Kamiyama is a minimalist renovation located in Tokyo, Japan, designed by APOLLO Architects & Associates. This project involved the renovation of a room in a low-rise condominium in a quiet residential district in central Tokyo. The client is a collector of furniture by designers such as Finn Juhl and contemporary fine art by the likes of Hiroshi Sugimoto and Gerhard Richter. Accordingly, the architects aimed to create a space in which such furnishings and works of art would be able to coexist. As with the concealment of the ceiling-mounted air conditioning ductwork and its assimilation into the coved ceiling with indirect lighting, they followed a theme of minimalism in creating the space, envisioning the idea of a small museum that inspires careful examination of each individual piece to focus attention on the meaning of the furnishings themselves.

Finishing the walls and alcoves with flat white plaster ensures that the rooms are suffused with soft white light, while the ash flooring, dyed to a grey beige tone, realizes a subtle balance together the vintage chairs and minimalist art. Restricting the choice of material allowed us to create a timeless space, with an air as though of having existed since long ago. By doing so in a newly built structure, the project aimed at a fusion between history and the future.

Photography by Masao Nishikawa

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