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Large clerestory windows face the street at the Higashibatas’ house in Tokyo, optimizing both privacy and natural light within.
Large clerestory windows face the street at the Higashibatas’ house in Tokyo, optimizing both privacy and natural light within.
The engawa deck is a traditional Japanese feature. It's a place where guests are often greeted to sit with a casual cup of tea. The David and Mayuko also uses it as a viewing porch toward the back yard for when the kids play in the grass.
The engawa deck is a traditional Japanese feature. It's a place where guests are often greeted to sit with a casual cup of tea. The David and Mayuko also uses it as a viewing porch toward the back yard for when the kids play in the grass.
A detail shot of the Engawa's wood-burning fireplace.
A detail shot of the Engawa's wood-burning fireplace.
This inviting Japanese home built from a palette of steel, wood and concrete is the product of architects Takaharu and Yui Tezuka. Photo by: Adam Friedberg
This inviting Japanese home built from a palette of steel, wood and concrete is the product of architects Takaharu and Yui Tezuka. Photo by: Adam Friedberg
Protected by an overhang, and floating above ground level, this tertiary space is known in traditional homes as the "engawa." To sustain a unified look throughout, the floor and ceiling are clad in ipe wood.
Protected by an overhang, and floating above ground level, this tertiary space is known in traditional homes as the "engawa." To sustain a unified look throughout, the floor and ceiling are clad in ipe wood.
The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.
The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.
The design of the house follows the traditional Japanese architectural concept of a hiraya—a single-story home with an engawa-inspired deck.
The design of the house follows the traditional Japanese architectural concept of a hiraya—a single-story home with an engawa-inspired deck.
Gibson opened up the interiors to create an "engawa," an edging strip of non-tatami matted flooring in Japanese architecture, that he then enclosed in a steel mesh curtain.
Gibson opened up the interiors to create an "engawa," an edging strip of non-tatami matted flooring in Japanese architecture, that he then enclosed in a steel mesh curtain.
A continuous deck or veranda, called engawa in Japanese, functions as both a step and seat, to seamlessly connect the house to the garden. Deep eaves, or hisashi, provide cover and reflect light from the interior.
A continuous deck or veranda, called engawa in Japanese, functions as both a step and seat, to seamlessly connect the house to the garden. Deep eaves, or hisashi, provide cover and reflect light from the interior.
Architect Johan Sundberg looked to Japanese architects like Kengo Kuma for inspiration for the design of a holiday home in southern Sweden. "We call it the Katsura typology, but that's probably sacrilegious," he says. The eaves of the gently sloped hipped roof extend generously in all directions, turning the deck into a covered retreat that’s part veranda, part engawa, the Japanese version of a porch.
Architect Johan Sundberg looked to Japanese architects like Kengo Kuma for inspiration for the design of a holiday home in southern Sweden. "We call it the Katsura typology, but that's probably sacrilegious," he says. The eaves of the gently sloped hipped roof extend generously in all directions, turning the deck into a covered retreat that’s part veranda, part engawa, the Japanese version of a porch.
Engawa
Engawa
An engawa provides a transition between inside and out
An engawa provides a transition between inside and out
View from rear yard - the engawa to deck transition
View from rear yard - the engawa to deck transition
Tasked with renovating a 1950s ranch in Northern California, Ogawa Fisher Architects revived an existing Japanese garden at the center of the home as a central organizing element. Low-slung, wide decks (inspired by the Japanese “engawa,” or elevated walkway) and deep roof soffits expand the living spaces, frame views, and blur the boundaries between inside and outside. The garden is the second of three courtyards that orients the various wings of the home from front to back, creating a vast sense of openness while also maintaining privacy from other areas of the house and the street.
Tasked with renovating a 1950s ranch in Northern California, Ogawa Fisher Architects revived an existing Japanese garden at the center of the home as a central organizing element. Low-slung, wide decks (inspired by the Japanese “engawa,” or elevated walkway) and deep roof soffits expand the living spaces, frame views, and blur the boundaries between inside and outside. The garden is the second of three courtyards that orients the various wings of the home from front to back, creating a vast sense of openness while also maintaining privacy from other areas of the house and the street.
This Carlsbad home has a tertiary space that space is known in traditional Japanese homes as the "engawa.” To sustain a unified look throughout, the floor and ceiling are clad in ipe wood. Photo by Daniel Hennessy.
This Carlsbad home has a tertiary space that space is known in traditional Japanese homes as the "engawa.” To sustain a unified look throughout, the floor and ceiling are clad in ipe wood. Photo by Daniel Hennessy.
The official “living room” may be the least-frequented locale, since the house and garden combine to create one big, interconnected living space. The whole was conceived as a modern take on the traditional Japanese sheltered veranda, or “engawa.”
The official “living room” may be the least-frequented locale, since the house and garden combine to create one big, interconnected living space. The whole was conceived as a modern take on the traditional Japanese sheltered veranda, or “engawa.”
The new bedroom is reached at the end of a new hallway, where you step through the exterior wall, leaving the existing (old) house, and onto a glass floor beneath a slot skylight between the old house and the new addition. King describes this as "an ephemeral interpretation of an Japanese engawa — no longer inside, yet not outside."
The new bedroom is reached at the end of a new hallway, where you step through the exterior wall, leaving the existing (old) house, and onto a glass floor beneath a slot skylight between the old house and the new addition. King describes this as "an ephemeral interpretation of an Japanese engawa — no longer inside, yet not outside."
The 57-foot panoramic window was inspired by traditional "Engawa" houses in Japan. Koolhaas preserved its minimalistic aesthetic by camouflaging the supporting wood beam in white laminate and nestling it in the space just beneath the ceiling. He also kept the beam small by installing a tree-like column to help carry the weight of the second floor and roof. "The actual tree that was used for it came out of the garden," the architect says. "In this way, the small forest in the garden continues into the house."
The 57-foot panoramic window was inspired by traditional "Engawa" houses in Japan. Koolhaas preserved its minimalistic aesthetic by camouflaging the supporting wood beam in white laminate and nestling it in the space just beneath the ceiling. He also kept the beam small by installing a tree-like column to help carry the weight of the second floor and roof. "The actual tree that was used for it came out of the garden," the architect says. "In this way, the small forest in the garden continues into the house."