and worked with several local contractors to minimise the distance and logistics.”
      Find out more about Mureli House ›
      Photo by Mikaela BurstowIceberg apartment, Israel, by Laila Architecture
      Israeli architect Talia Davidi of Laila Architecture used only pale, muted colours when designing this apartment in Tel Aviv, with the aim of turning it into a calm refuge for its retired owners.
      To form a brighter, more open floor plan, almost all of the home’s partition walls were removed, while many of the surfaces – including the kitchen and the storage volume-cum-room divider in the living room – were finished in light birch plywood.
      Find out more about Iceberg apartment ›
      Barbican apartment designed by John PawsonBarbican apartment, UK, by John Pawson
      In keeping with his typically minimalist style, British designer John Pawson stripped this Barbican apartment back to its bare bones, adding only a smattering of furnishings and pale surfaces all around.
      Full-height cupboards were integrated into a central timber volume made of bleached maple wood so that all belongings can be stowed away rather than cluttering the space.
      Find out more about the Barbican apartment ›
      Photo by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenForest Retreat, Sweden, by Norm Architects
      Sandy-hued Dolomite plaster, plump greige sofas and a sheepskin-covered lounge chair were used to dress the living room of this traditional timber cabin in a Swedish forest, which Danish studio Norm Architects has converted into a pared-back holiday home.
      “Creating homes is often an exercise in restraint,” explained co-founder Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen. “And while the creation of a simple, authentic and welcoming space might seem effortless and natural once completed, the journey to simplicity and the exercise of finding essence is often rather complex and not an easy task.”
      Find out more about Forest Retreat ›
      Photo by Lorenzo Zandri and Christian BraileyLow Energy House, UK, by Architecture for London
      Architecture for London founder Ben Ridley aimed to celebrate the “modest beauty” of this three-floor Edwardian house in Muswell Hill when turning the neglected building into his own home.
      Instead of cement-based products, natural materials including limestone, lime plaster and timber were used throughout the scheme to emphasise the home’s original details while also lowering its embodied carbon footprint.
      Find out more about A Brutalist Tropical Home ›
      Photo by Do SyBrown Box apartment, Vietnam, by Limdim House Studio
      Creamy terrazzo features not just on the kitchen counters but spills out across all of the floors of this apartment in the Vietnamese port city of Huế, designed by local practice Limdim House Studio.
      Curving walls covered in textural plaster provide a backdrop for the interior’s restrained colour palette, which is warmed up with a handful of wooden furnishings to evoke a sense of quiet sophistication.
      Find out more about Brown Box apartment ›
      Photo by Salem MostefaouiWood Ribbon apartment, France, by Toledano + Architects
      A sinuous plywood wall snakes its way through this Haussmann-era apartment in Paris, forming integrated shelves in the sitting room and storage cupboards in the kitchen that can be pushed back to reveal the sink and appliances.
      The pale wood complements the apartment’s original parquet flooring and ornate plasterwork, paired with tonal furnishings including an oatmeal-coloured sofa in one room and a travertine island in the other.
      Find out more about Wood Ribbon apartment ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring cosy cabins, save-saving pocket doors and Spanish apartment renovations with eclectic tiles.

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      Ivy Studio populates MAD Creative Hub with pink and purple elements

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      Montreal-based Ivy Studio has turned a former print shop into offices and creative spaces, with a “work in progress” aesthetic punctuated by colourful moments.

      MAD Collectif organises global fashion, art and design events, and after rebranding from Groupe Sensation Mode in 2022, the company decided to look for a new base location for its team.
      The all-white interior of MAD Creative Hub is contrasted by a marble bar counter and lilac stoolsEventually, it found a 3,600-square-foot (334-square-metre) space on the ground floor of a two-storey building in The Village area of Montreal, which became the MAD Creative Hub.
      “The objective for the new location was to focus on creativity and collaboration and for it to be used not only by their team internally but also by their multiple partners and collaborators – a flexible space made for sharing ideas and working together,” said Ivy Studio.
      The space is designed to look unfinished, through the use of exposed wall studsBuilt in 1939 as a print shop, the long space only has windows on its street-facing facade.

      This dictated a layout where public areas are located in the front, while private rooms are situated towards the back.
      The front area is intended to host events, exhibitions, pop-up shops and moreA two-foot difference in the floor level helps to define these two zones.
      In both areas, colourful accents including vintage sofas and chairs stand out from the existing walls, plumbing and ventilation equipment which were all painted white.
      White ceramic tiles cover the floor and low partition walls that define the public areaSpaces are intentionally meant to look unfinished, with exposed metal studs, track lighting and unpainted metal door frames all adding to this appearance.
      “The ‘work in progress’ aesthetic makes it feel as if the place is undergoing a constant evolution and mirrors the brand’s new forward-thinking approach,” said architect Philip Staszewski, one of the four Ivy Studio co-founders.
      Purple sofas pop against the white tilesVisitors enter a cafe featuring a richly coloured marble bar counter, which starkly contrasts the white ceramic tiles that cover the surrounding four-foot-high (1.2-metre) partitions and the entire floor.
      A banquette follows the wall and runs underneath the window, its cushions covered in textured purple velvet.
      A ramp below a path of lights leads to the raised workspace at the backPink and orange poufs accompany galvanised steel tables, and lilac bar stools serve the counter, together providing a flexible and informal space for employees and events.
      On the other side of an enclosed stairwell that divides the plan is another naturally lit area used for photoshoots, exhibits or pop-up shops. Comfy purple chairs offer additional seating here.

