The Judges Awards

05.1 Villa Metamorphosis, US, by Ben Ryuki Miyagi

Ben Ryuki Miyagi's Villa Metamorphosis is a personal tour de force, a self-built house that's closer to art than a domestic retreat. Miyagi set about an expansive renovation of the 1960s structure, treating it as an object in the landscape. Three light-collecting domes were added, along with a series of spiky polycarbonate louvres, transforming the building into an abstract artwork, part pop, part minimal, wholly suited to the avant-garde inflections of its location in the Catskill town of Woodstock. Miyagi designed much of the furniture and the sculptural interventions in the grounds, which are coloured by a symbolism the architect calls a 'Landscape of Geometric Mythology'.

Key features: Pure sculpture in the landscape

Architect's previous work: House in Yokohoma, Japan

Based: New York/Tokyo

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