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Top 5 Japanese Designs Gift Guide to Bring Peace and Productivity to Modern Life

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Although technology and progress have definitely made many aspects of our lives easier, we’re also bombarded with so many things that make those same lives stressful. From visual or sensory overload coming from computers and phones to the information overload that we have to juggle for work and personal life, our brains and even our bodies are sometimes screaming for a break at the end of the day. Fortunately, you don’t need to drop and abandon everything to go on a month-long retreat to recover your sanity. Even simple things can help you rediscover the joys of life, and here are five great gift ideas that will not only help you relax but also solve some of the problems of everyday life, thanks to some Japanese design creativity and ingenuity.

1. Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set

Different people have different preferences and tolerances for scents. While some might love the fragrance of vanilla, others might prefer the smell of different flowers instead. Still, others might have a fondness for the smell of the woods and the mountains, something that isn’t always offered by most essential oils and aroma diffusers. The Miniature Bonfire Wood Diffuser Set easily sets itself apart with a cute collection of mini wooden logs and a tiny pocket stove that recreates not only the smells but also the experience of a memorable outdoor campfire.

The miniature hardwood, collected from branches that would normally be thrown away, gives off a smoky scent when burnt on the stainless steel miniature stove. Add a few drops of essential oils extracted from Mt. Hakusan trees, and you’ve got an authentic outdoor scent that will bring your mind to the soothing embrace of nature. And with a piece of solid fuel, you can even use the same stove as an actual cooking or heating tool, completing the circle of an outdoor experience at home or in your backyard.

Click Here to Buy Now: $89 $99 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, Memorial Day sales end in 48 hours!

2. Stress-Free Aroma Diffuser

Aroma diffusers are a popular tool people use to relax, but some produce more stress than they relieve. Some overwhelm or irritate your nose with vapors, while others leave you praying for a good breeze to carry those calming scents to you. Rather than leave it up to chance, this beautiful Stress-Free Aroma Diffuser really lets you just sit back and relax, making sure you’re breathing in the perfect mix of aromatic blends to soothe your tired mind. It creates its own gentle breeze to softly disperse the aroma evenly, while a porcelain filter soaks up the oil for a longer-lasting experience. Cleaning that filter is equally stress-free since you only need to rinse it under the tap.

The diffuser’s polished metal base creates a beautiful contrast with the more organic-looking porcelain disc on top, forming an elegant decoration that looks just as appealing as it smells. And thanks to its built-in rechargeable battery, you can place it anywhere you want, and it will work just as well, not to mention standing beautifully on top of any desk or shelf design.

Click Here to Buy Now: $134 $149 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, Memorial Day sales end in 48 hours!

3. Modular Flower Tubes

While our noses can give us a bit of a reprieve from hectic and stressful days, our eyes are the ones that probably need the most help in stepping back from visual information overload. We can’t always keep our eyes closed, of course, so the next best thing is to always have something pleasing to look at nearby or in places we often look at. Pictures of loved ones and pets will always bring a smile to our faces, but a minimalist yet beautiful flower arrangement can also keep us thinking beautiful thoughts, especially when they’re set on a vase as unique as these Modular Flower Tubes.

Instead of a single container for a large bunch of flowers and stems, this “modular” vase uses thin copper tubes of different heights placed on a circular wooden base. The size of the tubes limits how much they can hold, letting you be more creative in how you arrange different elements, including empty tubes, just for effect. These Modular Flower Tubes not only bring a one-of-a-kind vessel for plants and flowers, it also helps give your creativity an outlet to keep your mind off more stressful concerns.

Click Here to Buy Now: $134 $149 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, Memorial Day sales end in 48 hours!

4. Personal Whiteboard

One of the biggest sources of stress is when things don’t go according to plan or when things don’t work like they’re supposed to. The latter is especially applicable to gadgets, particularly computers and smartphones, that we often rely on to keep everything, including our notes. As they say, simple is best, and nothing gets simpler than pen and paper. Actually, that’s not entirely true because this Personal Whiteboard not only gets simpler but also removes some of the worries and concerns surrounding plain pen and paper.

