House in Masugata;Renovation | Shiro Doi

This is an interior renovation of a wooden house.Originally, the living room and the guest room were both Japanese-style rooms with tatami mat floors. The living room and a quarter of the guest room were converted to wooden flooring, and the fusuma sliding doors separating the two rooms and their lintels were removed and the beams were lifted as much as possible to create a full-height sliding door from floor to ceiling, creating continuity and openness in the space.

For the interior, the theme is the treatment of light. The walls are plastered, and the ceiling, fittings, and window pleated screens are finished with Japanese paper to gently diffuse the natural light. In addition, by using natural materials to reflect the light, we experimented with samples to see how we could make the inorganic LED light source blend in with the living space.

The walls were cluttered with things, including the air conditioner, but we were able to tidy them up by using the entire wall for storage. A TV, an air conditioner, a telephone stand, a Shinto shrine, and even a Buddhist altar are all placed on the wall.
The small items that are close at hand, such as the handles on the doors, switch plates, and round bars on the window frames, were selected based on their charm and attractiveness, such as cuteness and comfort when touched.

The painted walls are made of zeolite, which absorbs moisture and chemical substances and deodorizes, and the Tosa washi paper used for the ceiling and coverings is made of photocatalytic washi, which has similar functions.