Frame 05-06

a new identity for the apartment without

erasing its past. ‘Very few architects have

the ability to make really sensitive use of the

existing aspects of a building like this,’ said

Dominique Taffin, senior manager of indus-

trial design at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors.

Fellow jury member Libby Sellers – design

historian, writer and consultant – noted that

the project relates to the clear trend, visible

throughout the industry, towards ‘reuse that

retains a sense of the original’.

The jury was impressed by the way in

which atmosphere combines with practical-

ity in Onodera’s solutions. A storage wall

provides light-intensifying reflective surfaces

as well as eliminating clutter, while floaty

net curtains – used along the untouched old

walls – add softness and a new (yet tran-

sient) finish to the pre-existing surfaces.

These touches embody a current tendency,

as described by Taffin, to ‘disconnect from

ownership and material goods. With less

emphasis on owning, there’s a more ephem-

eral feeling to design.’ – JS

shogoonodera.com

PEOPLE'S VOTE

Voltaire by Sabo Project

TOKYO – ‘An exciting solution’, is how jury
member Paola Navone characterized House
of Wind and Light. For his domestic take
on wabi-sabi, Shogo Onodera imagined how
the life of the home’s residents might evolve
in the future, resulting in an intrinsically
flexible design. He swept away all partitions
in the 40-year-old, 70-m^2 apartment, in his
own words ‘mixing old and new to empha-
size innovation’.
The once three-bedroom flat became
a large, open-plan space, allowing wind and
light to pass through it unhindered. The
jury panel particularly praised the way that
Onodera, formerly of SANAA, carved out

Jury member Libby Sellers saw Shogo

Onodera’s House of Wind and Light

as an example of the current industry

trend towards ‘reuse that retains a

sense of the original’.

FRAME AWARDS 2019 117