A London Apartment Injected with Modernism

Situated in the Shakespeare Tower on the Barbican Estate in the heart of the City of London, this apartment is owned by a couple who lived in Japan for many years. When they settled in the British capital, they wanted to recreate the ambiance of Japanese homes, and called upon the architectural firm Takero Shimazaki Architects to assist them. 

Architecture that defies conventions

When undertaking the restoration, the architectural firm was strongly inspired by Japanese modernist architects, particularly the work of Seiichi Shirai, in order to harmoniously combine wood, an indispensable material in traditional Japanese homes, and concrete, a material held dear by modernists. 

Thus, in the centre of the space stands a terrazzo column. ‘Inspired by Shirai’s project at Sekisui-kan in Shizuoka, we designed this non-structural column to act as the bridge between the two conflicting languages of this interior architecture’, Takero Shimazaki explains in a press release. Between the pebbled entrance flooring, the concrete walls, the wood-frame ceiling and windows and the traditional Japanese room in which the floor is covered with tatami mats, the apartment plays on contrasts. ‘The resulting architecture does not belong to Japan, classicism, nor any specific time’, Takero Shimazaki concludes.

More information about the work of Takero Shimazaki Architects can be found on their website.