Architecture News

Hye-Jin Ris Kim, a renowned interior designer, has established a harmonious live-work space in her Seoul residence, nestled in the scenic Hannam-dong district. This location perfectly aligns with the traditional Korean concept of baesanimsu, which emphasizes positioning a home with a mountain as its backdrop and a river flowing in front, ensuring an ideal living environment. This setting at the foot of the Namsan mountains, overlooking the Han River, has historically been favored, offering both natural beauty and a sense of tranquility.

Kim’s home, a two-story structure that once served as a diplomatic residence, presented itself as an opportune space to merge her personal and professional worlds. Faced with the evolving needs of her growing family and the expansion of her decade-old design firm, she envisioned a setup that would allow her to remain intimately connected with her children while actively nurturing her business. The interior design reflects her journey, incorporating influences from her art history studies at Northwestern University and interior architecture training at École Camondo in Paris, as well as her professional experience with acclaimed designer India Mahdavi. This fusion of academic rigor and practical experience has cultivated a unique design philosophy, evident throughout her home and in her firm's diverse projects, ranging from hospitality to residential and exhibition designs.

The residence itself functions as a dynamic canvas, a 'living archive' that continually evolves with Kim's tastes and inspirations. The 2023 renovation drew insights from architectural landmarks like Piero Portaluppi's Villa Necchi, leading to design choices such as preserving the home's original wood-clad staircase and installing innovative gridded wood walls with integrated storage on the upper floor. Each room tells a story, featuring a curated collection of mid-20th century international pieces, like Paul Frankl's Amoeba table and Charlotte Perriand's Meribel chairs, alongside custom creations developed by Kim's studio using local materials and artisans. The deliberate incorporation of Korean art and craftsmanship, such as ottchil lacquerwork, oksa silk window treatments, and jogakbo patchwork, imbues the space with a distinct cultural identity. Furthermore, her mother's passion for design and gardening contributes personal touches, including inherited art pieces and a meticulously maintained garden, making the home a truly collaborative and intergenerational endeavor. For Kim, this house is an ongoing experiment, a prototype for innovative design and integrated living that she hopes will never truly be 'finished,' reflecting a continuous journey of life and creativity.

This dwelling serves as a vibrant testament to the power of thoughtful design, demonstrating how a space can adapt and grow with its inhabitants, fostering both personal well-being and professional creativity. It reminds us that our environments can be more than just structures; they can be active participants in our lives, inspiring us, supporting our endeavors, and reflecting our deepest values.

When Yusaku Maezawa, the visionary founder of Japan's largest online fashion retailer, ZOZO, encountered a rare chance to acquire a historic bettei, a traditional secondary residence, nestled in Kyoto's revered Nanzen-ji temple area, his decision was immediate. His entrepreneurial spirit, known for bold ventures like acquiring a Basquiat painting for a record-breaking sum and traveling to the International Space Station, led him to embark on this significant architectural journey.

As the new custodian of this esteemed property, which encompasses a 4,000-square-foot villa, a separate teahouse, and a meticulously designed garden spanning a third of an acre, Maezawa's primary goal was to safeguard the intrinsic character of the 19th-century site while infusing it with modern elegance. The home, known as Chisui-an, is a magnificent example of sukiya-style architecture, celebrated for its refined simplicity and deep connection to nature. Maezawa, who also maintains residences in Tokyo and Chiba, expressed a unique appreciation for the aged mud walls, highlighting his desire to preserve their evolving beauty and create an environment where the home's soul could truly flourish, diverging from a concept of luxury defined solely by newness.

The transformation was a seven-year undertaking, overseen by Maezawa with exacting standards. He assembled an extraordinary team, including architect Hiroshi Nakamura of NAP Architectural Design Office, Ueyakato Landscape—a 178-year-old gardening and landscaping firm led by eighth-generation president Tomoki Kato—and Nakamura Sotoji Komuten, a traditional carpentry company that coincidentally contributed to the original construction decades earlier. The renovation prioritized a harmonious integration of the house and garden, guided by the philosophy of teioku ichinyo. The central feature, a pond with a turtle-shaped island symbolizing longevity, was enhanced by Kato's precise landscaping, ensuring optimal views from within the residence. Despite regulatory limitations on structural expansion, modern comforts like air-conditioning and underfloor heating were discreetly added. A highlight requested by Maezawa was an outdoor timber deck featuring a Shirakawa stone open-air bath. Indoor spaces saw the replacement of a traditional hearth and tatami with bespoke silk carpeting and curated midcentury furniture from his personal collection, featuring luminaries such as Isamu Noguchi, Jean Royère, and Alexandre Noll.

Maezawa's impressive art collection is thoughtfully integrated throughout the estate, with pieces often rotated to suit the season or guests. He believes art should be lived with and experienced, not merely stored away, emphasizing that visible and appreciated art enriches the space. The estate also showcases sophisticated Japanese craftsmanship, from downlights discreetly set into ceilings to unique cedar lattice window screens in the living room, crafted from thin, translucent Italian marble for enhanced privacy and sound insulation—a testament to Maezawa's enthusiasm for tackling challenging, innovative design solutions. His role as guardian of Chisui-an reflects a profound understanding of his responsibility to preserve its enduring value for future generations, believing that certain creations possess an everlasting quality beyond what AI and robots can replicate, a thought that fills him with immense joy.