A wider view reveals the bedroom opening onto a raised bathing area, where a hinoki tub rests on grey stone tiles. Shoji screens line the wall, diffusing daylight, while exposed reclaimed beams above introduce rustic character within an otherwise pared-back, contemporary interior.

Architecture and Landscape Operate in Quiet Reciprocity in a Renovated Sukiya-Style House in Kyoto

Words by Yatzer

Kyoto, Japan

Located in the outskirts of Kyoto, this renovated sukiya-style residence by kooo architects unfolds within a gently sloping site at the edge of a wooded hillside. Rather than asserting itself against its surroundings, the project recalibrates an existing home, allowing architecture and landscape to operate in quiet reciprocity. Garden, mountain backdrop and the subtle presence of water are not treated as picturesque scenery but as intrinsic elements woven into the cadence of everyday life, echoed indoors through the tactile simplicity of timber, plaster and stone.

The property comprises a two-storey main house and a detached two-storey annex, connected through a carefully orchestrated garden. Between them, the architects introduced a newly designed waterfall, making use of the site’s natural gradient. Visible from the living spaces of both buildings, the flow of water becomes at once focal point and ambient presence, folding sound, movement and reflection into the domestic routine.

Viewed through a timber-framed opening, the annex façade is framed by autumn foliage in the foreground. A seated figure reading inside underscores the layered transparency between garden and interior, while sliding doors and deep eaves articulate the neo-vernacular dialogue between built form and landscape.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Framed by twisting maple branches in autumnal hues, the renovated sukiya residence by kooo architects nestles within a layered garden of moss, stone and gravel. A woman walks along a stepping-stone path, underscoring the project’s biophilic ethos and seamless integration of timber architecture with Kyoto’s changing seasons.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

From the covered veranda, the garden unfolds as a textured tapestry of moss, stone and seasonal foliage, punctuated by a cascading waterfall. Timber beams and bamboo blinds filter the light, casting soft shadows that heighten the tactile interplay between architecture and landscape in this neo-vernacular retreat.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Inside the main house, floor-to-ceiling glazing frames a sculpted rock garden like a living artwork. Warm timber floors and exposed posts contrast with subdued walls, while a seated figure in shadow emphasizes the calibrated transition between interior intimacy and the verdant, light-filled exterior.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

The reconfiguration of the main house begins with the doma, an earthen-floored passage that bisects the ground floor, linking the stone-paved entrance at the front to the landscaped garden at the rear. More than a corridor, it functions as a spatial hinge, separating everyday living areas from spaces intended for formal entertaining, while also operating as an atmospheric threshold. Washed aggregate underfoot extends seamlessly from the exterior approach, blurring the boundary between arrival and interior, while fusuma sliding panels featuring abstract geometric compositions by Noda Print Studio, acclaimed for their modern use of karakami hand-printing techniques, imbue the space with a muted graphic rhythm.

On one side of the passage, the original tatami rooms have been consolidated into a large reception hall intended for entertaining. On the other, a fluid living, dining and kitchen area opens onto the garden through floor-to-ceiling timber-framed sliding doors on two sides. When fully retracted, the space expands onto the engawa, a traditional Japanese covered veranda extending along the outer perimeter of a house, and into the garden. Additional rooms, separated by sliding partitions, can also be incorporated into the main space, allowing the house to contract or expand according to use. Meanwhile, upstairs, the bedrooms are conceived as spaces of retreat, framed by expansive views of the surrounding foliage.

A garden view unfolds through the open doorway, aligning interior shadow with exterior light. The washed aggregate floor of the doma leads toward moss, stone and a maple tree in autumn tones, underscoring kooo architects’ biophilic reinterpretation of sukiya spatial sequencing.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

The living area dissolves into the garden through fully retracted timber-framed sliding doors, extending the wooden floor onto the engawa. Deep eaves and slender posts frame a Zen-like landscape of rocks and shrubs, while a solitary figure anchors the composition, reinforcing the home’s contemplative, nature-centred design philosophy.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

