#traditional interior

[1lifeinspired]

Details ~ Traditional Interiors

[polish-manor-house]

soft sunlight of the summer evening playing on the wall, sweet scent of lilies floats in through the window, crickets and nightingales will accompany your piano practice tonight

[mrsterlingusa]

Afternoon Tea in the Living Room

[bahtinov]

классическая отделка интерьера загородного дома с лестницей в викторианском стиле с использованием деревянных деталей по рисунку архитектора интерьеров

[ferrentesphotos]

Alexandra Tolstoy's London house

[moroccan-kaftan]

Moroccan interior

[yeonjungchoi19-blog]

How has the design language of Japanese architecture informed the practice by Kengo Kuma?

Introduction: 

 

Japanese architecture and its culture have long been appreciated by many people in an aesthetic sense as it gives a feeling of relaxation and calm. For the same reason, I have been interested in Japanese traditional design for many years and I also feel that it represents different qualities from other historic architecture of other countries. A famous example is an inn known as a ‘ryokan’ in Japan, which is traditional in both structure and appearance either because it has survived from earlier times or has been constructed in the traditional way (Young, MK,2012). Ryokan provides an overwhelming and unusual experience for people who want to immerse themselves in indigenous Japanese culture. In this essay, I will analyze Japanese traditional houses, and discuss why they are different from other types of housing, especially their interiors features compared with the Korean traditional house called “hanok”. I will also discuss how ryokan hotels are developing in today’s hotel hospitality. 

 

The natural environment and the cultural context are so well combined in traditional Japanese architectural forms, materials, and buildings that it is not always possible to separate them. Nature is said to be the main source of inspiration for traditional Japanese architecture and materials were found from the regional area and the houses were designed to be adjusted to work together with the natural environment (Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). Japanese people have a strong respect for nature and their construction methods have been influenced by other foreign countries such as China, Korea and Western countries (Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). These were brought into Japan and changed over time to suit the Japanese landscape and their aesthetic sensibilities. Therefore, the Japanese interior can be seen having its own architectural features and artistic characteristics. When people observe the Japanese interior in houses, the floors, movable walls, and openings are all significant elements. 

Traditional Japanese buildings are well known for their sliding doors, namely the translucent paper-covered wood lattice shoji screens and the fusuma, which are decorated with traditional ink paintings (Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). Shoji sliding doors allow for interior space to be opened up and  enables visual separation between the spaces. As an interior element, the paper pasted over the door's wooden framework provides an atmosphere of a softness and gentleness with contrast to the outside world. To compare with Korean traditional houses called Hanok, it has a similar form of a sliding door yet uses a different wood frame shape and materials for the screens. Japanese traditional house's sliding door screens are made of 'washi' paper, but a Korean house's sliding door is made of 'Hanji'. 'Hanji' is made of the inner bark of the Mulberry, a tree native to Korea and 'Washi' is made of fibers from the inner bark of the Gampi tree.  

Tatami flooring made with woven rush is one of the most fundamental elements in Japanese traditional houses. Tadami was one of the most expensive floorings and were used in the most formal rooms, those that are used to receive important guests or serve as living and sleeping spaces for the head of the household (Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). Also, wooden floors were more used in practical areas, such as in corridors, toilet rooms and space adjacent to or surrounding the irori sunken hearth and space like engawa veranda (Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). Workspaces and kitchens were used with Doma or earthen floors and Japanese people move up from the doma onto the floor before entering into a room with a tatami floor. These three types of flooring are applied to various kinds of buildings and normally that mixture of three exists in one building. However, the floor of the Korean traditional house is composed of maru (a wide wooden floor area) and ondol (an underfloor heating system). They are one of the characteristics that could not be omitted in hanok. 

 

Lastly, I will compare the characteristics of the furniture used in the indoor between Korea and Japan. Furniture in traditional Japanese houses is designed to be moved around from room to room conveniently. And since the sliding partitions are kept open and sometimes removed completely, curtains and screen have been developed for the privacy of people and controlling the light in Japan (Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). The two types of standing screens constructed with single solid panels of wood are called "tsuitate" and multiple panels that could be fold in accordion style are called "byobu”. Korean folding screen was called “Irworobongdo” which mostly had painting of landscape, sun and moon. 

Tansu chest is traditional storage that is indigenous to Japan. It is made with wood, and it inhibits insects and humidity such as paulownia or cedar(Locher, Kuma and Simmons, 2012). The metal works are carved and very ornamental and well-made tansu represent the high social standings. In Korea, however, people used storage called 'Najeonchilgi' and also has a nickname of 'Korea Mother-of-pearl' that are decorated with a grounded seashell on a wood. There were also different decorating techniques that make najeonchilgi stand out which were using the skin of a giant turtle and skin of a shark. It was colored with the thinly grounded bullhorn that comes as comprehensive art. 

While analyzing and comparing two traditional houses above, it is worth considering how these buildings are preserved and developing on the present day. The hotel industry nowadays in Japan has developed a lot for the purpose of modernizing the design that has lived for tradition. Also, some of the most noticeable phenomena in the hotel industry are keywords such as breaking the tradition, personalization, wellness, and special purpose. And these factors are well-equipped in a Japanese ryokan. In Japanese culture, there is an onsen tradition which is a kind of meditation bath. It usually has an outdoor bath where one can sit in the steaming hot water and enjoy the surrounding scenery. After the hot spring, guests generally wear a Yukata (Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono) and eats Kaiseki (Japanese traditional multi-course dinner) dishes in a tatami-floored room. The experience of ryokan provides an extraordinary and could say that it has formed a category in the hospitality industry. Likewise, ryokan can be easily found while traveling in Japan, and now it is expanding beyond Japan to the world by adding more modernized elements. By after one another generation of Japanese architect, the persistence of tradition is an integral part of the modernization progress, and this regard, Kengo Kuma is no exception (Kuma, 2018). To give an example, Kengo Kuma has reinterpreted Fujiya ryokan in Ginzan Onsen, Japan. It was located deep in the countryside which was constructed for a spa and inn (Kuma, 2018). Accordingly, he wanted to recover the townscape of the delicate scale of the wooden building that existed in the past. The initial of the architecture had deteriorated, and it was determined to reuse the materials that could be recycled and remake the facade as it would have existed 100 years ago. The interior was partitioned within traditional screens style using 4m height tall bamboos. The use of bamboo screens offers a soft atmosphere in a presentation and its functions as a curtain that delicately shades the light. On the outside of the entrance, the green panels that are virtually transparent stained glass is used. These delicate screens which are half transparent fulfill the interior with warm light and shadow. Therefore, during the stay in the Fujiya Ryokan, people can heal their body from the gentle light and also from the hot springs.   

To conclude, Japanese traditional architectures features were well preserved and their architecture and interior design nowadays is expanding beyond Japan to the world by adding more modernized elements. Accordingly, other countries can also absorb their own traditional architectural elements with its own countries’ aesthetic sense and develop it with a cultural characteristic. Moreover, the hotel industry from its own country could also benchmark these points to foreign travelers who are visiting their country with rich uniqueness and experiences. 

[polish-manor-house]

catching the remnants of summer in jams and tinctures, following grandma's recipes