inhabitat

Tokyo

rendering of architecture in japan with scattered trees and plants and a green roof

Heatherwick Studio breaks ground on undulating plant-covered development in the heart of Tokyo

London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio has begun construction on a stunning redevelopment project in Toranomon-Azabudai...

Tokyo 2020 medals

Tokyo’s Olympic medals will be made from recycled phones

Next Summer, the top athletes in the world will compete in the Tokyo Olympics and those who come out on top will...

tiny home between two buildings with large glass door opened

Tiny house in Tokyo funnels light indoors with a curved roof

After spending a decade commuting to teach at Tokyo’s Waseda University and Art Architecture School, architect...

black building with timber grid facade

A chic, nature-filled office building in Tokyo boldly brings the outdoors in

In Tokyo, a new office tower stands out from the concrete jungle with its embrace of nature. Designed by prolific...

small gray shipping container with door open

Repurposed shipping container now holds a trendy beer stand in Tokyo

In a creative project that will appease both advocates of recycling and lovers of food and drink, the designers...

Aerial view of New York City skyline

Cities around the world lay the groundwork for a zero-waste future

Cities around the world are pledging to reduce waste over the next 12 years in an effort to curb global warming...

Tokyo tower lit up with colorful 2020

Japan considers adopting daylight savings time for 2020 Summer Olympics

This summer's deadly heatwaves in Japan have caused government and Olympic officials to consider the benefits...

W350 Project by Sumitomo Forestry, timber architecture, W350 Tokyo, W350 skyscraper, W350 Japan, Japan timber architecture, Japanese timber high-rise, tallest timber building, timber and steel skyscraper,

Japanese builder unveils plans for world’s tallest timber skyscraper in Tokyo

Japanese builder and developer Sumitomo Forestry has unveiled designs for the world’s tallest timber skyscraper...

ºC (Do-C) Ebisu by Schemata Architects, capsule hotels Ebisu, designer capsule hotel, Finnish design in Tokyo, Finnish sauna Tokyo, sauna capsule hotel Tokyo, Schemata Architects capsule hotel, hotel design Schemata Architects, renovated capsule hotel,

Tokyo capsule hotel gets a Finnish-inspired refresh and sauna

Capsule hotels are commonplace in Tokyo, but the recently renovated ºC (Do-C) Ebisu hopes to stand out from the...

Party design, Tokyo Greenhouse, Digital Vegetables, Digi Vege, Digital Vegetables installation, tokyo greenhouse installation, illuminated greenhouse, disco greenhouse, 2017 Design Touch, Tokyo Midtown, digital greenhouse, greenhouse design, plant art, greenhouse installation, green design, garden design, japanese art installation,

Technicolor greenhouse in Tokyo puts on a pulsating light show when plants are touched

Although dancing in a greenhouses would be inappropriate in most cases, the fun Digital Vegetables installation...

world’s first MUJI hotel, MUJI hotel, MUJI hotel Shenzhen, MUJI hotel China, MUJI hotel Ginza, MUJI hotel by Super Potato, MUJi hotel Tokyo, MUJI hotel Japan, MUJI three in one

World’s first MUJI hotels to open in China and Japan

If you’ve ever dreamt of sleeping in a MUJI showroom, your retail wishes may soon become reality. The Japanese...

à tes souhaits!, à tes souhaits! Kichijoji, à tes souhaits design by nendo, nendo store design, nendo interior design, modern ice cream shop, contemporary patisserie design, Japanese patisserie interior design, contemporary earth walls, earth walls in retail

Cleverly layered compact dirt walls mimic ice cream cakes in this Tokyo patisserie

Dirt may seem an odd material choice for an upscale patisserie in Tokyo, but design studio nendo playfully pulls...

Pod Vending Machine Skyscraper, Tokyo, Haseef Rafiei, eVolo Skyscraper Competition, eVolo, home automation, green skyscraper, 3d printing, 3d printed home, pods, modular homes

Gigantic “vending machine” skyscraper dispenses 3D-printed homes in Tokyo

Could the skyscraper of the future dispense homes like a vending machine? Growing and adapting to Tokyo’s housing...

Book and Bed, book and bed hotel, book and bed hotel tokyo, book hotel kyoto, R-STORE, japan book stores, literally hotels, japanese design, library design, book store design, literary designs, book store hotels, book shelves,

New Book and Bed hostel in Japan lets book lovers tuck in with their favorite novel

Travelers to Japan who love nothing more than curling up with a good book at bedtime, take note: the Bed &...

Blue Bottle Coffee Nakameguro Cafe by Jo Nagasaka, Schemata Architecture Office and Blue Bottle Coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee architecture, Tokyo cafe architecture, Nakameguro architecture, adaptive reuse in Tokyo

Tokyo factory is transformed into an industrial-chic Blue Bottle Coffee cafe

Topped with a triangular roof, the Blue Bottle Coffee Nakameguro Cafe comprises a cafe on the first floor, as well...

Jun Aoki, Louis Vuitton, Tokyo, Ginza, tokyo architecture, japanese architect, japanese architecture, LED lighting design, facade pattern, facade patterns, technological innovation, digital façade, LED, pattern

High-tech Louis Vuitton building lights up like a giant lantern at night

Although the façade of the maison’s flagship store in Ginza appears as a deep multi-layered structure, in reality...

