House In Mise Omah by Tomomi Omachi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Perunggu in Desain Arsitektur, Bangunan lan Struktur Competition Category.

PerungguArsitektur· 2026

House In Mise Omah

by Tomomi Omachi

A' Design Award Perunggu Winner in Arsitektur Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #182293

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The Design

About House In Mise Omah

House In Mise minangka renovasi omah tradhisional pedesaan Jepang sing dumunung ing lembah kali ing Mitsuse, Prefektur Saga. Proyek iki mbalekake kajelasan ruang saka struktur kayu asline sinambi nyambungake maneh urip saben dina karo alas lan banyu mili ing sakiwa-tengene. Bukaan sing dipapanake kanthi ati-ati, payon emper sing jero, lan ruang transisi sing berlapis-lapis ngidini cahya, wewayangan, lan owah-owahan mangsa mbentuk lingkungan interior. Bahan-bahan saka sumber lokal kalebu kayu cedar, cemara hinoki, glagah, watu granit, lan shoji gaweyan tangan nguwatake kecocogan iklim lan keaslian material.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Perunggu

House In Mise Omah menang A' Design Award Perunggu, pangenalan sing prestisius banget sing diparingake marang desain sing luar biasa sing dicirikake dening kreativitas, kapinteran lan kaweruh sing landhep. Pemenang Perunggu iku artefak sing trampil banget lan kreatif banget sing mbuktekake pengalaman sing jembar, imajinasi lan kapinteran para desainer. House In Mise Omah dikarepake dadi barang sing dihargai banget, dikagumi lan ditresnani, profesional lan inovatif banget. Desain sing menang A' Design Award Perunggu iki ngemot praktik sing paling apik ing seni, sains, desain lan teknologi, lan apik banget ing perhatiane marang rincian. House In Mise Omah nyukupi kabutuhan kanthi apik, nutul kekarepan, ngaya rasa lan narik rasa pengin weruh.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This project is a renovation of a traditional Japanese rural house that reorients daily living toward forest and river through spatial layering, light modulation, and material authenticity. By retaining the existing timber structure and integrating engawa-like thresholds with locally sourced materials, it achieves environmental continuity, sensory depth, and long-term sustainability.
Dimensions & Packaging: Renovation of an existing traditional Japanese timber residence located in Mitsuse, Saga Prefecture, Japan. The project preserves the original wooden structural frame while introducing new timber openings, shoji-lined windows, and expanded terraces. Materials include local cedar columns, knot-free hinoki flooring, reed ceilings, and granite paving. Passive environmental strategies include cross-ventilation, deep eaves, and interior–exterior continuity to moderate seasonal climate conditions.
Tags: Architectural renovation, Residential architecture, Adaptive reuse, Japanese architecture, Engawa reinterpretation, Landscape-integrated design, Climate-responsive architecture, Material authenticity
Production Technology: The project was realized through adaptive reuse of an existing post-and-beam timber structure, retaining approximately 80% of the original frame. Traditional Japanese carpentry and joinery were combined with precise contemporary detailing to recalibrate openings, deep eaves, and spatial thresholds. Locally sourced cedar, hinoki cypress, reed, granite, and handcrafted shoji paper were integrated to ensure climatic compatibility, material longevity, and seamless interior–exterior continuity.
Design Challenge: The primary challenge was reconciling contemporary living requirements with the preservation of a deteriorated traditional timber structure whose original spatial coherence had been lost through incremental alterations. Structural limitations, regulatory constraints on renovation, and climatic demands of a humid mountain valley required precise intervention. The project demanded selective demolition, careful structural repair, and the reinterpretation of traditional spatial principles to restore environmental continuity without erasing historical character.
Research: Type of Research: Contextual architectural design research.
Research Objectives: To explore how traditional Japanese architecture can reconnect daily life with nature.
Methodology: Long-term site observation and iterative renovation design.
Data Collection and Tools: Climate analysis, spatial studies, material testing, and architectural drawings.
Participants: Architect and client collaboration over five years.
Results: A restored house integrating light, river, forest, and seasonal change.
Insights and Impact: Demonstrates how culturally rooted renovation can improve well-being and sustainable living.
Inspiration: The project was inspired by traditional Japanese residential architecture, where light, shadow, and seasonal change shape daily life, and by the site’s forested river landscape in Mitsuse, Saga Prefecture. The client’s desire for refuge from urban intensity prompted a research-based approach to spatial layering, engawa reinterpretation, and material authenticity, integrating climate-responsive design and local craftsmanship to restore continuity between dwelling and nature.
Project Duration: The project is located in Mitsuse, Saga Prefecture, Japan, within a mountainous river valley in northern Kyushu. Design development and construction were carried out as a comprehensive renovation process, with the project completed in 2025 following an extended period of site analysis, design coordination, and on-site craftsmanship.
Operation Flow: The house is experienced through a gradual sequence between interior and nature. Large sliding openings connect the lounge, dining area, and guest spaces to terraces facing the river and surrounding forest. Light, wind, and seasonal landscape continuously transform the atmosphere throughout the day. The design encourages slow movement and quiet observation, allowing daily life to unfold in direct relationship with natural sound, light, and climate.
Patents: Architectural design copyright: Tomomi Omachi / tou., 2026. Photographs copyright: Tatsuya Tabii, 2026.
Team Members: Tomomi Omachi
Image Credits: Image #1: Photographer Tatsuya Tabii, House in Mise, 2025.
Image #2: Photographer Tatsuya Tabii, House in Mise, 2025.
Image #3: Photographer Tatsuya Tabii, House in Mise, 2025.
Image #4: Photographer Tatsuya Tabii, House in Mise, 2025.
Image #5: Photographer Tatsuya Tabii, House in Mise, 2025.