You can tell a lot about a place by the quality of its public toilets. I don’t know about you, but if I’m at a restaurant and the toilets are filthy, I automatically assume that the kitchen is at least as filthy. And so what… Read More
Yesterday I sent out this tweet about the, relatively new, Apple store in Kyoto. It is the first in the city and I like what they did with the facade of the building. It is decidedly modern and yet there are hints of a local… Read More
I am fascinated by the way the Japanese think about housing. It is very different than the way we think about housing here in North America. Below is a small house tour that reinforces that. If you can’t see it below, click here.
If you happen to find yourself in Vancouver between January 27th and February 28th, you may want to check out an exhibition being held at the Fairmont Pacific Rim called Japan Unlayered. It is a celebration of Japanese architecture, design, and culture, curated by the… Read More
I was recently introduced to the work and writing of Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. One concept that he writes about that I really like is the idea of nest vs. cave. The way Fujimoto describes a cave is that it’s a naturally occurring and pre-existing… Read More
https://500px.com/embed.js As further evidence that real estate is a local business, let’s take a look at the housing market in Japan today. It’s a very unique market. According to this Freakonomics podcast, 50% of all single family houses in Japan are demolished by the time… Read More
I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese culture. A lot of that has to do with how design and technology seem to permeate the culture. But it also has to do with how dichotomous the culture feels to me. On the one hand they’re at the forefront… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 