What I'm Thinking About Interior Design Now Vol.8

I live in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, which is the prefectural capital and a core city with a population of 460,000.
Since the Hokuriku Shinkansen opened in 2015, it seems that the number of domestic and international tourists has increased dramatically.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were huge queues of people waiting to get into the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art on weekends, and lines at Kanazawa oden restaurants were so long that even locals gave up on going (many people may not know this, but oden is also popular in Kanazawa). Hotels are springing up all over the city, and I often look at construction sites and wonder if we really need so many hotels.

There are many accommodation facilities that have been renovated from traditional townhouses.
There are many craft artists here, and in 2020 the National Crafts Museum will move from Tokyo to a building that was relocated from a former army facility built during the Meiji period.
The city has undergone major changes over the past few years.

It's easy to get to the sea and mountains, and the area is fairly hot in the summer and gets a fair amount of snow in the winter.
It's not in the city, but it's not in the middle of nowhere either, so it's a comfortable place to live for someone like me who likes everything in moderation.

The housing situation in Kanazawa City is such that the home ownership rate is high, and it seems to be the trend in life to buy a detached house after getting married.As it is a car-oriented society, many people buy land in the suburbs and build their houses there.
Recently, people who live in the city are eligible for subsidies and are renovating their townhouses. It's rare to find someone in their 40s like me still living in a rental property, but recently I've finally started to become a little interested in owning a home.
The rental property I currently live in is in a good location, along the Sai River, which flows through the center of Kanazawa City.I love the area so I hadn't even considered moving, but since it's a rental property, there's not much flexibility, and I became interested in what a house I could design would look like.

Recently, I came across an article in a furniture catalog about a conversation between David Glaettli and architect Tsuneo Nagasaka, and I found the content very convincing.
David Glaettli is the designer of many domestic and international manufacturers and brands, including KARIMOKU NEW STANDARD, while Nagasaka heads Schemata Architects and has designed many brands, including Blue Bottle Coffee and Aesop.Last year, Artec released the Colorin series, a unique version of the company's classic series, which combines the traditional Japanese technique of Uzukuri with Tsugaru lacquerware.

There was a discussion about the differences between the relationship between space and furniture in Europe and Japan, and David Glaettli said, "European space is an empty container. The purpose of the room is determined by what furniture you put in it.
"In the townhouse in Kyoto where I used to live, the space was like furniture in terms of materials, construction and scale, so close to the body that I always felt as if I was touching it. It seemed designed with actions like sitting and sleeping in mind, so I felt like I hardly needed any furniture," Nagasaka said, to which Nagasaka replied, "In traditional Japanese houses, if you put out a low table it becomes a dining room, and if you lay down a futon it becomes a bedroom, so even though it's the same space, its purpose can change over time."
Previously, I lived in a rundown one-story house whose age is unknown, although it sounds cool to call it an old Japanese house, so I had a very good idea of ​​what it was like.
However, I enjoyed the balance between Japanese-style house and imported furniture by placing a sofa and chairs in the shabby one-story house.
I think the Eames chairs blend in quite well with the tatami mats.

Recently, I've been feeling a desire to own a home, and I'm thinking that the space I described earlier as an empty European container would be nice.
I want to create a space that is created by placing furniture, and a house that is made up of furniture rather than just architecture.
Even in the living room, I think it's necessary to decide on a minimum layout and avoid adding built-in storage furniture or display shelves, but I feel that if the space is made up of immovable items, it will be difficult to easily rearrange the room or adapt to changes in the room's purpose.
If I were to build a house, I would like to have a space with a minimal layout, be particular about the materials used for the floor, walls, and ceiling, and enjoy arranging the furniture.
It would be fun to think about used apartments and houses as skeletons. I don't know when that will happen, but I'm enjoying leisurely property hunting while walking or riding my bike around towns where I'd like to live. I want to find an empty container that appeals to me.

(text: Doi)

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