Art House

A Japanese residence by Tomoko Ikegai and Arata Miyahara showcases a couple's collections

Masaaki Takahashi -- Interior Design, 6/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Returning to Japan after several years living overseas, an art-loving couple commissioned a Western-style house from designer Tomoko Ikegai and architect Arata Miyahara. If the result, located on a gentle slope in a tranquil Kansai District suburb, has the aura of a small private museum, that's hardly surprising: The glass, wood, and stone structure is filled with the owners' impressive collection of contemporary paintings and sculpture. But how many art galleries boast a 64-foot-long indoor swimming pool, tiled in vivid blue glass?

Ikegai, principal of IKG and the couples' longtime friend, came up with the overall concept for the three-level U-shape house. Her clients asked for a place of healing, a refuge from the stress of work where they could relax and re-charge. She envisioned a series of free-flowing glass-walled spaces arranged around a garden courtyard. Miyahara, principal of Studio Akili and Ikegai's frequent collaborator, turned her ideas into fully realized architecture.

"I tried to make circulation as fluid as possible," says Ikegai. "There aren't many obstacles to impede movement through the rooms. Plus there's great visibility between each area, which adds to the sense of openness, and you're constantly 'aware of the greenery outside." Even the main entry, which is on the second level, and central staircase overlook the garden through a double-height expanse of glass. To the right lie the living room, dining area, and study; to the left is the indoor pool. The master suite is on the third floor, which also houses a small but fully equipped gym.

At the bottom of the stairs, on the lowest level, a Japanese-style passageway—rectangular stepping-stones on a bed of pebbles—leads to a guest bedroom, bathroom, and compact kitchen. With its sliding paper screens, tatami mats, and tiny rock garden, this retreat is the only traditional area in the 7,500-square-foot house. The adjoining garage, designed by Hideto Irikawa, accommodates the owners' collection of vintage Porsches and Ferraris. The space has granite floors and is fitted with an extractor vent to siphon off exhaust fumes produced during engine-maintenance sessions.

The lighting in the garage—and everywhere else—was designed by Kazuhiro Kawamura; it sets off the cars as graphically as the Japanese and Western works of art that furnish the rest of the house. Installed to pleasingly casual effect, the collection includes ceramics and an oil painting by Pablo Picasso; colorful figurative murals in the living room by Greek fine artist and onetime stamp designer Alekos Fassianos, who came in person to paint them; and Indian sculptor Madan Lal's abstract organic marble forms, which rise from a reflecting pool in the courtyard.

The decorative pool appears continuous with the indoor swimming pool—its bottom covered in azure glass tile—that adjoins it on the other side of a glass wall. It's just one of Ikegai's strategies to create seamlessly connected interior and exterior spaces. "The ceilings are a uniform height, which establishes a sense of internal unity," she explains. "Then we used sliding doors in most places to smooth the transition from house to garden." According to Ikegai, the feeling of physical freedom translates into behavior. "You can take a dip in the pool when the mood strikes, relax in the living room, enjoy the garden, or take time to contemplate the surrounding art."

As Miyahara notes, despite its aura of Zen calm, "the house is very aesthetically elaborate." As much thought went into the selection of materials and colors—chosen for warmth, harmony, and drama—as into the composition of spaces. A blend of plastic and sawdust on the poolroom walls keeps them from looking cold. Other walls are made of slices of white granite laminated together for a heavily textured effect. And the underside of the freestanding teak staircase is covered with mirror-finished stainless steel so it appears to float in the air. Art or architecture? In this house, they're the same thing.

Previous spread: A vintage Ferrari appears like a work of art in the 1,200-square-foot garage of a three-story Japanese house, a collaboration between designer Tomoko Ikegai of IKG and architect Arata Miyahara of Studio Akili. The floor is granite.

Top: A passageway defined by stepping-stones on a bed of pebbles leads to the ground-floor guest wing, the only traditionally Japanese area in the house. Center: The freestanding teak closet behind the bed in the third-level master suite conceals a stair to the study below. Bottom: Greek fine artist Alekos Fassianos painted the mural in the living room on the second floor. The leather-covered sofa and ottoman are by Antonio Citterio.

Opposite: The rough-hewn wall is made from slices of granite laminated together. The staircase is stainless steel and teak. The marble forms in the reflecting pool are by Indian sculptor Madan Lal.

Opposite: The 64-foot-long glass-tile lap pool, reached via a glass door with stainless-steel handle, helps regulate the temperature in the house.

Top: The wood dining-room table is by Paolo Piva; the pair of unglazed porcelain vases by Jonathan Adler. Center: Mirror-finished stainless steel clads the underside of the staircase. Bottom: A square-shape limestone tub is the centerpiece of the guest-wing bathroom.

Top: The granite wall extends down to the garage. Center: The guest suite features sliding paper doors, tatami mats, and an indoor garden. Bottom: For the facade, Ikegai and Miyahara specified Teppei-seki, a type of augite andesite, which is igneous rock. A stepped wall of slate slabs borders the entry walkway.

Opposite: Ground-level rooms open to the garden courtyard, around which the house is organized. Materials are glass, steel, granite, and limestone.

BED, NIGHTSTANDS (MASTER BEDROOM), SOFA, OTTOMAN (LIVING ROOM), TABLE (DINING AREA): BB ITALIA. DOOR HANDLE (POOLROOM): UNION. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: KASHIWARA. MEP: SETSUBI KEIKAKU. CONSTRUCTION ARCHITECT: YASUNOBU KASHIWARA. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: MIZUSAWA KOMUTEN.