{"id":708768,"date":"2026-01-20T14:13:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/708768\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T14:13:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:13:19","slug":"akio-isshiki-architects-clads-house-in-saidera-in-charred-cedar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/708768\/","title":{"rendered":"Akio Isshiki Architects clads House in Saidera in charred cedar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese studio Akio Isshiki Architects<\/a> has used details including a floor-level window and shoji screens within this wood-clad Osaka<\/a> residence that aims to “set a new standard for contemporary living”.<\/p>\n

The two-storey gabled home, which was designed for a family of five, is named House in Saidera after its location in Osaka, where a mix of traditional and contemporary Japanese dwellings can be found.<\/p>\n

\"Cedar-cladCharred and natural cedar are combined on the exterior<\/p>\n

Studio founder Akio Isshiki<\/a> wanted to create a modern interpretation of a Japanese house and construct it using the traditional shinkabe method, which sees the columns and beams of the house expressed on the interior.<\/p>\n

The architect clad the 96-square-metre house in cedar<\/a>, alternating between charred and natural-coloured panels.<\/p>\n

\"WoodenThe home features a wooden engawa platform<\/p>\n

While this was done for practical reasons, it also creates a striking two-toned facade that adds a modern touch to a traditional-style building.<\/p>\n

“Charred cedar is highly durable due to the charcoal on its surface,” Isshiki told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“I chose natural cedar near the entrance to prevent the charcoal from coming into contact with people and staining them.”<\/p>\n

\"InteriorHouse in Saidera has an open-plan ground floor<\/p>\n

House in Saidera is located on an unusually shaped, flagpole-like plot.<\/p>\n

“It is a deep site with a slim approach facing the street that expands into a wider area at the back, similar to a flag, the wide area, with a pole, the slim area,” Isshiki explained.<\/p>\n

\"KitchenThe kitchen and dining area are at the centre of the house<\/p>\n

Here, the architect created a two-storey house with a simple form that draws on typical Japanese homes but prioritises an open design and connections between the rooms.<\/p>\n

“While keeping floor heights low, the structure is exposed, and a single layer of cedar boards serves simultaneously as the second-floor flooring and the first-floor ceiling,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"TokonomaTatami mats line one part of the ground floor of House in Saidera<\/p>\n

The kitchen and dining rooms sit in the centre of the house, with a Japanese-style room off to one side. Here, the architect created a tokonoma<\/a> alcove in which to display flowers and art.<\/p>\n

This part of the ground floor also has a floor-level window, which Isshiki designed so that its shutters can be folded into a notch in a custom-made bench next to it.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Amami<\/p>\n

Large metal roof tops off-grid home on Japanese island by Sakai Architects\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“[Floor-level windows] create the illusion of a continuous floor and a sense of spaciousness,” the architect explained.<\/p>\n

“This is a common design in Japanese-style rooms. In this house, we wanted to show off the stone wall of the neighbouring house on the west side.”<\/p>\n

\"Floor-levelA floor-level window folds into a bench<\/p>\n

Isshiki also created an engawa, a narrow wooden platform that connects the interior of a home with its garden, on the eastern side of the house.<\/p>\n

Bedrooms are located on the second floor and feature doors that slide into the frames of the house itself.<\/p>\n

“The columns and beams act as frames for the sliding doors, thereby eliminating part of the door frames,” Isshiki said.<\/p>\n

“These operations enhance the independence of the structural skeleton and draw out a clear expression related to shinkabe construction.”<\/p>\n

\"HomeThe first floor has bedrooms with sliding doors<\/p>\n

Isshiki said that as people shift from sitting on the floor to a table, Japanese-style rooms have gradually disappeared. There are also other reasons why they are no longer as common.<\/p>\n

“Ceremonies using Japanese-style rooms, such as memorial services and children’s celebrations, are being held less frequently at home,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Decorative Japanese-style designs are expensive to construct,” Isshiki added. “Japanese design elements are being stripped away by the trend toward modernisation and rationalisation.”<\/p>\n

\"GreenAkio Isshiki left the structure of the house exposed<\/p>\n

However, the architect believes that elements of traditional Japanese homes, such as engawa and washi-paper shoji screens, can continue to be appreciated.<\/p>\n

With House in Saidera, he hopes to “create a neutral Japanese house that would set a new standard for contemporary living through a modern interpretation of Japanese architectural elements”.<\/p>\n

Other recent residential projects in Japan include a Tokyo home with louvres made from tropical wood<\/a> and an off-grid home topped by a large metal roof<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Benjamin Hosking<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japanese studio Akio Isshiki Architects has used details including a floor-level window and shoji screens within this wood-clad…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[212570,4021,4020,135470,4022,77,7931,2122,123042,205010,15695,17022,126129,126130,16,15,144077],"class_list":{"0":"post-708768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-akio-isshiki-architects","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-cedar","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-houses","15":"tag-japan","16":"tag-japanese-architecture","17":"tag-japanese-houses","18":"tag-osaka","19":"tag-residential-architecture-and-interiors","20":"tag-sectionall","21":"tag-sectionarchitecture","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-wooden-architecture"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115927843458711128","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}