Imagine the liberating experience of never running out of paper. With an A4-sized whiteboard that you can carry with you everywhere, that dream easily becomes reality. The Personal Whiteboard, however, brings those little extras that truly make life worry-free, like a cover that protects what you wrote but also acts as an eraser that is with you all the time. There’s even an innovative Mag Force system that is both a handle and a pen loop, so you never have to stress over losing that all-important whiteboard marker ever again.

Click Here to Buy Now: $44 $49 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, Memorial Day sales end in 48 hours!

5. Invisible Shoehorn

There is probably nothing more stressful, frustrating, and dangerous than falling over while putting on your shoes when you’re already in a rush. While shoehorns try to make it easier to, well, shoehorn your foot into your footwear, they aren’t exactly the easiest to use nor the safest. They aren’t also the most attractive tools in your house, which is why they’re often hidden and then get lost when you need them the most.

The Invisible Shoehorn, in contrast, is something you’d proudly put on display precisely because it looks nothing like a shoehorn. The stainless steel tool combines with a clear acrylic handle to form a beautiful rod ornament that hides the shoehorn in plain sight. The shoehorn’s sturdy metal body and elongated shape also make it easy to put on a shoe without bending and breaking your back. Finally, you can have an ergonomic tool that’s also beautiful to behold, presuming you can even see the shoehorn masquerading as a unique piece of home decoration.

Click Here to Buy Now: $269 $299 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, Memorial Day sales end in 48 hours!

The post Top 5 Japanese Designs Gift Guide to Bring Peace and Productivity to Modern Life first appeared on Yanko Design.

Minimalist modular lamp shines light anywhere you go with portable design

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Most people treat lamps and lighting fixtures as mere functional products that illuminate a given space. While that is indeed their primary function, the kind and quality of light can actually have an effect on our minds and moods. Some lamps have decorative designs that spark interest and awe, while others use different tones and intensities to soothe or excite. Most lamps that provide these varied experiences, however, are often tied down to their locations or are impractical to move around. Portable lamps, on the other hand, are more utilitarian in design. This simple-looking lamp tries to bridge the gap between those two extremes, offering a lighting solution that can easily be carried anywhere to set the right atmosphere while also looking stylish in any setting.

Designers: TENT and Fujita Metal

Click Here to Buy Now: $134 $149 ($15 off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!

At first glance, this lamp might not even look like a lamp. On the one hand, it almost looks like a miniature stool, similar to those with round, rotating seats you’d see in some bars and diners. On the other hand, it might also remind you of mushrooms with its tall, thin stem and circular cap. Whichever way you look at it, the ICHI table lamp is going to grab your attention with its distinctive shape, its powder-coated iron finish, and its minimalist design.

The mushroom table lamp is so minimalist that you will see neither cords nor buttons on its pristine surface. Pressing anywhere on the edge of the lamp’s top turns it on and cycles through its different brightness settings before it turns off again. There’s no specific area you have to press, making it easy to operate the lamp even without looking at it. Each press has a soft and comfortable clicking feel to it, so don’t be surprised if you get a bit addicted to the gesture.

Six high color rendering LEDs generate the clicky table lamp’s warm light while a thick milky-white board diffuses it to a softer glow. The yellowish tone creates a more soothing atmosphere compared to bright white, and it can also make certain colors and compositions pop up, making food look more delicious, for example. The absence of cables suggests that the lamp is battery-powered, but it eschews the trend of using built-in rechargeable batteries and opts for AA batteries instead. This helps prolong the life of the lamp since you can easily replace the batteries when they run out of juice. Of course, you can also use rechargeable AA batteries to really capitalize on the lamp’s sustainability.

Almost like a mushroom, the ICHI lamp can pop up anywhere you want it to. Simply unscrew the top and the base and stash all three parts inside a bag to carry the lamp with you. With its warm light, tactile experience, and modular design, this minimalist lamp lets you create the atmosphere you want anywhere you go, allowing you to bring your own bubble of light and calm inside the house or outdoors.

