This article explores the Nakano House project by KUMA & ELSA, an architectural endeavor that reinterprets traditional Japanese living within a modern high-rise apartment. It delves into how the design draws inspiration from a client's nostalgic memories of an 'engawa' to create a unique connection with nature and the surrounding environment, even from a significant height.
Where Tradition Meets the Sky: An Elevated Homage to Japan's Architectural Heritage
Echoes of Childhood: Reimagining the Traditional Engawa
The genesis of Nakano House stems from a deeply personal memory of the client's childhood home, a classic Japanese residence featuring an 'engawa.' This veranda-like space, open to the garden, was a crucible of sensory experiences—the fresh aroma of grass, the subtle perfumes of changing seasons, and even the distant culinary scents from neighboring kitchens. The client's aspiration was to transpose this profound connection to nature, this sense of open-air living, into a modern apartment situated fifteen stories above the city. This ambition led the architects to envision a dwelling that, despite its urban elevation, felt as boundless and connected to the sky as a traditional home to its garden.