Chiharu Shiota, Gucci, Gucci 4 rooms, Japanese artist, japanese artwork, yarn, yarn art, Ginza, Tokyo, Tokyo art galleries, floral pattern, pattern, patterns, Alessandro Michele, art installation

Gigantic blood-red web takes over Gucci in Tokyo

Born in Osaka and currently based in Berlin, Chiharu Shiota is well-known for her passion of wrapping objects and...

Airbnb Tokyo Office, Airbnb Tokyo Office design in Shinjuku, Airbnb interior office design, Airbnb Tokyo Office by Suppose Design Office

Airbnb launches nature-filled Tokyo office that feels like a beautiful cozy home

Located in the city’s busy Shinjuku district, Airbnb’s Tokyo office, like its other international offices,...

Honmachi Residence by Atelier HAKO Architects, skinny house by Atelier HAKO Architects, skinny architecture in Tokyo, skinny buildings in Japan,

Super skinny 4-meter-wide home is squeezed between buildings in Tokyo

Located in Shibuya, the skinny 70-square-meter family home is clad in horizontal metal panels for a smart utilitarian...

Mizuishi Architect Atelier, Mizuishi, Atelier, Horinouchi House, Tokyo, Japan, daylighting, minimalist, eco-design, green design, sustainable design, triangular plot, space management, efficiency

Super skinny Horinouchi House might be the most efficient use of space ever

Triangular-shaped structures are not uncommon in Japan since space on the island is very limited. Although they...

Atelier OPA, Kenchikukagu, Japanese design, transformable, transformer furniture, transformer, kitchen design, Office, cabin guest room, guest rooms, japanese architect, Japan, Tokyo, triennale di milano

Kenchikukagu: 3 tiny portable rooms from Japan that open like a suitcase

The Kenchikukagu collection is a bold response to the shift in values and contemporary lifestyles typical of big...

Toranomon Project by ingenhoven architects, Toranomon Hills Station Tower, Toranomon Project architecture, mixed use green space in Tokyo, new Tokyo architecture, CASBEE Japanese architecture,

Massive solar-powered garden towers to spring up in Tokyo

The Toranomon Project will comprise two buildings: a 175,000-square-meter office tower and a 122,000-square-meter...

House U in Tokyo, Japanese architecture, Tokyo, red cedar, wooden cladding, cherry tree, Atelier Kukka, green architecture, open plan, natural materials, natural light

Cedar-wrapped House U in Tokyo was built around the view of a local cherry tree

The architects organized the open and spacious interior around a dark blue accent wall. Two open-plan floors include...

Elding Oscarson, Nerima House, Tokyo, small spaces, small houses, panoramic window, open plan layout, natural light, timber facade, green architecture

360-degree panoramic window floods Tokyo’s Nerima House with sunlight

The Nerima House is located on a 100 square meter lot on the outskirts of Tokyo. In order to optimize the use of...

Hiroyuka Shnozaki Architects, House T, Ninja House, Tokyo, Japan, Japanese design, green design, sustainable design, eco-design, space management, home office, tiny homes

Couple uses ladders to navigate their Tokyo ‘Ninja’ house

In 2013, the couple who commissioned the renovation—Tatsumi Terado and his wife Hanae—talked to CNN about their...

21_21 design site, 3D models, 3d printed, architecture models, Eight SpruceX Frank Gehry, Frank Gehry buildings, Lou Ruvo, Luma Foundation, Make it Right, pritzker, Tokyo, Tsuyosohi Tane, UTS

How Frank Gehry’s provocative designs go from concept to reality

Gehry, Pritzker Prize laureate, is the 86-year-old architect who has been constructing prize winning, eye-catching...

Kengo Kuma, Tokyo, japanese architecture, Wood, wooden facade, pattern, patterned facade, tokyo architecture, university campus, wooden architecture, cave-inspired architecture, kkaa

Floating Kengo Kuma building clad in cedar strips lands on Tokyo University campus

The 61-year-old Tokyo based Japanese architect Kengo Kuma is famous for his layered architecture and for the studies...

Atelier OPA, LVL, Tokyo, japanese architecture, Wood, wooden architecture, hospital, animal home, Miyamura, veterinary hospital, colorful, fireproof building, fireproof material, tokyo architecture

Tokyo’s first multistory building made of 100% wood overcomes rigid fire regulations

Interestingly, the wooden layered LVL wall (developed in Japan by the Japan LVL association, now approved by the...

Vo Trong Nghia Architects, bamboo forest, bamboo, traditional techniques, Tokyo, temporary pavilion, pavilion, bamboo pavilion, green structure, Vietnam

Vo Trong Nghia builds a lush rooftop pavilion with nothing but bamboo and rope

The structure is composed of three elements: the grid, which creates the volume, 11 arches inserted into the grids...

MUJI, Muji Hut, tiny houses, tiny homes, Hut of Aluminum, Hut of Cork, Hut of Wood, Konstantin Grcic, Naoto Fukasawa, Jasper Morrison, japan tiny housing, japan tiny houses, MUJI tiny houses, Design Touch, Design Touch 2015, Tokyo

MUJI unveils trio of tiny prefab homes that can pop up almost anywhere

The temporary Muji Hut exhibition included Jasper Morrison’s ‘Hut of Cork,’ Konstantin Grcic's ‘Hut of...

More Popular Stories >