Click Here to Buy Now: $134 $149 ($15 off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!

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20 degree tilt pet bowl keeps food from pouring out

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Eating time should be a fun and enriching time to nourish not only the body but also the mind and the heart. That’s true not just for humans who often socialize during these moments but also for our little family members who become closer to their humans at opportunities like these. Alas, eating time can sometimes be stressful instead, both for pets who can’t but help spill food out of their bowls as well as for the humans who need to clean up afterward. Attempting to return dinnertime to its original atmosphere, this fine-looking food bowl for furry friends brings something that’s not only beautiful but also functional, utilizing human creativity and craftsmanship to make a pet bowl that delivers a pleasant experience for everyone at home.

Designer: Ena Metal

Click Here to Buy Now: $296 $349 (15% off and free worldwide shipping at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours.

Some pet owners might think that the stereotypical flat bowl would be enough for pets, and that might be fine if you’re also OK with using plain, mass-produced tableware for yourself. You could argue, however, that just as you deserve well-designed things that make life more enjoyable, so does your little family, especially when it comes to eating food. You don’t need to go the hi-tech route just to achieve that, however. In fact, going “au naturale” might be an even better answer.

Swelltone delivers that kind of solution by focusing not on the food but on the food bowl, putting the eating experience above the expensive edibles. It makes “ease of eating” the focus of its design, and it does so in a simple yet effective way. The stainless steel bowl that holds the food can tilt up to an angle of 20 degrees, which makes it easy for pets to slurp every last bit without spilling their food. Coincidentally, this also gives their human owners peace of mind that they won’t have to clean up after their pets after meals.

This handsome dinnerware for pets is made of two parts, both finely crafted and beautiful on their own. The wooden base is made of fine Japanese cypress that literally and figuratively puts the bowl on a pedestal. That bowl is made from SUS304 stainless steel and is made by the same craftsmen who create precision parts for automobiles and aircraft. Together, this pet bowl looks posh whether it’s on the floor or on the kitchen counterpart, serving as a piece of minimalist decor when it’s not in use.

The bowl, however, does more than offer a visual delight to humans and pets alike. Drop pieces of dry food into it, and you’ll hear the luxurious tones resounding from the bowl, giving justification to its name. Whether your pet is eating from it or you’re still preparing its tasty treat, this handsome food receptacle offers a more pleasant and memorable experience that goes beyond just the act of eating, strengthening the bonds between humans and their little families every meal time.

Click Here to Buy Now: $296 $349 (15% off and free worldwide shipping at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours.

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This peculiar furniture set gives styrofoam a new home inside yours

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The way our brain works, we become almost numb and blind to the most mundane things that we see every day. It’s a survival tactic that prevents our brains from blowing up at every external stimulus. For example, we easily take styrofoam for granted in whatever form it comes in, be it large slabs or tiny balls, because they’re easy to ignore in all the packaging, cups, and containers that we see day in and day out. These synthetic objects, however, obviously have a negative impact on the environment, and the measures taken to reduce that ironically still stress both natural and human resources. That’s why these pieces of furniture try to nip the problem in the bud by giving styrofoam a new purpose inside or outside your home without having to travel far from where they’re taken.

Designers: we+

Styrofoam, by nature, is not only non-biodegradable but also potentially harmful to our own health, which makes its use as food and beverage containers sound almost ironic. The good news is that styrofoam can actually be transformed into materials for recycled plastic products after they have been melted and treated, presuming they’re even disposed of properly. The bad news is that these materials are often sent to other countries, which makes the entire process inefficient, wasteful, and still harmful to the environment in the long run.

Japan, for example, often exports styrofoam melted into ingots only to have those become the foundations for products bought in bargain stores. Rather than going through that roundabout and expensive process, Refoam starts and ends in Japan, right where the styrofoam is melted. This recycled goo is then immediately used to build up structures with unique textures and surfaces. Structures that can become tables, chairs, and furniture that will give any space a distinct look.

