M House is a first for Ryuji Nakamura. A pupil of renowned Japanese architect Jun Aoki, Nakamura set up his independent practice in 2004 and went on to create delicate temporary installations and imaginative retail interiors in Japan, to great acclaim. His work has been widely acknowledged for their creator's knack for precision, ethereal quality and clever use of intricate, repetitive patterns.
Fast-forward twelve years and the architect has just completed his largest project to date – a 290 sq m house, sitting along the ocean shore of Eastern Japan. It also marks a clear departure from its architect's previous work.
Nakamura's clients, longing for a 'marine house with an aged look', commissioned him (in collaboration with an interior designer and a landscape firm) for their dream retreat – and M House was born.
Sandwiched in-between two roads, M House is a balance between disciplines. Nakamura took a modest approach, feeling it as the architect's duty to design a mere 'neutral background for the interior and the plants yet to come'. If the entire villa project encompasses the design of interior, structure, exterior, and landscape, he pondered, it is up to him to design only the middle two.
The structure is a bare reinforced concrete framework clad in white-painted brick tiles that help the exterior withstand the salty ocean air. Together they make the house look as if 'awaiting a renovation', according to the architect, who mentions the white-washed panel placed halfway up the concrete interior wall as an example of the kind of 'unfinished atmosphere' that 'helps residents relax'.
The landscape designers responded to the architecture with a selection of tree and plant species, placed against Nakamura's stark white geometries. Meanwhile, the interior designers used the architect's neutral background as an invitation to constantly renew the setting as if it were a trendy Tokyo fashion store.
'This simple ordinary structure allows the residents to expand their imagination by constantly updating the interior and the garden', says Nakamura. 'It is this unfinished design that stirs the dweller's imagination of a future renovation'.
The clients approached Nakamura for a ’marine house with an aged look’
Collaborating with an interior designer and a landscape firm, the architect created a simple, neutral background for the plants and interiors, framing the sea views
The structure is a bare reinforced concrete framework clad in white-painted brick tiles
The choice of brick helps protect the house against the salty ocean air
The interior designers took advantage of Nakamura’s simple white shell to create a space that can easily change its style and decor
Their vision was to be able to constantly renew the setting as if it were a trendy Tokyo fashion store
This, says Nakamura, enhances the residents’ imagination
For more information visit the Ryuji Nakamura website
Photography: Ryuji Nakamura & Associates
-
Year in Review: we’re always after innovations that interest us – here are ten of 2025’s bestWe present ten pieces of tech that broke the mould in some way, from fresh takes on guitar design, new uses for old equipment and the world’s most retro smartwatch
-
Art and culture editor Hannah Silver's top ten interviews of 2025Glitching, coding and painting: 2025 has been a bumper year for art and culture. Here, Art and culture editor Hannah Silver selects her favourite moments
-
In Norway, remoteness becomes the new luxuryAcross islands and fjords, a new wave of design-led hideaways is elevating remoteness into a refined, elemental form of luxury
-
This Fukasawa house is a contemporary take on the traditional wooden architecture of JapanDesigned by MIDW, a house nestled in the south-west Tokyo district features contrasting spaces united by the calming rhythm of structural timber beams
-
Take a tour of the 'architectural kingdom' of JapanJapan's Seto Inland Sea offers some of the finest architecture in the country – we tour its rich selection of contemporary buildings by some of the industry's biggest names
-
Matsuya Ginza lounge is a glossy haven at Tokyo’s century-old department storeA new VIP lounge inside Tokyo’s Matsuya Ginza department store, designed by I-IN, balances modernity and elegance
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthThis September, Wallpaper highlighted a striking mix of architecture – from iconic modernist homes newly up for sale to the dramatic transformation of a crumbling Scottish cottage. These are the projects that caught our eye
-
Utopian, modular, futuristic: was Japanese Metabolism architecture's raddest movement?We take a deep dive into Japanese Metabolism, the pioneering and relatively short-lived 20th-century architecture movement with a worldwide impact; explore our ultimate guide
-
A new Tadao Ando monograph unveils the creative process guiding the architect's practiceNew monograph ‘Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture’ by Taschen charts decades of creative work by the Japanese modernist master
-
A Tokyo home’s mysterious, brutalist façade hides a secret urban retreatDesigned by Apollo Architects, Tokyo home Stealth House evokes the feeling of a secluded resort, packaged up neatly into a private residence
-
Landscape architect Taichi Saito: ‘I hope to create gentle landscapes that allow people’s hearts to feel at ease’We meet Taichi Saito and his 'gentle' landscapes, as the Japanese designer discusses his desire for a 'deep and meaningful' connection between humans and the natural world
