Architectural Projects by Case Design Studio

Much like other facets of design, possibly other parts of life as well, I find obscure and odd things interesting. My main interest resides in the details, I often look deep into all aspects of life and like to study things with intense thought. I guess this could be a downfall, but I also like to find positives in this thinking by delving deeper than anyone else and really pulling back anything that’s not necessary or getting rid of ‘noisy’ elements. In architecture I don’t find that I get inspired by wacky works or extreme scenarios, I prefer to see humble surroundings that are built on the idea of relaxation, movement, and natural light. The human needs to balance out with the build itself to make it both comfortable and beautiful. Sometimes I wonder, why can’t people take more satisfaction from the everyday rituals that we revolve around?

So as you would have guessed, when I stumbled in to the Case Design studio over the weekend a little lightbulb lit up and I instantly knew these folks were on the same wavelength as me. Founded by architects Noriko Kawamura and Norio Yokota in 1998, they both have an extensive background in design, and today work on a wide mixture of projects, mainly specialising in small residential homes that offer comfortable living. In Japan this is a particular problem as the amount of space is often limited, and you have to be much more inventive with the way in which you design a build in such a small scenario. It’s not that easy. Both Noriko Kawamura and Norio Yokota are pretty exceptional when it comes to this working method, they have an eye for laying everything out and paying special attention to all the little details that most people would just walk over.

I’ve used this article to highlight some details that were worth noting in picture form, also a few that I’ll point out here in the text. One area they really seem to focus on is the stairs in a property, these are often modular but really contrast with the build itself. Below for example showcases a beautiful staircase that is a feature in itself, with the thin lines of the metal and the nice glass surround. Throughout their portfolio you’ll see a mixture of these, definitely something you should keep a look out for. I’ll leave you to browse above and below, you won’t be disappointed.

case-design.co.jp

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