Whether from near or from a distance, it’s easy to see that any piece of Refoam furniture has a unique and almost odd aesthetic. It’s like a cross between cracked concrete and molten lava that has been cooled after it was given shape. Given the process involved in melting pieces of styrofoam and placing the resulting goo into molds to cool, that’s a rather accurate representation.

The Refoam series’ rocky appearance makes it almost perfect for outdoor use, but it can still fit in some interior motifs, particularly those aiming for cold, earthy tones. More importantly, however, it provides not only a more sustainable process for recycling styrofoam waste but also gives the material new value, even in its raw, melted form.

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This tiny circular grater turns cooking into a meditative and joyful activity

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Who says graters have to be large metallic monstrosities that look more like dangerous weapons than tools for creating wonderful dishes? Granted, these designs stood the test of time, mostly because they served a very general purpose and served it well. You won’t bring such graters to the dinner table, though, if all you need is a fresh batch of garnish or wasabi. You’ll probably want the right tool for the right job, something small and attractive enough not to look out of place on the table. Those are the exact features that his dish-shaped grater is bringing to the table, pun intended, turning grating into something almost like a therapeutic art form.

Designer: Shinji Kasahara of Tsuboe

Click Here to Buy Now: $55 $65 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, sitewide Pre-Black Friday sale ends Nov 18th.

Graters are probably one of the most uninspiring tools in the kitchen. Granted, they are rarely seen and probably for a few seconds at most, so they don’t need to look that presentable. Of course, that implies that the uses of graters are limited behind the scenes in the kitchen, ignoring the times when you want to make the finishing touches for everyone to see. Or maybe you want your wasabi, dish, or other grated garnishes fresh and ready just when you need them.

The maruzara is a unique grater design exactly with that purpose in mind. Shaped like a small round plate instead of the typical rectangular sheet of metal, this grater is meant to sit on the table rather than be held up in the air like almost all other graters. Its small design makes it perfect to be placed right on the table, and the unique pattern of the blades gives it a distinctive look even when it’s just sitting unused.

That blade arrangement isn’t just for show, though. Unlike a regular grater with rows of blades, you make circular movements to grate ingredients. Rather than falling through holes, the grated pieces accumulate at the sides in full, fluffy lumps. The repetitive action, rather than being tiring and burdensome, becomes almost a mindful practice that puts you in the moment. Of course, it’s all for the sake of adding some flavor to the food you have right in front of you rather than having to wait for someone else with you.

This round plate grater isn’t just good looks, too. The strong stainless steel makes it durable for multiple uses. It comes with a silicon rubber base that stops it from slipping on the table while you make your circling motions. That same base doubles as the piece’s lid, protecting the blades when you store it inside drawers or on shelves. While it was designed primarily for wasabi and daikon radish, it’s not hard to imagine using it for various ingredients as well, anything you need to spice up your dish. It’s a small change from a regular grater, but one that has a strong impact not just on food preparation but also on your enjoyment of a well-done dish.

Click Here to Buy Now: $55 $65 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, sitewide Pre-Black Friday sale ends Nov 18th.

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This mini handheld grater makes it easy to add flavor and joy to your meals

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Grating ingredients is not exactly something one would consider enjoyable or even satisfying. It doesn’t require much skill compared to slicing and dicing, and the common tools for grating aren’t that fun to work with, either. Why should you have to use a large metallic weapon just to add a touch of cinnamon to a plate? They say, however, that every little thing matters, and that’s especially true for garnishes and grated ingredients. Quite appropriately, this grater is also little, small enough to securely fit in the palm of your hand, almost like a toy. And just like a toy, it is designed to add a bit of fun to your kitchen and dining life while you add a bit of cheese or lemon zest to your dish.

Designer: Gensuke Kishi for Tsuboe

Click Here to Buy Now: $21 $25 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, sitewide Pre-Black Friday sale ends Nov 14th.

