House In Mise Ostal by Tomomi Omachi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award de Bronze in Arquitectura Competition Category.

BronzeArquitectura· 2026

House In Mise Ostal

by Tomomi Omachi

A' Design Award de Bronze Winner in Arquitectura Category

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The Design

About House In Mise Ostal

Ostal de Mise es una renovacion d'una residéncia rurala japonesa tradicionala situada dins una val fluviala a Mitsuse, dins la prefectura de Saga. Lo projècte restaura la claretat espaciala de l'estructura de fusta originala tot en tornant religar la vida quotidiana amb la seuva environanta e l'aiga que raja. De dubèrturas plaçadas amb suènh, de teulissas prigondas e d'espacis transicionals en jaças permeton a la lutz, a l'ombra e als cambiaments sasonièrs de modelar l'environament interior. De materials d'origina locala, coma lo cèdre, lo ciprès hinoki, la canavèra, lo granit e los shoji faits a la man, refortisson la compatibilitat climatica e l'autenticitat dels materials.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronze

House In Mise Ostal a ganhat la distincion A' Design Award de Bronze, una reconeissença plan prestigiosa acordada a de designs excellents que se destrian per la creativitat, l'engenh e la finessa. Los ganhaires del Bronze son d'artefactes largament abils e sorprenentament creatius que provan la vasta experiéncia, l'imaginacion e l'engenhositat de lors designers. S'espèra que House In Mise Ostal siá un objècte fòrça considerat, admirat e estimat, notablament professional e innovant. Aqueste design ganhaire de la distincion A' Design Award de Bronze integra las melhoras practicas de l'art, de la sciéncia, del design e de la tecnologia e es excellent per son atencion al detalh. House In Mise Ostal satisfa esplendidament los besonhs, toca los desirs, encanta los sentiments e interèssa la curiositat.

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.