Happy New Year!
Bureau will like to offer our deep gratitude for your support and kind cooperation in 2021.
We hope that this year will be better and more prosperous for everyone.

As we begin this year with anticipation and excitement, let us share some of our New Year’s resolutions.
The Bureau has two projects to complete this year.

Villa Pétine — A house in Nagano's mountainous region

We are poised to complete a 500 square meter house in a rural mountainous region of Nagano Prefecture. It will be a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly residential building composed of hinoki structure and copper cladding. All of its energy will be supplied from a hydraulic power plant with minimal use of gas solely for cooking and backup power generation in case of blackouts. Redundancies and backup systems become important factors in a heavy snowfall area, such as this one, that can experience whiteouts by blizzard and isolation caused by meters of snow over a short period of time. Together with triple glazing, R10 insulation level in the roof and R9 in the walls, achieved by all natural insulation made from wooden fibers, this house is highly protected from the sub-zero external conditions.

house in hibernation — Nagano house, under construction, in hibernation

Here we endeavored to achieve the best combination of technology and empirical understanding of materials, as well as a time tested knowledge of craftsmanship, in order to to create something that transcends Japan-ness or Western-ness, low tech or high tech, but altogether sublimated into a new contextual, contemporary, and environmentally conscientious architecture.

We have another alpine architectural project that is scheduled to be completed this year, which is a 350 square meter housing complex being planned for the Myoko area of Niigata Prefecture. This project is characterized by the unique configuration of its roof. Myoko area is another heavy snowfall area and we wanted to deploy a different strategy for snow management. Retaining snow on the roof unequivocally increases the stress on the structure and causes the system to manifest robust and massive dimensions. By creating an inclined slope that is steeper than 45 degrees, the roof essentially becomes self-snowshedding and decreases the burden onto the structures. The articulations of roof geometry also allow triangular clerestories that bring in daylight into various living spaces. Both vertical (roof) and horizontal (balconies) articulations coordinate to break down the massive block type, typical of the area, and carve out spaces with varying programmatic, thermal, and luminous qualities even in a harsh yet sublimely snow-laden environment.

Villa Ukiyo — Housing complex in Myoko, Niigata

To be clear, we welcome participation in, and indeed do partake in, projects in other non-snow areas! 2022 will see developments in projects from inner Tokyo to Western Japan, and we look forward to sharing those with you in coming months. As far as resolutions go, each of these prospective projects are unique, and we look forward to designing them, learning from various collaborators, and creating something new and innovative in the process. Down the bucket list of things we’d like to accomplish this year is to participate, and hopefully, win a competition, either domestically or internationally. Perhaps a parallel and long held goal of ours is to start projects abroad. The last abroad project we did was in 2013 called the “Chicago Laboratory” set in a 1000 square-meter gallery space of the former Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building by Louis Sullivan.

With a mix of projects to be completed, a few in the pipeline, and some opportunities for experimentation and speculations, this year is shaping up to be an eventful and productive one. However, we are reminded time and again that making all these things possible comes down to people. Good bureau members, good clients, good collaborators. All important dreamers, stakeholders in making great things happen. To this effect, the resolution includes the possibility to invite one or two new members to the Bureau, to be an integral part of the intellectual explorations, growth, and capacity.

We, at the Bureau, enjoy saying out loud these pipe-dreams, unabashed and without reservations. For pipe-dreams may one day become realities. Though through tireless effort alone does this usually happen, it is believed in Japan that uttered words have power, perhaps by the effects of inculcation or autohypnoses. By the virtue of our resolute utterances, may this year be a healthy, creative, and productive year for us all. Thank you for your indulgence, and looking forward to hearing from you wherever, whenever, meeting you in person if possible, working together, and supporting each other in these trying times.