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House In Mise Bumi by Tomomi Omachi

House In Mise Bumi by Tomomi Omachi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Perunggu in Arsitéktur Competition Category.


PerungguArsitéktur· 2026

House In Mise Bumi

by Tomomi Omachi

A' Design Award Perunggu Winner in Arsitéktur Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About House In Mise Bumi

House In Mise mangrupa renovasi imah padésan tradisional Jepang anu perenahna di lebak walungan di Mitsuse, Préféktur Saga. Proyék ieu mulangkeun kajelasan spasial tina struktur kayu aslina bari nyambungkeun deui kahirupan sapopoé jeung leuweung sabudeureunana katut cai anu ngocor. Bukaan anu ditempatkeun kalayan taliti, sohok anu jero, sarta rohangan transisi anu ngalapis ngamungkinkeun cahaya, kalangkang, jeung parobahan usum ngawangun lingkungan interior. Bahan-bahan lokal kaasup kai cedar, cemara hinoki, eurih, granit, jeung shoji buatan leungeun ngukuhkeun kasaluyuan iklim jeung kaaslian bahan.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Perunggu

House In Mise Bumi mangrupa juara A' Design Award Perunggu, pangakuan anu pohara bergengsi anu dipasihkeun ka desain unggul anu dicirikeun ku kréativitas, kacerdikan jeung kawaspadaan. Para juara Perunggu téh artéfak anu lobaan kaahlian jeung kréatif pisan anu ngabuktikeun pangalaman anu lega, imajinasi jeung kacerdasan para désainerna. House In Mise Bumi diharepkeun jadi objék anu dihargaan, dikagumi jeung dipikanyaah anu profésional jeung inovatif. Desain juara A' Design Award Perunggu ieu ngalebetkeun prakték pangalusna dina seni, élmu, desain jeung téknologi, sarta unggul dina perhatian kana détail. House In Mise Bumi minuhan kabutuhan kalayan éndah, nyentuh kahayang, nyenangkeun rasa, jeung narik rasa panasaran.

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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