Your typical graters are large pieces of metal that are often unwieldy to use except in the hands of a total pro. Sure, larger graters that tower over your plate have a place in larger kitchens, but the average use of graters at home rarely goes that far. Plus, even the most common grater is cumbersome to use, leading to hurt fingers and hurt feelings.

In stark contrast, the irogami grater is simple in all aspects that you wonder why home kitchen graters aren’t made this way, too. Instead of multiple pieces of metal bent and curved at different places, the grater is a single sheet of aluminum alloy that curls backward in one corner. The design makes it look almost like a sheet of paper, particularly a colorful sticky note or memo pad, that speaks to both its playful and serious demeanor.

That curled corner isn’t just an embellishment, though. It’s actually designed to rest snugly on your index finger so that the whole grater nests securely in the palm of your hand. Compared to those cumbersome graters that you have to hold tight at their handles, this form gives you a firmer grip. As a bonus, that curl also makes it trivial to hang the grater on rods and bars, though there’s also a hole for a hook if you prefer it that way.

Using this playful grater is like a game itself. Simply move the piece of cheese or stick of cinnamon from left to right and watch the tiny pieces fall down on your food. That’s really all there is to it! There are no holes where pieces of food get stuck and hide, making it easier to clean the grater. Of course, that also means the hand holding the grater remains clean since it’s more than enough for only one hand to get a bit dirty.

This simple yet genius grater comes in a variety of lively colors that perfectly complement its cheerful design. Sure, it might not fit the rest of your fine, silver-clad kitchen tools, but the typical monstrous and rough grater never really fit in either. More than just color and simplicity, however, this grater brings fun and life to your food, both in its preparation as well as its inevitable consumption.

Click Here to Buy Now: $21 $25 (15% off at checkout). Hurry, sitewide Pre-Black Friday sale ends Nov 14th.

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This Mount Fuji cutlery rest will have you thinking of Japan at every meal

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You have the perfect spread for a fine lunch or dinner with your fine tableware and luxurious silverware. Your linens are clean and carefully pressed, and the scrumptious meal is proceeding perfectly. But then a moment comes when you or your guests have to put down their knives or forks. Maybe you just need a break, or maybe you need to switch to a spoon or other cutlery. Putting down this used cutlery, especially when they’ve been used on sauces or oils, could ruin the atmosphere or, at the very least, your tablecloth. That’s when you’d probably wish you had a way to keep that from happening, and this beautiful cutlery rest is such a solution that not only preserves your table but even adds elegance to your setting.

Designer: Takebayashi Design

Click Here to Buy Now: Two for $165 $219 (25% off). Hurry, deal ends Sept 24th!

Cutlery rests are admittedly not that common in many cultures, but they are also critical in others, albeit going by different names. A knife rest is probably better known in Europe, while chopstick rests are in wide use in East Asian countries. Whatever incarnation or name they come in, their purpose remains the same. They elevate cutlery so that they don’t touch the table, preventing ugly stains as well as keeping the cutlery clean.

These rests come in all forms and designs, and they can be as simple as a block of wood or as ornate as fine metalwork. These Itadaki cutlery rests combines those two elements, presenting a lavish metal accessory that embodies both simple forms and elaborate engravings. The rests don’t merely stand as luxurious tableware accents but also as a testament to fine craftsmanship.

Rather than just a flat block of metal, this Japanese-inspired cutlery rest slopes upward toward the middle, ending in a flat stump at the peak. Although the actual mountaintop doesn’t end that way, this form is largely inspired by the country’s most iconic summit, Mt. Fuji. It’s also not by coincidence that the curves produced by these slopes are perfect for laying forks, chopsticks, knives, or spoons to rest.

Carved in incredible detail at the micrometer (1/1,000 mm) level, and shifts in appearance ever so slightly depending on how the light hits it.

The association of the rest’s shape with Mt. Fuji might be lost on all but the most discerning observer, but patterns engraved on its surface will definitely call to mind some of the country’s symbolic flora. From the well-known sakura or cherry blossoms to plum blossoms and chrysanthemum flowers, the cutlery rests represent Japan’s seasons that yield these beautiful flowers. They also give the etched surfaces a bit of texture so that silverware don’t simply slide off, making the rests pointless.