The doma corridor stretches toward a garden-facing window, its washed aggregate floor and Juraku plaster walls creating a muted, tactile envelope. Custom fusuma doors by Noda Print Studio introduce abstract, painterly motifs, while a stone bench and seated figure evoke the measured calm of traditional Japanese interiors.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A close-up of the doma threshold reveals a rugged stone step resting on finely washed aggregate, meeting a precisely detailed timber sill. The contrast between rough-hewn rock and smooth wood joinery encapsulates kooo architects’ material dialogue—earthy tactility paired with refined craftsmanship in this contemporary sukiya renovation.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A close view of the fusuma sliding doors reveals layered geometric patterns in soft earth tones, framed by warm timber joinery. Beyond, the living space aligns with the garden, demonstrating kooo architects’ contemporary interpretation of sukiya aesthetics through material subtlety and spatial continuity.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A minimalist dining and kitchen space is composed in pale timber, from wide-plank floors to bespoke cabinetry with expressive grain. Two rounded white pendant lights hover above a solid wood table, while a linear tiled backsplash introduces subtle texture, reflecting a Japandi-inflected balance of restraint and warmth.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

The tatami chamber is seen from a corner perspective, revealing the interplay of vertical timber posts and textured plaster walls. A softly illuminated shoji window balances the deep niche of the tokonoma, where a simple wooden ledge introduces asymmetry, embodying the rustic restraint of sukiya tradition.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A tatami room unfolds in quiet symmetry, defined by pale woven mats edged in black and a recessed alcove displaying a low wooden shelf. Shoji screens diffuse daylight into a soft glow, while Juraku plaster walls and a slatted timber ceiling articulate a refined Zen atmosphere rooted in material authenticity.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A raised tatami platform is articulated by slender timber columns and a subtle level change from the hardwood floor. A compact staircase ascends beside textured plaster walls, while diffused light from shoji windows heightens the layered spatial composition, reflecting kooo architects’ calibrated approach to thresholds and transitions.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

The corridor reveals custom fusuma sliding doors adorned with abstract, painterly motifs in muted blues and earth tones. Warm timber flooring contrasts with the soft graphic surfaces, while a narrow stair and vertical posts create depth, emphasizing the house’s rhythmic sequencing of enclosed and open spaces.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

From an angled perspective, the tatami room opens to autumn foliage through sliding glass doors and shoji panels. A minimalist round table and low armchair in pale wood echo the natural grain of beams and columns, while a subtle graphic fusuma panel introduces contemporary artistry within traditional spatial proportions.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Throughout the house, light, filtered through deep eaves and shoji screens, moves gently across surfaces, drawing out the quiet nuances of the material palette. Juraku plaster lends the walls and ceilings a velvety depth, softening and diffusing illumination, while hardwood floors, timber posts and beams, and wooden furnishings in their natural grain add warm tonal shifts. In dialogue with the verdant garden beyond, these materials do not frame the view so much as extend it inward, creating an interior atmosphere that feels quietly attuned to nature.

A symmetrical tatami sitting area unfolds before expansive timber-framed glazing, framing a lush garden vista. Low wooden lounge chairs and a circular table rest on woven mats, while shoji screens and dark structural posts create rhythmic verticality, reinforcing a Zen-inflected balance between interior restraint and verdant exterior.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

  • The engawa stretches beneath a timber roof structure, its exposed rafters glowing in warm afternoon light. Slender black columns punctuate the veranda, contrasting with pale wood and textured concrete flooring, while dense greenery and stone retaining walls anchor the architecture within its wooded hillside setting.

    Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

  • Seen from above, the engawa wraps the timber-clad volume, its warm wood tones contrasting with raked gravel and moss-lined stone borders. A seated figure pauses at the veranda’s edge, orienting the architecture toward the garden and waterfall beyond, embodying sukiya-style restraint and quiet contemplation.

    Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

  • With folding timber-framed doors fully opened, interior and veranda merge seamlessly. A woman walks along the edge as sunlight filters through red maple leaves, casting dappled shadows across the concrete floor. The scene captures kooo architects’ contemporary interpretation of sukiya living—fluid, seasonal and intimately connected to nature.

    Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

In the annex lounge, a woman reads on a low, upholstered sofa as late-afternoon light washes across white plaster walls. Timber-framed shoji screens filter the sun, while a minimalist wooden coffee table and black leather armchair introduce subtle contrast, reflecting kooo architects’ contemporary take on sukiya calm and material clarity.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Conceived as a separate guest house, the annex includes a lounge that opens towards the main house along with three guest rooms distributed across two floors. Its ground-floor sitting area unfolds directly onto the garden, reinforcing the spatial dialogue between the two buildings while inside, reclaimed timber beams and cherry wood are set against white-painted walls and ceilings, allowing material nuance to take precedence. Upstairs, in one of the guest suites, a hinoki bath connects seamlessly with the bedroom, turning bathing into a contemplative act oriented towards filtered light and seasonal change.

Rather than preserving the house as a historical artefact, kooo architects have extracted the spatial logic of sukiya architecture, its calibrated thresholds, layered transparency and integration with landscape, adapting it to contemporary living. The result is a home that feels neither nostalgic nor overtly modern, but measured and enduring, grounded in a material clarity and an ongoing dialogue with its surroundings.

  • The same corridor comes alive as a figure walks past the softly glowing shoji screen, her movement reinforcing the spatial rhythm between timber structure and void below. The interplay of solid wood, filtered daylight and clean white surfaces exemplifies the house’s minimalist, Zen-inflected sensibility.

    Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

  • In the bedroom, reclaimed timber beams span overhead, their weathered texture contrasting with crisp white walls and pale wood floors. A low platform bed sits beneath the sculptural rafters, where a seated figure reading underscores the intimate scale and tactile warmth of this neo-vernacular retreat.

    Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

In a serene bedroom corner, a woman reads beside floor-to-ceiling shoji screens, their vertical lattice casting soft linear shadows across warm wood floors. A low platform bed and cylindrical paper lantern complete the Japandi-inflected composition, where material restraint and filtered light shape a contemplative domestic atmosphere.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A wider view reveals the bedroom opening onto a raised bathing area, where a hinoki tub rests on grey stone tiles. Shoji screens line the wall, diffusing daylight, while exposed reclaimed beams above introduce rustic character within an otherwise pared-back, contemporary interior.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A close-up of the hinoki bath foregrounds its pale timber grain against the cool stone platform. Through a tall, narrow window, autumn foliage becomes a living artwork, reinforcing the biophilic ethos of the project and the ritualistic quality of bathing within nature’s changing palette.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A bedroom detail highlights Juraku plaster walls, pale timber panelling and a softly glowing square wall sconce. The restrained palette—linen bedding, warm wood headboard and textured earth-toned surfaces—creates a calm, cocoon-like atmosphere rooted in sukiya simplicity and tactile material honesty.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

In the bedroom, a wall-mounted paper lantern casts a gentle halo across textured plaster as a woman reads beneath crisp white bedding. The pared-back composition—low headboard, concealed storage and warm timber accents—evokes a quiet ritual of rest shaped by shadow, materiality and restraint.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

A view toward the dining and kitchen area reveals custom wood cabinetry and softly glowing pendant lamps suspended above a solid timber table. The subdued lighting enhances the grain of the wood and the tactile finishes, reinforcing the home’s intimate, enveloping nighttime atmosphere.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

The living room at night is bathed in amber light, accentuating textured plaster walls and the linear rhythm of timber-framed shoji screens. A low, generously proportioned sofa anchors the space, while a raised tatami area beyond introduces subtle shifts in level and a contemplative spatial hierarchy.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

At dusk, the house reveals its layered timber façade and tiled roofline, glowing softly from within. Through fully opened sliding doors, a woman reads in the living area, the warm interior light spilling onto the engawa and into the garden. Autumn foliage frames the scene, underscoring the dialogue between domestic life and landscape.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Seen from the garden after dark, the open-plan living space reads as a luminous stage set within a darkened landscape. Slender timber columns, low sofas and a recessed alcove are visible through expansive glazing, emphasizing transparency and the careful calibration of interior warmth against exterior shadow.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Nestled against a wooded slope, the house emits a lantern-like glow at night. Deep eaves, exposed rafters and sliding glass panels articulate a contemporary interpretation of traditional timber construction, while dense planting in the foreground heightens the sense of seclusion and immersion in nature.

Photography by Keishin Horikoshi/SS.

Architecture and Landscape Operate in Quiet Reciprocity in a Renovated Sukiya-Style House in Kyoto