Japanese-Style Guest Area
This project was perhaps the most ambitious endeavor during the early stages of our office’s development. The client, one of the pioneering names on the Russian Forbes list, was a talented and driven perfectionist.
At that time, he had a deep fascination with Japanese culture, having visited the country numerous times. He was particularly captivated by Japanese edged weapons, the samurai code of swordsmanship, and the art of blacksmithing. Through the Kasugai Gallery, he met the 25th-generation blacksmith Kanefusa Fujiwara. Inspired, he envisioned not just a guest area but a replica of a yashiki—a samurai estate complete with a dojo, a kendo hall, a small Shinto temple, and a private blacksmith workshop.
In collaboration with Japanese architectural firm MDS and architects Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura, we developed a project rich in structure and depth. It adhered to seven Japanese principles of space: site direction, the stepping of buildings, deliberate asymmetry, the relationship between human and natural elements, constant renewal, and more.
The design transitioned from the main house to the Japanese guest area through the Welcome House—a reception building with a grand lobby and a hidden corridor leading to a gun showroom. A covered gallery, or engawa, wrapped around a Japanese garden, connecting the Welcome House to the spa area and tea house. The spa area was modeled after a traditional Japanese onsen, featuring an open-air hot spring bath made from Japanese hinoki cypress, reminiscent of the secluded ryokans in Hakone.
Adjacent to this was a kendo hall with a traditional Japanese tile roof and sturdy wooden frame. Opposite, atop a hill, stood a small Shinto temple overlooking the Gulf of Finland. Leading up to the temple was a torii gate, a familiar sight to anyone who’s visited Japan.
This project evolved far beyond its initial concept of a recreational space for a country house. It became an interactive open-air museum of Japanese culture, demanding significant effort and investment. Unfortunately, due to market changes and geopolitical shifts, it has yet to be fully realized.