The cutlery rest is an homage to Japanese craftsmanship in more than just its design. Each piece is cut from a stainless steel block by changing the thickness of the blade at different parts of the process. Each rest is then carefully polished by hand to give it its sheen. Just like the word “itadaki” itself, this cutlery rest represents the summit of tableware, made with care to also take care of your cutlery, your table, and your guests.

Click Here to Buy Now: 2 for $165 $219 (25% off). Hurry, deal ends Sept 24th!

The post This Mount Fuji cutlery rest will have you thinking of Japan at every meal first appeared on Yanko Design.

These Japanese tiny homes feature a honeycomb frame to immerse guests in nature!

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2nd Home is a series of tiny homes planned and built by Japanese startup SANU with minimal building material to immerse travelers in the wonder of nature for a quick respite from the hustle of city living.

Ever since quarantine orders were put into place, many of us turned to nature for some respite from the stress brought on by the pandemic. In response, people have escaped city living for some isolation and quietude in tiny homes across the globe.

Out of 517 people living in Tokyo’s metropolitan district, 77% have gone on record to say they’d like to spend more time in nature; getting there is half the journey, we just need a place to stay. Adding to the plethora of tiny homes to have come out in response to pandemic wanderlust, Japanese startup SANU has produced a series of tiny rentable homes called 2nd Home scattered across Japan that cost a monthly fee of ¥50,000 ($441 USD) for interested members.

In planning and constructing the collection of honeycomb timber cabins, SANU ensured a lightweight, replicable design using only a small number of building materials to get the job done. Each 2nd Home cabin is built prefabricated from 100% Japanese cedar and fastened to the site by six piles, which hardly impact the preexisting landscape. Considering the cabin’s easy assembly system, SANU built 2nd Home to be easily dismantled as well, allowing the building materials to be reused for future projects.

Entering 2nd Home from the exterior wooden deck, renters are greeted by an open-plan living room that flows into a cozy alcove kitchen. Setting the tone for the rest of the bedrooms inside the 2nd Home, the small office space and main bedrooms are tucked away in wall recesses that open up the floor space while maintaining a sense of privacy.

Throughout the home, guests can enjoy expansive views of the surrounding nature from the floor-to-ceiling windows that span 2nd Home’s front facade. While 2021 has culminated in a total of five cabins scattered across two locations, reachable from Tokyo in a speedy 1.5-3 hours, SANU hopes to erect 50 cabins across seven sites by the end of 2022.

Designer: ADX/SANU

Alcove bedrooms expand the available floor space while creating a sense of cozy privacy. 

Light and bright design elements completely open up SANU’s 2nd Home interiors. 

The concealing side facades offer guests some privacy from neighbors. 

2nd Home’s front facade feature sweeping, floor-to-ceiling windows to bring guests as close to nature as possible.

The working space is formed by an alcove as well. 

The post These Japanese tiny homes feature a honeycomb frame to immerse guests in nature! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Japanese A-frame structure looks like a cozy Ghibli movie home got a modern yet minimal makeover!

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Japanese architecture is the epitome of minimalism and warmth, especially when it takes shape as an A-frame cabin. The Japanese culture and lifestyle have many deep-rooted practices about reducing waste, using only what you need, and living with essentials but not necessarily without luxury. All of these elements are seen in Hara House, an A-frame cabin that is all about minimizing your footprint, being efficient, and using as little material as possible. It was designed for a young couple who wanted a new home in a small agricultural village about four hours north of Tokyo that would restore the fading communal connection that they were witnessing.

Hara House is built out of 5-inch square timbers set 6 feet apart. A tent-like white steel rooftop the home mixes private spaces with a semipublic, open-air living and dining area – a stiff, yet giving structure that assimilates all human behaviors. “The estate already contained an assemblage of buildings and farmland that depended on one another. Our design direction was to create a home that revitalized these on-site structures and had the potential to adapt to new functions as the need or mood changed,” explains architect Takayuki Shimada.

