Penguin Environmental Design

Tsubo-niwa and The Tale of Genji

I have not read The Tale of Genji because I am not a big fan of love stories although it is a famous classic novel. But now, I feel ashamed of myself after I knew that the source of the character’s names was gardens. It is because their names came from Tsubo-niwa, a specific type […]

Kenzo Tange’s Own House

I read the interesting book, “The Japanese House Since 1945”, written by Naomi Pollock. It introduces lots of houses designed by architects. In addition to the chronological explanation of the architectural history, unlike other architecture design books, Her book focused on the families who lived in the houses. That made me find unexpected discoveries. I […]

From the Outside In

“From the outside in” is our company’s motto. When we design a house, we always think about achieving an intimate relationship with its garden. Not to mention designing a garden. This idea is rooted in Japanese culture. It is natural for us. There are many houses shut to the outside. We believe that “From the […]

Harmony between a garden and a house

庭屋一如 (tei-oku-ichi-nyo) – This is the word expressing a harmonious condition of a garden and a house. I think that many Japanese garden designers consider it a fundamental principle. Traditionally, houses in Japan were designed to achieve comfort in hot summer. This kind of house is a post and beam structure. So, its’ facades can […]

Our Talk at Shofuso on the Japanese Time-Space Concept & Mindfulness

Our Talk at Shofuso on the Japanese Time-Space Concept & Mindfulness

Takaya Kurimoto and Yoko Kawai of PED had the pleasure to give an online live talk at Shofuso, a Japanese house with a garden, hosted by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia. Our talk examined how the concept of Michiyuki, traveling or procession in Japanese, could help us be aware of the present moment. […]

Japanese + Modern

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