Energy efficiency has become a common theme in urban planning. Combining it with nature-driven designs and materials can enhance the resilience of buildings to climate change, owing to their temperature- and moisture-regulating effects. Wooden...
Japanese temples and shrines have stood for hundreds of years, weathering typhoons, snowfalls and scorching heat days. The elegant clay tiles known as “kawara,” adorned with intricate decorations, have graced rooftops for 1,400 years...
A wedding dress brand in Japan, MIRROR MIRROR, announced the start of renting upcycled wedding dresses. These upcycled dresses are reconstructed by combining parts of wedding dresses that were to be discarded. The brand is known for its delicate...
In recent years, initiatives related to diversity have been under active discussion worldwide. In the area of design, there is a search for ways to make design easy to use for people of various backgrounds. For example, universal design is a method...
Tatami (straw mat) heals the tired bodies of Japanese people in their daily lives and can be used for decades after being repaired many times by the handiwork of craftsmen. In the past, they were then returned to the fields as fertilizer when they...
A manufacturing company that tackles social problems, PENON Inc., has launched a sustainable pen called “Penon” at Books Kinokuniya, one of Japan’s largest retail booksellers. Penon is now available at Kinokuniya in Japan and its 15 branches...
Many places around the world, including Japan, still have a strong disposable culture. Japan has the second highest amount of disposable plastic waste per capita in the world. In order to realize a circular economy in which resources and products...
Since ancient times, the Japanese have devised ways to live comfortably in the humid summer and the cold and dry winter of their homeland. The lifestyle of the machiya residents is a perfect example of such ingenuity to enjoy the four seasons while...
Traditional Japanese housing is designed to cope with the extremes of summer weather in hot and humid climates. In other words, they are designed to live in harmony with the external environment by creating airy and open spaces. These houses also...
The sun is beginning to shine brightly, and we are looking forward to the arrival of full-blown summer. Summers in Japan are hot and humid. Especially in recent years, the heat island effect can make the days uncomfortable and hard to bear. To get...