The A-frame structure draped over a rectangular interior volume was the solution to create that semi-public space the couple desired. A set of parallel glass doors in the central living/dining room allows air to flow through the home and connect the residents with neighbors passing along the adjacent street. Instead of a traditional self-reliant building, Hara House is a space where workshops, meetings, and events can spill out onto the land and open the home to the village.

Two parallel pitches expose the central living and dining room to the outside air via sliding glass doors. The low openings give the impression of a tent that’s been propped up to reveal what’s going on inside and is reminiscent of older Japanese architecture. An open space on one side of the structure serves as an entrance and an informal gathering spot for the community while the covered, veranda-like spaces on both sides provide shady areas to sit and relax. The heart of Hara House is the large living/dining area that simple radiates warmth!

At one end of the first floor, a small bedroom and a bathroom create a private living area for the family. There is a loft area above that features a cozy workspace. The sleeping zone is on the first floor which has a spacious master bedroom. Interiors feature minimalist shelves for storage and a large pane of glass brightens the space as well as the loft above. Hara House’s high ceiling creates the traditional tent-like vibe, while the raised platform serves as seating as well as additional storage space.

“We started our design by conceptualizing the building as incomplete. The home should invite people from the village to utilize it, thus becoming part of the community. By establishing this type of architecture, with its blank canvas, a space is born that establishes itself as an attraction of interest and activity,” says Shimada. Hara House looks like a house from a Ghibli movie but with a modern makeover that doesn’t strip the magic from a wooden A-frame structure. It is reminiscent of a glowing lantern in the night that welcomes the community into a safe space.

Designer: Takeru Shoji Architects

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This floating farm turns salty seawater into nutrients for agriculture & improves marine environment!

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A Japanese start-up has designed this floating marine farm called Green Ocean using agricultural technology that cultivates seawater as a direct nutrient source! The innovative structure combines salt-resistant technology and sea-friendly architecture to the world a potential solution for the climate change-induced rising sea level problem which comes with heavy salt damage. It harvests rainwater, improves the quality of the water around it, helps with food production while saving water and being a sustainable architectural structure.

Sea level rise is getting progressively worse due to climate change which affects agriculture heavily – it means less land to farm on and also damage to coastal land because of excessive salt. N-ark has developed Green Ocean in partnership with Cultivera which is an agrotechnology R&D company that aims to build the prototype of the floating marine farm by 2022. Seawater agriculture is a special cultivation method that absorbs water and nutrients in the ground and air by mixing and neutralizing alkaline seawater and acidic rainwater. As a result, a huge variety of vegetables can be grown by utilizing the minerals and nutrients contained in seawater!

Green Ocean is a floating, solar-powered, salt-resistant greenhouse constructed with thinned wood and carbon joints. Once it is out on the water, the marine farm will create two new green areas – one will be a food production space that floats on the surface and uses salty agricultural technology and the second will be a layer of algae that will improve the underwater environment. It has a distinctive angular roof that helps to collect rainwater which is then mixed with seawater and used as fertilizer for the plants. Cold seawater is also used for air conditioning within the farms. “By creating a cyclical system environment, Green Ocean plays the role of an adhesive plaster of the Earth,” explains the team.

The basic technology behind seawater agriculture is ‘moisture culture’ which allows cultivation under humidity control. With this method, about 15 cm of the surface layer of natural soil can be reproduced with a special fiber of approximately 5 mm, and vegetables with fortified sugar content and vitamins can be grown by evaporating water with the special fiber by applying water depletion stress to plants. Moisture culture uses one-tenth of the water that is needed in conventional irrigated farming methods and can be applied even in areas where water is not abundant making it a sustainable way to farm at scale.

Designer: N-Ark

The post This floating farm turns salty seawater into nutrients for agriculture & improves marine environment! first appeared on Yanko Design.