Creating an impression of a space that had some big changes to the interior without actually making changes was an important factor in this project. The space has been restructured while revering the fact that it was cherished for a long time, with a garden as the entrance, with different rooms and space each with it’s own scenario of the A.P.C.

The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.

The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.

Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.

Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.

In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.

The irony of not having direct view of the ocean on a seaside house appears as a possibility for orienting this beach house towards a more unexpected landscape. The open horizon of the Pacific has been replaced by the view the near hillsides to the west, and to the protected space defined by a group of preexisting trees. This independent backyard, isolated from the intense summer life of the beach town of Cachagua, offers a calmed retreat to take distance from the city. Here, the close relation to topography stimulates spontaneous exterior circulations between rooms, giving the same relevance to the interior life of the house as to the exterior events, trying to enhance the informal condition of the beach house and the possibility of a life “outdoors”.

Katayama designed both the architecture and interior design of his new office for Wonderwall. The three story high building with additional two floors below ground was designed based on Katayama’s idea of what he considers basic and standard. In designing this office, functionality, vertical continuity, and a certain sense of tension were key elements that was important to Katayama while it also needed to posses the identity of his firm and be an exhilarating space for him to work in. Such varying elements coexist in harmony, seamlessly unifying architecture and interior design to create a perfectly natural space and hence an optimal state.

via Wonderwall.