Takao Akiyama

Japan

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PROFILE

Takao Akiyama is one of Japan's legion of very talented sole practitioners. Devoted to carefully crafted domestic designs for discerning clients who want a house that is perfectly tailored to their needs, the 54 year-old set up Akiyama Architecture Design in 1995, 15 years after graduating from Nihon University and an early career in various architecture firms around Japan. Throughout his solo career, his philosophy remains unchanged. 'Architecture is the background that illuminates the inhabitants,' he says, even though the constant march of technology means he is ceaselessly researching how lifestyles change. He cites the films of Jean-Luc Godard as inspiration, admiring the emotionless performances and comparing them to the lack of geometries or colours in his own work. 'I try to visualise the relationship between people and architecture with a design ego.'

HOUSE IN TOKYO

This urban house reflects Akiyama's desire to create a sense of distance between inside and outside spaces so as to detach the dwellers from the bustle of the city. Located in downtown Tokyo, the house backs onto a canal. A punched aluminium roof brings dappled light into the interior spaces, as well as a light mist of rain and wind. 'It's pretty close to a natural environment,' the architect says. The quasi-open upper storey also houses the glass-walled bathroom and a clear acrylic water-covered terrace, creating a translucent 'sky' above the main functions on the ground floor. The ground floor is intended as one long room that can be divided into several narrow rooms by punched aluminium walls. Minimalism is the order of the day: closets and furnishings are intended to become 'interior scenery', visible through the perforated metal walls and casting shadows against the real or artificial light.


http://www.akiyamatakao.com

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