3. What design details are you most proud of, and what challenges did you face in achieving them?
In both projects, I wanted to explore how small spaces can hold emotional depth. Rather than focus on decoration, I emphasized materials that express touch and time: carbonized cork, copper, and natural pigments made from charcoal. Each showcases the energy of fire, symbolizing transformation.
For Poppy Lounge, we installed a ceiling of 300 copper plates applied by hand with a traditional Japanese roofing technique. It reflects light softly, changing with the time of day. The three-meter table made from a 200-year-old beam invites people to gather naturally, almost like a temporary family.
The biggest challenge was balancing precision and imperfection, maintaining a sense of human warmth while achieving clarity and spatial order. Every detail had to feel as though it had always belonged.
4. Who are some of the creative figures that have influenced you the most?
Among Japanese architects, I am deeply inspired by Tadao Ando for his way of confronting light and structure, and by Louis Kahn for his belief that architecture should reveal the spirit of a place.
In interior and furniture design, Alvar Aalto’s gentle curves and natural materials remind me that modernity can coexist with warmth.
Beyond architecture, I draw inspiration from literature, painting, and nature itself. These remind me that design is a form of storytelling, one that connects people to time, memory, and light.
5. How would you describe your design philosophy and the values that guide your creative decisions?
My philosophy is based on quietness and authenticity. A space should not dominate but reveal what already exists: light, material, and human presence. I always begin by listening, to the place, to its past, and to the people who will inhabit it.
I aim to design spaces that age gracefully, where every mark and texture tells a story. Instead of chasing novelty, I look for atmospheres that feel inevitable and calm. Design, for me, is about revealing character, allowing architecture, light, and memory to speak together gently.
6. How do you interpret timelessness and sustainability in your practice?
Timelessness is not the absence of trends but the presence of meaning. I look for what endures beyond visual fashion, focusing on proportion, atmosphere, and material honesty.
Sustainability begins with restraint. I often reuse existing structures and furniture, collaborate with local craftspeople, and choose natural finishes. It is both an environmental and ethical responsibility to design with humility, care, and respect for time and nature.
7. How do you merge your client’s vision with your own creative perspective?
Every project begins with dialogue. I listen carefully to my clients’ memories and desires, even the unspoken ones. My role is to interpret those emotions and translate them into a spatial experience.
The best results come when trust allows creative freedom, when my sense of atmosphere aligns with the client’s story. I don’t impose a fixed style but create spaces that express shared values: calmness, honesty in materials, and an awareness of time passing.
8. What does winning an INT Interior Design Award mean to you?
This recognition is very meaningful because it acknowledges the value of quiet, emotional spaces in a fast-moving world. My work focuses on subtlety and atmosphere rather than spectacle, so it is encouraging to see that such an approach can resonate internationally.
It motivates me to continue exploring the boundaries between architecture and memory, material and emotion. More than anything, it reminds me that even the smallest spaces, when designed with honesty and care, can connect deeply across cultures.
9. What advice would you give to young designers, and what inspires you about the future of design?
To young designers, I would say: listen deeply, to people, to materials, and to silence. The essence of design lies as much in what you leave empty as in what you create.
The future of interior design will move toward atmosphere and emotion, where sustainability and sensitivity matter as much as aesthetics. Technology will evolve, but sincerity and empathy will always be timeless.
Even the smallest space can tell a universal story if designed with care, imagination, and respect for life.
