Higashiizu

The final house for a client who got terminal cancer, to stay for his last period and to leave something for his family. The site is situated in a slope area along Kawazu Vally. The proposal responds to two main subjects: first, the abstractive sense of nature that a man facing to his death would seek for; second, the deliberate balance of architectural design between harmony with surroundings and presence as the final house. The materiality is another key. Controlled aging changes like a Japanese shrine would make his family feel the passage of time and recall memories of the days with him.

Kentaro Kimizuka
ME BA(waseda) PGdipl.arch(Westminster)
ARB RIBA(uk) 1st cl. architect(jp)

2006-present Kimizuka Architects, Tokyo
2005-2006 Richard Mitzman Architects, London
2004-2005 Munkenbeck+Marshall Architects, London
2003-2004 Mecanoo Architecten, Delft
2002-2003 Massimiliano Fuksas Architetto, Roma
1996-2001 Nihonsekkei, Fukuoka&Tokyo

_Architecture MasterPrize 2019, Honorable Mention (usa)
_London International Creative Competition 2018, Short Listed
_International Design Awards 2017, Bronze Award (usa)
_International Design Awards 2010, Honorable Mention (usa)
_Design Week Awards 2009, Hospitality Environment Award (uk)
_Design Week Awards 2009, Best of Show, Short Listed (uk)
_17th the Best Store of the Year, Special Award (jp)
_JCD Design Awards 2009, Best 100 (jp)