Japan Living...

Tendo

Zataku

So, I'm currently living in a traditional Japanese house, with rice mat flooring, sliding paper doors and fold-away matresses. And apart from the odd cockroach or two, I'm actually getting quite used to the multifunctional living arrangement. I have found out that because housing is so expensive in Japan, large families can quite often live together in a very small space, so the rooms need to be as flexible as possible to accommodate their needs. This could be one explanation for the slick, minimal design that comes from Japan. For my last project I was interested in the multifunctional aspect of living space and produced large, colourful, floor cushions, enabling the owner to move, stack and adapt the order of the printed textiles to reflect the character or atmosphere for the intended use of the room. I am interested in continuing with this concept in my masters research. The traditional Japanese floor seating arrangement is something I have been looking into and will continue to explore.