      Ivy Studio adds pops of colour to Spacial co-working office in Montreal

      A 16-foot (4.9-metre) ramp leads up to the raised level, where rows of open desks are positioned next to the periphery walls.
      “The ramp leading towards the back is meant to be an experience of its own,” said Ivy Studio. “The narrow ceramic-clad passage is placed beneath a series of linear lights, giving the impression of walking down some version of a runway.”
      Clear polycarbonate panels expose the pink fibreglass insulation around meeting roomsPrivate offices and meeting rooms are formed by partition walls that present pink fibreglass insulation behind clear polycarbonate panels.
      The insulation helps to soundproof the small rooms for employees taking calls, particularly during events or parties taking place in the front.
      Open desks for employees are laid out along periphery wallsIvy Studio has completed several projects in its home city, each playing with colour in a different way.
      They include a restaurant with a green marble pizza oven, a co-working office featuring mint green and burgundy hues, and a spinning studio dominated by black.
      The photography is by Alex Lesage.
      Project credits:
      Design and architecture: Ivy StudioTeam: Gabrielle Rousseau, David Kirouac, Guillaume B Riel, Philip StaszewskiConstruction: Gestion Gauthier Construction

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      Norm Architects creates warm yet minimalist interior for Y9 sailing yacht

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      Wood-lined walls meet supple suede furnishings inside this restrained interior, designed by Danish studio Norm Architects for a luxury yacht.

      Manufactured by German shipyard Y Yachts, the Y9 sailing yacht is almost 30 metres long and designed to be used by families and bigger groups, leading Norm Architects to strip the interior down to its essential features.
      Norm Architects has applied its signature minimalist aesthetic to the Y9 yacht”This way, the pared-back interior has room for the life lived within – a simplified space, yet still rich in details and thoughtful in terms of material choices,” the practice explained.
      The starboard side of the Y9 houses an intimate lounge, which has a built-in corner sofa topped with oatmeal-coloured cushions.
      The yacht’s lounge has a comfy corner sofaAdjacently lies the dining area, anchored by a large wooden table that can host up to eight guests.

      This is accompanied by a bench seat and a series of slender black-framed chairs which, when waters are rough, can be discreetly secured to the table with leather clips.
      Up to eight guests can gather to eat around the dining tableLeather handles were also fixed to the ceiling above so that passing guests and crew can steady themselves.
      “The security requirements are met in style through elegant, built-in furniture that appears unfixed to create a homely feel, ultimately accomplishing an understated luxury,” the practice explained.
      A short flight of steps leads up to a small study, separated from the dining area by a low wooden partition.

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      The bow of the yacht accommodates the principal bedroom.
      Its bed is framed by a headboard upholstered in beige suede that extends to form a band around the lower half of the room, concealing built-in storage cupboards. The same suede was also used to cover the bed’s chunky base.
      A small study is tucked away behind the dining areaWhere possible, corners throughout the boat were curved or rounded off in order to create what the practice describes as “simpler, more coherent spaces with fluent transitions”.
      The walls of the Y9 are also lined with vertical wooden beams to make the rooms onboard appear loftier.
      Beige suede wraps around the yacht’s principal bedroomThis is the second time that Norm Architects has worked on the fit-out of a yacht, having completed another minimalist boat for Y Yachts back in 2019.
      The practice isn’t alone in turning its hand to boat design. Zaha Hadid Architects recently unveiled plans to create the sinuous solar-powered yacht Oneiric.
      Vertical wooden panels line the wallsAdam Richards Architects also built a 20-metre-long barge to accommodate a floating restaurant in London’s Little Venice, finishing it with a patinated aluminium roof.
      The photography is by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects.

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      Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design transform interior of traditional machiya house in Kyoto

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      Japanese design studios Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design have renovated a century-old machiya townhouse in Kyoto with minimal interiors that intend to honour the home’s existing architecture.

      Called House in Marutamachi, the Japanese house was built over 120 years ago and is arranged across two floors on a long and narrow site.
      House in Marutamachi is a traditional machiya house in KyotoTucked between two other residential properties, the house is an example of the wooden machiya townhouses that were once common in Japan’s historical capital Kyoto but are now at risk of going extinct.
      “Traditional Kyoto townhouses are being destroyed at a pace of 800 houses a year,” Td-Atelier explained.
      “Old buildings don’t match modern life. However, we want to stop the decline of Kyoto townhouses by fusing tradition, design and new life.”

      The kitchen is encased in a white volumeTd-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design dressed House in Marutamachi’s interior with new components including sleek tiles and geometric furniture alongside materials reused from the original house, as seen in the traditional team room.
      The studios retained the building’s wooden columns and beams but added white volumes to house rooms including the kitchen and study to avoid disturbing the existing architecture with harsh structural materials.
      The tea room was constructed using materials reused from the original buildingThese variously sized cubes were designed to mimic the contrasting heights of buildings in a cityscape.
      “The gaps and omissions created between the volume group and the existing columns, beams, walls and floors create continuity in the space,” Td-Atelier said.

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      Throughout the house, Td-Atelier and Endo Shorijo Design adopted a minimal material and colour palette including a combination of light and dark woods alongside smooth concrete.
      A thin, sculptural light is suspended above the timber breakfast bar on the second floor, where occupants can sit on clusters of subtle-coloured stools.
      Original features were maintained in the gardenOutside, a plant-filled garden features elements from the building’s original architecture such as sandy-hued lanterns and a chōzubachi – a traditional stone water bowl historically used for washing hands before a tea ceremony.
      House in Marutamachi was shortlisted for house interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
      Dezeen recently announced the winners of this year’s interiors categories, who are now competing to win the overall interiors project of the year award.
      The photography is by Matsumura Kohei.

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