New Light Pottery's new home in Japan's ancient capital of Nara is a carefully executed amalgam of old and new, much like the city itself. Since Hiroyuki Nagatomi started New Light Pottery in 2015, his handmade, mainly brass and glass lights have grown so much in popularity that his previous showroom, a small addition to his private home on the outskirts of Nara (designed by Yasuo Imazu from Ninkipen!), wasn't doing his brand justice; so he decided to relocate.
The company's new showroom and office – also designed by Ninkipen! – sits right on the edge of the large open area of the ancient Heijo-kyo Nara imperial palace ruins. As a precious novelty in ever-crowded Japan, there is ample space around the whole building, with one side offering long, open views over a wide expanse of rice fields towards the reconstructed gate of the palace.
The building sits on the edge of a large open area where the ancient Heijo-kyo Nara imperial palace ruins are located.
When Nagatomi took over the property, the building's more than half century of use had taken its toll and was in urgent need of a refresh. Now, most of the original interior has been ripped out and redone. The spacious ground floor meeting room has been given a coat of eggshell white, with a raw poured concrete floor. Little over half the space is raised slightly above the concrete slab and, fitted with a pleasing dark green linoleum floor, this part is used as the new office for Nagatomi and his staff.
The top floor contrasts the lightness of the ground level, with a dark painted open ceiling (including the exposed rough-cut beams that give these old Japanese houses much of their charm) and dark walls (one covered in a stunning mosaic of shades of black Japanese washi paper by Wataru Hatano from Kyoto). A flexible ceiling-and-flooring electric rail system means that the display of New Light Pottery's products can be easily rearranged into any desired configuration; allowing Nagatomi's work to really come to life.
The headquarters, designed by Ninkipen, is the modern reimagining of an existing building.
The architects completely gutted and redesigned the interior.
The ground level hosts an open-plan meeting room in eggshell white.
Behind it, the rest of the ground level space is raised slightly above the concrete slab.
This is where the team’s offices are located
Upstairs, a dark painted room with a visible roof structure acts as the brand’s showroom.
A flexible ceiling-and-flooring electric rail system means that the company’s lights can be displayed in different ways.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of New Light Pottery and the website of Ninkipen
ADDRESS
5-1-40 Nijooji Minami, Nara, T 0742 31 5305
-
Paul Smith and Maharam document 20 years of collaboration in a new bookPaul Smith and Maharam have created more than 40 textile, wall covering and accessory designs over the last two decades
-
Two Frank Lloyd Wright exhibitions bring to life designs for Fallingwater and Southwestern Pennsylvania
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania and Fallingwater designs, realised and unrealised, are celebrated in two exhibitions, at The Westmoreland and at Fallingwater itself
-
Vincent Van Duysen’s furniture for Giustini Stagetti is inspired by sculpture and Rationalism
‘I.R.O. – Italian Rational Objects’, an exhibition and furniture collection, is the first collaboration between Vincent Van Duysen and Rome design gallery Giustini Stagetti
-
Heatherwick Studio’s Azabudai Hills district launches as Tokyo’s newest city-in-a-city
Tokyo welcomes the Azabudai Hills district, designed by Heatherwick Studio and constructed as a city-in-a-city after over three decades of planning
-
Toranomon Hills Station by OMA adds dynamism to the Tokyo skyline
Toranomon Hills Station is OMA's first tower in Tokyo - as well as a project expanding and evolving the high rise typology
-
Terunobu Fujimori’s Kodomari Fuji guest house features a roof lined with cherry trees
Cherry trees line the roof at Kodomari Fuji, Terunobu Fujimori's first accommodation facility design, a private guest house in Japan
-
Modern Japanese houses inspiring minimalism and avant-garde living
We tour the best Japanese architecture and modern Japanese houses designed by international and local architects that open up possibilities for all types of lifestyle, from minimalist to communal in Japanese architecture.
-
Arii Irie, Japan: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
Japanese practice Arii Irie has joined the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
-
Sliding components create a transformable office in Kyoto: see it move!
Naoshi Kondo Studio has created a transformable office with its own architectural puzzle box that turns an L-shaped unit into a multifunctional space
-
Maebashi Galleria blends art and living in Japan’s Gunma
Maebashi Galleria by Akihisa Hirata launches in Gunma, as a new complex fusing art galleries with residences
-
Sou Fujimoto temporary hall for the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine features 'floating forest'
A new Sou Fujimoto temporary hall for the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Japan is revealed, completed with an elevated, lush green roof
