House In Mise Whare by Tomomi Omachi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Parahi in Hoahoa Waihanga, Whare me te Hanganga Competition Category.
ParahiWaihanga· 2026
House In Mise Whare
A' Design Award Parahi Winner in Waihanga Category
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- Verified Award Winner
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The Design
About House In Mise Whare
Ko House In Mise he whakahoutanga o tētahi whare tuawhenua tuku iho o Hapani, e tū ana i tētahi awaawa awa i Mitsuse, i te Kawanatanga o Saga. Mā tēnei kaupapa e whakaora ana i te mārama ā-mokowā o te hanganga rākau taketake, me te hono anō i te oranga o ia rā ki te ngahere karapoti me te wai e rere ana. Mā ngā tuwheratanga i āta whakatakotoria, ngā tuanui hōhonu, me ngā mokowā whakawhitinga paparanga, ka whai wāhi te māramatanga, te atarangi, me ngā panonitanga o ngā kaupeka ki te hanga i te taiao o roto. Ko ngā rauemi i puta mai i te rohe tonu, tae atu ki te hita, te hinoki, te kākaho, te kirikiri kōhatu, me ngā shoji i mahia ā-ringa, ka whakapakari i te hototahitanga ā-āhuarangi me te pono o ngā rauemi.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award Parahi
Ko House In Mise Whare te toa o te A' Design Award Parahi, he whakaaetanga tino whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa kōeke e tohua ana mā te auaha, te mahi mōhio me te whakaaro hōhonu. Ko ngā toa Parahi he mahi pukenga e rite ana, he auaha mīharo, e whakatūturu ana i te wheako nui, te whakaaro me te mōhio-ā-ringa o ā rātou kaihoahoa. E tūmanakohia ana ko House In Mise Whare he taonga whakanuia, whakamīharotia, aroha nui, he ngaio, he auaha hoki. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Parahi e whakauru ana i ngā tikanga pai rawa i te toi, te pūtaiao, te hoahoa me te hangarau, ā, he tino mīharo ki ngā taipitopito. Ka whakatutuki a House In Mise Whare i ngā hiahia, ka pā ki ngā hiahia, ka whakaoho i ngā kare-ā-roto, ā, ka kume i te pākiki.
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.
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